TRCN Inducts 759 UniPort Graduate Teachers

A total of 759 new teachers trained by the Centre for Teacher Education and In-service Training in the Faculty of Education, took the Teachers Oath of Allegiance at the first Faculty-wide Induction ceremony of first degree and Postgraduate Diploma recipients in Education, which held at the Ebitimi Banigo Auditorium, University Park, on Wednesday, February 4, 2015...


Administering the Oath on the new Inductees, Registrar of the Teachers' Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Professor Addison Wokocha, commended authorities of the University for organising such a special ceremony to induct graduate teachers, expressing optimism that such a tradition would be sustained by the University.
Professor Wokocha, who was represented by the Assistant Director of Professional Regulations, Mrs. Jacinta Ametepe-Ogbosso, charged the Inductees to treat the exercise with the highest level of commitment to professionalism, stating that “the Oath is the most statutory requirement for admission into any profession. It is, therefore, an international best practice and benchmark that every intending teacher must take before being admitted to practise the profession. Administration of the Oath symbolizes the induction of all new graduate teachers into the profession that is no longer open to non-professionals.
“Nigeria needs teachers, who will meet the expectations of the nation; teachers who will help the nation raise citizens whose performance will meet international standards,” Professor Wokocha noted, stressing that “we cannot achieve the expected quality education without competent teachers and educational administrators, who are properly equipped with the right kind of knowledge, skills and effective operations of the educational system”.
Earlier in his welcome address, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joseph Ajienka, who congratulated the Inductees for seeking professional certification after graduation, noted that he was deeply touched after listening to the Anthem of the TRCN. “Teaching as the TRCN Anthem says is a noble profession that should be jealously guarded. Many people go into teaching because there are no other choice jobs, which is a very dangerous development. I want us to reflect on the statement that 'the reward of a teacher is in heaven,' but many people make this statement in a mocking tone to mean that teachers are the poorest professionals. We need professional teachers we can look up to; teachers who have been found worthy both in character and in learning. As a teacher, you need to conduct yourself in such a manner that people can look up to you, rather than look down on you.
“In the University, we graduate students who are found worthy in character and learning and we expect teachers to train students with character and skills. The decay we find in the university system today originates from the poor quality of some teachers. So, if the teachers are found worthy in character, then the children will be found worthy too,” he stated.
Delivering the Induction Lecture entitled: “Pedagogical Challenges of the 21st Century: Issues, Concerns and the Way Forward  for the  Teaching Profession in Nigeria,” Director of the Nomadic Education Centre for the South-South zone and Former Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Benjamin Eheazu, highlighted some pedagogical challenges and concerns facing teachers in the 21st Century. He stressed the need for improved development and training in pedagogy to enable teachers respond positively to the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in and outside the classroom setting. He also stressed the need for capacity building among teachers to enable them effectively manage the poor learning attitude of pupils, calling for more emphasis on improvisation of instructional materials that would enrich the learning process.
Also speaking, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Lawrence Igwe, expressed gratitude to Management of the University for its support, appealing to the new Inductees to continue to apply themselves to what they have been taught. “Today, all Inductees stand as our Ambassadors and as you move into your various classrooms, you must equip yourself with two basic concepts which are the doctrine of local parentis and vicarious liability.”
Speaking on behalf of the Inductees, Professor Israel Owate of the Department of Physics, thanked Management of the University and his lecturers for affording them the rare opportunity to become professional teachers, urging his colleagues to apply themselves to what they have learnt so as to make themselves better teachers.