PROGRAMME · SINCE 2014
Teacher Professional Development
Registration with the Teachers Registration Council, subject-mastery clinics, school-based mentoring and the upgrading of Grade II and NCE teachers to a degree. ₦7,800,000,000 committed this year across the State's 78,000 teachers.
The constraint that binds everything else
A school system is the teachers in it. Kano has about 78,000 of them across all boards, and the pupil–teacher ratio stands at 44 to one against a standard of forty. Recruitment closes part of that gap and classroom construction closes another part, but neither improves what happens in the lesson once the door is shut. That is what this programme is for.
Two things are wrong and they are different problems. The first is qualification: a significant number of serving teachers hold the Grade II certificate or the Nigeria Certificate in Education when the national minimum is moving to a degree, and they cannot be replaced wholesale without emptying the classrooms. The programme upgrades them in service, part-time, with the fees met and the post held open. The second is practice: a well-qualified teacher who has never had a lesson observed and discussed will teach as they were taught. That is what the mentoring and the subject clinics address.
Registration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria sits across both. It is the professional licence to teach, it is required by law, and the Ministry meets the cost for serving teachers in public schools and runs the registration exercise on site rather than making a teacher travel for it.
The teaching workforce
78,000
Teachers state-wide
All boards, public and approved private
44:1
Pupil–teacher ratio
Against a standard of 40:1
₦7.8bn
Committed this year
Upgrading, clinics, mentoring and registration
6,400
On the upgrade route
Grade II and NCE teachers reading for a degree
The four strands
A teacher may be on more than one strand at a time. All four are free to the teacher and none of them requires a payment to anybody at any stage.
Professional registration
TRCN
Registration and licensing with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, the professional licence required by law to teach. The Ministry meets the cost for serving teachers in public schools and runs registration exercises at zonal centres so that no teacher has to travel to Abuja for it.
Qualification upgrading
Grade II and NCE to degree
A part-time degree in education taken in service, with the fees met by the State, the post held open and study leave for contact sessions and examinations. About 6,400 teachers are currently on the route, and the undertaking is to serve the State for five years after completion.
Subject-mastery clinics
Termly, by subject
Short intensive clinics in the subject a teacher actually teaches — mathematics, English, the sciences and Hausa first, because that is where the assessment data shows the weakness. Run at zonal centres in the mid-term break so that classes are not lost.
School-based mentoring
Weekly, in the school
A lead teacher in each school observes lessons, discusses them and models teaching, on a weekly cycle. It is the cheapest strand and the evidence says it is the one that changes classroom practice most. Lead teachers are trained and receive a responsibility allowance.
Qualification routes
The national minimum teaching qualification is moving to a degree. These are the routes a serving teacher in Kano can take, all of them in service and all with the fees met.
| Starting from | Route | Length, part-time | Cost to the teacher | Undertaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade II certificate | Nigeria Certificate in Education, then a degree in education | Three years, then three | Nothing — fees, materials and examination charges met | Five years of service after completion |
| Nigeria Certificate in Education | Degree in education, part-time | Three years | Nothing — fees, materials and examination charges met | Five years of service after completion |
| Degree in a subject, without education | Postgraduate diploma in education | Eighteen months | Nothing — fees met | Three years of service after completion |
| Any recognised teaching qualification | TRCN registration and licensing | Registration exercise at a zonal centre | Met by the Ministry for serving public school teachers | Continuing professional development to retain the licence |
How a teacher joins a strand
Applications go through the head of school and the board that employs the teacher. Nothing is charged and no payment to any individual is required at any point.
Confirm your registration status first
Registration with the Teachers Registration Council is the foundation and every other strand assumes it. If you are not registered, start there — the teacher licensing service sets out what is needed and when the next zonal exercise is.
Discuss with the head of school
The head of school nominates for the clinics and endorses an application for the upgrade route, and is the person who has to cover the classes during contact sessions. Nominations are made in the term before the programme runs.
Apply through your employing board
SUBEB for basic education teachers, KSSMB for senior secondary, STSB for technical, KSQISMB for integrated Islamiyyah schools. The board confirms service, qualification and standing.
Selection for the upgrade route
Places are limited by what the classrooms can spare. Selection weighs years of service, current qualification, the subject shortage in the school, and the school's ability to cover the contact sessions. Unsuccessful applicants are carried forward to the next round.
Study leave, fees and the undertaking
Fees, materials and examination charges are met by the State, study leave is granted for contact sessions and examinations, and the teacher signs an undertaking to serve the State for a defined period after completion.
Record the development in your professional file
Clinics, mentoring cycles and qualifications are recorded on the teacher's professional file, which is what a promotion board looks at and what supports the renewal of the professional licence.
Why mentoring is the strand that works
A workshop in a hotel changes what a teacher knows. It rarely changes what a teacher does on a Tuesday morning in a class of forty-eight. School-based mentoring is the strand built to change the second thing: a trained lead teacher in the school observes a lesson, sits down with the teacher afterwards and works through what happened, models a technique in their own class, and comes back the following week.
It costs a fraction of what the residential programmes cost, it loses no teaching time, and the classroom observation data shows the largest movement against it. The constraint is the supply of lead teachers, which is why lead teacher training is now the first call on the strand's budget.
- A trained lead teacher in each school, on a weekly observation cycle.
- Observation, discussion, modelling and a return visit — not a rating exercise.
- A responsibility allowance for lead teachers.
- No teaching time lost, because it happens inside the school day.
Questions teachers ask
Do I have to pay for TRCN registration?
Will I lose my post if I take the upgrade route?
I hold a Grade II certificate. Can I still teach?
How are clinic places allocated?
Is mentoring an assessment of my teaching?
Does the programme cover private school teachers?
How is the programme measured?
Register, upgrade, or join a clinic
Start with your registration status and speak to your head of school about the next round of nominations.