More than 3000 professional teachers have so far registered to take part in the 4th edition of the annual online conference to be hosted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

Acting Registrar/Chief Executive, Stella Maria Nwokeocha, confirmed this during a press conference,  saying the conference of registered teachers in Nigeria is scheduled to hold between October 16 and 17, 2024.

He said the conference is for both teachers at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, public and private

Nwokeocha said there is a global concern about teacher quality and the future of the teaching profession, noting that the first ever United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) 2023 Global Report on Teachers, which focused on teacher shortages, had confirmed the threats that teacher shortages and poor professional skills pose to the education system.

She noted that the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, had set up a High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, which released its report and recommendations this year, 2024.

The report, she said, confirmed “a dramatic shortage of teachers worldwide” and the existence of millions of teachers who lack the support, skills, and continuing training they need to meet the demands of rapidly changing education systems.”

She noted that the forthcoming conference was organised in line with the recommendations to highlight issues affecting the profession and to further call for urgent action to address some of these serious challenges in the teaching profession that pertain to pre-service teacher education and continuous professional development.

She added that the conference was a special response to the emerging global continental and national issues of interest to the teaching profession and education in Nigeria.

“Therefore, the theme of the Conference, “Advancing Teacher Professionalisation in Nigeria Towards Education 2030: Challenges, Strategies and Prospects” is directly linked to international concerns and will deal with sub-themes such as the (a) Strategies for quality teaching and lifelong learning; (b) National and international best practices in continuous professional upskilling of teachers especially with respect to knowledge, skills, attitudes, conduct and orientation of teachers; (c) Implementation of Professional Development [PD] credits in advancing teachers along the career stages: (4) Institutionalisation of the Community of Practice [COP] within the teaching profession in Nigeria; and (d) Fostering of collaborative learning; among others.

“National and international experts across the specialisations in the teaching profession have been invited to make presentations,” she stated.

The acting registrar of TRCN added that Nigeria, as the “Giant of Africa,” has a huge share of the teacher shortage, saying there was a need for continuous updating of the professional skills and competencies of teachers along the lines identified by these evolving global concerns and recommendations as provided.