…46 inducted in Benue

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

A major stride in improving the quality of basic education in Nigeria was recorded Friday, as Save the Children International, SCI, through the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) project in collaboration with the Federal and State Ministries of Education, successfully certified and inducted 130 Volunteer Teachers into the teaching profession through the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

The ceremony, conducted simultaneously across the five implementing states of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River and Taraba, marked a significant milestone in strengthening the teaching workforce in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.

The induction stands as a testament to the collective effort invested in improving access to quality learning for vulnerable children, including refugees, girls and boys living with disabilities, and those in rural host communities.

Save the Children International, under the GPE project, had posted and supported volunteer teachers in communities experiencing acute shortages of government teachers. Out of the 130 volunteers certified across the country, 46 successfully inducted teachers were from Benue State.

Speaking during the event, the GPE Programme Manager, Mr. Joseph Kolapo, described the exercise as a fulfillment of a long-term commitment to strengthening the education system. He explained that the volunteers were recruited and placed in schools lacking adequate government teachers and were consistently trained to improve their capacity.

According to him, Save the Children also supported volunteers without TRCN certification to register and sit for the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE), enabling them to transition into fully licensed teachers.

“In schools where we have less number of government teachers, we recruited and posted volunteer teachers to these schools and then we also provided them with series of professional trainings. For some of them who do not have TRCN certification, we registered them for the examination and for those that passed the examination, 46 of them are being inducted as professional teachers today in Benue State,” Kolapo said.

He further appealed to the government to absorb the newly certified teachers into the state workforce, adding, “We call on the State Ministry of Education and the State Universal Basic Education Board to consider these volunteers for employment.”

Representing the Benue State Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, Dr. Margaret Adamu, the Director of Education Support Services, Mrs. Sember Saamo, expressed the government’s appreciation to Save the Children International and the Federal Ministry of Education for considering the state in the project. She commended SCI for its meticulous implementation and charged the inductees to uphold professionalism.

“The Hon. Commissioner’s message is that we appreciate the Federal Government for considering our state. We also appreciate the Grant Agent, Save the Children International, for the meticulous and judicious work they did,” Saamo said, urging the inductees to create conducive learning environments for their learners.

Similarly, the Executive Chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Grace Adagba, represented by the Liaison Officer for Donor Agencies, Mr. Cletus Ikpilakaa, encouraged the teachers to understand the weight of their new responsibility. He reminded them that their roles extend beyond teaching to shaping the future of children.

“To the volunteer teachers that are being inducted today, they are not just teachers but instructors to the learners moulding their future for challenges ahead. So, they should not just take that induction as a ceremony but as a challenge to do more in the classroom to impart the learners, especially making the classroom learner centered rather than teacher centered,” he urged.

Also speaking, the representatives of the Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) and Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs. Mary Aniekwe and Mrs. Rose Udohekpo both commended Save the Children International for supporting the professionalization of volunteer teachers under the GPE project.

They described the certification as a gateway to profound opportunities. “Having that certificate has exposed them to work anywhere. They can use it to travel out to USA, any place,” Aniekwe stated, charging the inductees to be ambassadors of TRCN and SCI.

One of the inductees, Mr. Simon Ukor, spoke with visible excitement and gratitude, acknowledging the role Save the Children International and TRCN played in giving them a professional identity.

“Today, it has given us inspiration and the boldness to call ourselves professional teachers because when you are talking to your colleagues and they ask you, are you a professional teacher? You check within yourself; have I been given a certificate by TRCN? Do I have a licence to teach as a teacher? But now, we have those things in our hands. So, it makes me proud to stand before my colleagues and present myself as a professional teacher. I want to say a big thank you to Save The Children International and TRCN,” Ukor said.

In her closing remarks, the Commissioner for Education and Knowledge Management, encouraged the newly inducted teachers to uphold the professional ethics and standards set by TRCN and to raise the overall quality of education delivery in their communities.