Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) is the regulatory body that responsible for the registration, licensing, and certification of teachers in Nigeria.
To be recognised as professional teacher in Nigeria, you must be certified by TRCN.
To be licensed and certified by TRCN in Nigeria, an intending teacher must apply and sit for TRCN certification examination.
Also, apart from licencing and certifications of professional teachers in Nigeria, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria ( TRCN) is also the body or organisation the issues Letter of Professional Standing on behalf of teachers in Nigeria.
This is a document showing professionalism and certification of teachers as a licensed professional in Nigeria.
Oftentimes, to be able to practice teaching profession abroad especially in advanced countries such as Canada, United Kingdom,USA, Australia, Letter of Professional Standing is demanded.
This makes Letter of Professional Standing a very big deal among teachers with interest in taking their teaching career outside Nigeria.
This article will provide a guide and steps to obtaining TRCN letter of professional standing in Nigeria especially for employment in UK, USA, Australia and Canada.
How to Obtain TRCN Letter of Professional Standing & Certificate
There are certain ways and procedures that aids in obtaining TRCN certificate as well as letter of professional standing.
Here are fastest and easy ways of getting TRCN certification and teachers letter of good standing.
Apply & Sit for TRCN Examination
The first step towards getting TRCN letter of good standing and certification is to apply and sit for TRCN examination.
Many government teachers usually sit for this examination in the early days of their careers. This makes them eligible to get letter of professional standing at any point in time.
But if you haven’t sat for TRCN examination you must register and sit for this examination to be able to obtain TRCN letter of professional standing for official purposes.
To be able to register and obtain TRCN letter of professional standing and certification, even if you haven’t had any teaching experience, you must possess either of the following qualifications:
- National Certificate in Education (NCE)
- Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) or Bachelor of Science in Education (B.Sc. Ed.).
- Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)
- Professional Diploma in Education (PDE)
Any of these qualifications and will make you eligible to register and write the TRCN examination also known as Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE).
The TRCN QPE (Qualified Professional Examination) is an online Computer-Based Test (CBT) that assesses the knowledge and competence of aspiring teachers in Nigeria.
The exam is designed to test the knowledge and skills of teachers in various subject areas, including pedagogy, curriculum design, and instructional delivery.
The TRCN QPE exam is made up of 60 multiple-choice questions, which must be completed within a one-hour time period as stipulated in the instructions
Licensing & Certification
Having sat for the TRCN qualified professional examination, the next step would be to get your Nigeria teacher’s license and certification.
With this document, holder can practise both in Nigeria and outside Nigeria as a professional teacher.
This license can be equated to those issued to other professionals in following fields such as nurses, doctors, engineers etc.
It gives holders both national and international recognition as trained teachers.
After getting your TRCN license and certification, you can easily apply for letter of professional standing.
The TRCN license is subject to renewal after every 3 years and this simply entails paying of some amount of money to the professional body.
Apply for Letter of Professional Standing
After completing the above processes, then you can now apply for TRCN letter of professional standing.
This you can do by submitting a letter requesting for teacher letter of professional standing on your behalf.
Also, the letter must be attached to your TRCN license and certificate. Also, you will have to pay for the cost of getting TRCN professional standing at any designated bank recognised by the body.
After which, you can submit the application at TRCN state office or national headquarters for onward processing.
Also, if you want the letter of professional standing be sent to international agency in UK or US, it must be indicated and you will cover the cost of courier too
Cost of Getting/ Obtaining TRCN Letter of Professional Standing
The official cost and amount of obtaining Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria letter of professional standing is about N60,000.
This fee is payable at any commercial bank in Nigeria. However, more fees might be demanded especially if the Letter of Professional Standing is expected to be sent directly by TRCN to applicants designated location or address. This will cover for logistics and courier services.
How Long Does it Take to Get TRCN Letter of Professional Standing?
The question of how long or much time it takes to get letter of professional standing in Nigeria is a reoccurring one.
From our findings, the duration of getting letter of professional standing from time of application is relative.
This is because certain factors such as number of applications, state applied from and courier (if need be) are some of the factors that determines how fast one can get TRCN letter of professional standing in Nigeria.
So,the best would be to follow up with staff working at TRCN office.
Nevertheless, in an interview with some teachers who have processed their letter of professional standing from TRCN, many noted that the process took about 2 weeks to 1 month to be out and ready.
