The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has officially cleared the air regarding recent technical hiccups, confirming that its digital portal is fully operational following a brief service disruption in December.

The Registrar, Dr. Ronke Soyombo, addressed the press in Abuja on Thursday to dispel rumors of persistent system failures. She revealed that the week-long downtime in December was the result of technical issues with a former service provider. To rectify the situation, the Council swiftly disengaged the developer and migrated to a new provider.

“At no time in January was the portal down,” Dr. Soyombo stated, dismissing claims of ongoing issues as misleading. She emphasized that maintaining a functional system is tied directly to the Council’s mandate and its responsibility to generate government revenue.

While the technical infrastructure is now stable, Dr. Soyombo acknowledged that some teachers still struggle to navigate the platform. She attributed these difficulties to varying levels of digital literacy rather than system errors.

To ensure no teacher is left behind, the TRCN is employing a multi-channel approach which includes:

Physical Registration: State offices remain open across the federation for manual processing.

Institutional Support: Help desk officers have been deployed to various tertiary institutions.

Rural Outreach: The Council is conducting mobile registration drives and sensitization campaigns in underserved communities.

Stakeholder Synergy: TRCN is working closely with the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and state commissioners to bridge the connectivity gap.

In a move to further modernize the registration process, the Registrar announced that a new mobile application is slated for launch by the end of April. This app aims to make access more convenient for users, particularly those in areas with fluctuating internet. The Council is also actively exploring the integration of offline features to support teachers in remote regions.

Dr. Soyombo concluded by reinforcing the Council’s core mandate: every individual teaching in Nigeria must be certified.

“Whether you teach children or adults, you must be registered. The minimum qualification remains the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) or a degree supplemented by a relevant education training, such as a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE).”