Without valid licence, no teacher will remain in classroom next year – TRCN Registrar warns

Nigeria’s Teachers Registration Council has set a December 2027 deadline beyond which no teacher will be permitted to remain in any classroom without a valid TRCN licence, the Council’s Registrar Dr Ronke Soyombo has announced in a major regulatory overhaul of the teaching profession.

Speaking exclusively to The Nation, Soyombo said the Council is targeting 75 per cent teacher certification by end of 2026, with schools seeking to register candidates for NECO and other public examinations required to demonstrate compliance with the professional threshold.

The TRCN is also restructuring its Professional Qualifying Examination to assess candidates according to their specific qualification level — meaning PhD holders, degree holders and NCE holders will each face examinations tailored to their qualifications, eliminating the possibility of candidates later claiming higher-level assessments after the fact.

“By December 2027, no teacher will be allowed to remain in the classroom without a valid TRCN licence,” Soyombo stated.