9,204 Teachers have written the Professional Qualifying Examination, PQE conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, TRCN, says it has rescheduled the Examination in Sokoto and Zamfara states over recent security concerns.

TRCN’s Acting Director of Certification and Licensing, Dr Jacenta Ogboso, who disclosed this in Abuja while supervising the examination at SALSCON International School, on Saturday, said a total of 9,204 participated in the exercise nationwide, with the exception of the two states.

Ogboso noted that 125 candidates registered for the exercise in Sokoto while 151 candidates registered in Zamfara state, adding that the examination in the two states will be rescheduled as soon as the situation is better.

“We have to reschedule the exam for Sokoto and Zamfara states because we want to be sure of the situation. So those two are not writing today. They are going to either write online or we find another time,” she said.

She disclosed that 663 candidates sat for the exam in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, even as she praised the conduct of the exercise as very smooth because TRCN started this exam since 2017 and keeps improving on the processes.

Ogboso disclosed that the examination has been reduced to two diet per year due to reduction in applications, adding that the surge in applications earlier experienced at the peak of the PQE was due to the rush to meet the deadline for implementation of government’s policy of ensuring that only professionally qualified teachers were in its school system.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. David Adejo, who also monitored the exercise at SALSCON International School, said teachers who have not registered to write the PQE were not teachers as far as Nigeria is concerned.

“For instance, in the medical profession, after your university, there is a compulsory exam you must pass before you are a doctor; and for a teacher, you must pass through this compulsory exam before you are a teacher.

So, those who have not pass through this process are only at best to be said to be impersonating, and government cannot allow that going forward; we need to standardise the teaching practice; this exam is one of things that will so that,” Adejo said.

He praised the conduct of the exercise noting that the processes of accreditation, examination, and resetting of the systems for the next set of people to come into the hall was great as everything went peacefully and orderly.