The Federal Government has announced that all secondary schools in Nigeria must ensure their teachers are certified by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) before being accredited to host public examinations.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tunji Alausa, who disclosed this in a statement, said the policy is aimed at enforcing minimum standards and professionalising the teaching workforce across the country.
According to the directive, beginning from 2027, accreditation of schools for examinations such as the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), National Examinations Council (NECO), National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), and the National Business and Innovation Skills Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (NBIAS/SAISSCE) will be strictly tied to TRCN certification.
Schools are required to achieve 75 per cent compliance by 2026 and full compliance by 2027, or risk disqualification from serving as examination centres.
“Any school whose teachers are not duly registered and licensed with the TRCN shall be disqualified from serving as an examination centre,” the statement warned.
To ease the transition, the Federal Government has approved a two-year compliance window and urged state governments to ensure teachers in both public and private schools meet the requirement.
Teachers without formal education degrees but with at least 12 months of classroom experience have been encouraged to enroll in an abridged professional certification programme run by the National Teachers Institute (NTI). The programme, which runs for three to six months, qualifies participants for TRCN registration and licensing.
Minister Alausa described the policy as “one of the boldest steps taken to institutionalise professionalism in Nigeria’s education system” and urged stakeholders to prioritise compliance to avoid disruption in school accreditation for national examinations.