Education

Professionalism key to successful teaching practice in Nigeria – TRCN

Published

4 years ago

April 30, 2021

Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has called for professionalism in the teaching profession

Mr Abimbola Okunola, Assistant Director in the council made the call in Karu on Friday at a one-day Capacity Training Workshop for Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN), sponsored by TRCN.

He said this would create successful impact in the education sector.

The workshop has the theme “Professionalism of Teaching and Teacher Education in Nigeria”.

Okunola said that the teaching profession had been rated more critical than any other profession in the world, hence the need to attract the best brains for the practice of teaching in the country.

According to him, teaching is rated extremely important to the development agenda of any society and Nigeria must not be left out.

“In the honourable court of France, only teachers are allowed to sit on the chair. In Japan, the police force has to take special permission from the government to arrest a teacher for any reason.

“In Korea, only teachers enjoy the privilege of a minister and in Germany, teachers are among the highest paid civil servants.

“In the beginning, teaching was so glorious and so noble that in every communities teachers were considered next to kings in importance and development of the society,” he said.

He added that unprecedented rise in societal demand for education, institutionalisation of materialism; emergence of greener pastures among others had forced teachers into a relegated position in the country.

He, therefore, emphasised the need for professionalism as the secret behind the success or collapse of any vocation, hence the need to critically take professionalism serious in the teaching profession.

He also called on teachers to maintain standards at all times as a Teachers Investigative Panel had been created by the council to sanction erring teachers.

Okunola added that the council was collaborating with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to train 28,000 unqualified teachers.

Similarly, Dr Magaji Waziri, Assistant Director, Department of Planning, Research and Statistics in the council, said that the country hads been flooded with unqualified manpower which had lowered the quality of teachers in the system.

Waziri maintained that there was therefore need to set standards at all level while ensuring quality teaching and learning through monitoring and supervision of teacher education programmes.

Mr Chuks Ukwuata, Chairman of ECAN called on journalists to ensure adequate reportage of education stories to foster development in other sector.

Ukwuata commended TRCN for their role in ensuring excellence in the education professionalism of teachers as well as maintenance of teachers’ quality.

He also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to give TRCN boss the chance to pilot affairs of the council for second term to continue transforming teaching profession towards attaining greater heights.

Also, Mr Emmanuel Ogbeche, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) tasked journalists on their role in ensuring that crisis in the education sector were resolved.

Ogbeche, who spoke on the topic ‘Education Reporting in Time of Crisis’ called for funding for schools security to ensure the safety of school children.

He added that it was time the country fixed her education by having a transitional education programmes that would translate into development of other sector.

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Education

NELFUND assures students of smart system to improve loan access

Published

4 weeks ago

May 7, 2025

The Gleamer

Mariam Abeeb

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has assured students it was working assiduously towards building a technology driven system that would improve easy access to its loans.

This was as the FUND disclosed that no fewer than 320,000 students have thus far been paid with many more currently undergoing verification process to enable their payments.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr gave the assurances in Abuja, while addressing Polytechnics , Monotechnics and Institutes at a Stakeholders Engagement Session/ Technical Workshop on NELFUND System Automation and Loan Application Processes.

Sawyerr noted that the FUND was targeting a platform where students could access loan with confidence and without stress in a manner that was transparent and accountable.

He said: “At NELFUND our mission goes beyond giving loans. It’s about opening doors, it’s about making sure every young Nigerian who is willing to learn and grow has a real shot regardless of their background, location, or chosen path of study.

“For too long, many students, especially in technical institutions, have faced steep financial barriers; some drop out, others have never even applied. This is the gap we at NELFUND are here to close. But we know we can’t do it alone.

“This is a shared mission. It belongs to all of us, government institutions and the private sector alike. This technical workshop marks a major step forward.

“We’re not only providing financing, we’re building a technology-driven system that makes it easier for students to apply, for institutions to verify, and for funds to be disbursed with speed, fairness, and accountability.

“We’re aiming for access without stress, a platform students can use with confidence; transparency and trust so that no one is left wondering where their application stands; partnership with purpose because your feedback, your data, and your cooperation are critical to making this work. We rely on you as our institutional partners to help us bring this vision to life.”

Sawyerr who commended the institutions for providing technical expertise, practical hands-on training that fuels industries and empowers communities over the years, said besides teaching skills, they have built careers, created employers and strengthened economies.

“You know your students, you understand their struggles, your insights will help us tailor this system to reflect the realities on ground, not just assumptions on paper.

“To NBTE, we value your steady leadership in shaping and regulating technical education. Your collaboration is key as we move forward fully.”

The NELFUND boss urged the institutions to partner with the FUND to deliver a system that was not just functional or sustainable, but one that was transformative

“As we move forward fully, integrating NELFUND processes with institutional systems and standards, let us remember at the heart of all of this is a student, a young Nigerian with dreams, with ambition, and the courage to pursue them. Everything we do must serve that student.

“The only way to make it happen is by working together, listening to one another, and staying grounded in real-world challenges. I encourage you all to engage fully today share what’s working and what is not, and together let’s build something that lasts.”

NELFUND ‘s Executive Director, Operations, Mr. Iyal Mustapha, disclosed that apart from the 320,000 students who have so far been paid, more verifications are currently ongoing.

Mustapha, who explained that the failure of not having the number of registered students tally with the number of students whose application process was deemed successful was from the part of students and not NELFUND, said there was an urgent need to bridge the gap.

He also disclosed that the FUND was considering connecting directly to institution’s portal to get the data they need, and how student could apply to their institutions portal without necessarily reaching out to NELFUND.

“One other thing that we’re trying to do going forward is to send some of our IT to all the institutions so that we can see how possible it is we connect directly to your portal instead of saying please send us data. How can we connect using an API which makes it easier to get the data of any student coming to us directly from your portal and not from our portal. So we don’t need to be collecting any data again.

“At the same time, we’re thinking of seeing how is it possible that a student can apply to your portal without coming to us. So it makes it so easy for the student when they’re doing registration, when they’re doing payments, they can select either to apply for NELFUND loans and the process will go through your portal. So you have all the data without ever reaching to NELFUND. All we need is for you to give assurance these are your students and if we have that, we pay you directly. It makes it simpler and faster for all the students.”

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