Teachers can Teach anywhere in the World

Professor Josiah Ajiboye is the Registrar/Chief Executive of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), a teacher's regulatory body in Nigeria. Teachers mobility, presumably called 'brain-drain' in many quarters is generating heated concern among the public as many Nigerian teachers are migrating to the UK, USA and some other countries in droves. This could lead to shortage of professionals in the teaching profession. in response to this view, professor Josiah Ajiboye disagrees with this view and that said that it is not "Brain-drain" but rather, "teaching Mobility." He averred that teachers are free to teach anywhere. He also discuss other issues relating to the teaching profession in Nigeria, what the TRCN is doing to regulate the teaching profession, develop quality teachers and the current trends in the profession among others things. The professor of social studies shares his experiences on this. Below are excerpts of the interview with the Editor, School Connect Magazine, 

Olugbenga Adebiyi John.

How do we stem the tide of brain-drain especially among our teachers migrating to the UK and other countries in search of greener pastures? We don't talk about brain drain; we actually look at it as brain sharing. We talk about global teacher mobility. Teachers, like other professionals, should be free to work in any part of the world. When we were in secondary schools, we were taught by Ghanaian and Indian teachers. Now it is the turn of Nigerian teachers to also go out there and help develop the education system of other countries. So, it is not brain drain at all, it is about global teacher mobility.

The teaching profession is at its brinks as many young people are not choosing the teaching as a career. What could be responsible for this and how can we make the teaching profession more attractive? When you say the teaching profession is at its brink, I don't understand. Brink of collapse? Brink of what? With the efforts that have been put in by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), especially since 2016, you will agree with me there has been a lot programs to revitalize the teaching profession in Nigeria and to make it more attractive to young people. Specifically in 2020 at the World Teachers Day celebration on October 5th, the Honourable Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu announced a lot of mouth-watering incentives for the Nigeria teachers as approved by the President and Commander-In-Chief, Mohammadu Buhari. The incentives were premised on two things: one, how do we attract brains to the teaching profession in Nigeria and, two, how do we retain experienced teachers on the job. Prominent among those incentives is bursary awards and scholarships for education students in our tertiary institutions and elongation of retirement age for serving teachers. These incentives have had significant positive effects on enrollment for education programs and boosting the morale of the teachers and would-be teachers.

In your previous interview you revealed that more than 650 teachers have migrated abroad this January alone. What could this portend for the teaching profession in Nigeria and for the TRCN as a professional body? I have mentioned the fact that teacher migration is part of global strategy to address the challenge of insufficient teaching force in some parts of the world. Yes, Nigeria is not spare in this global phenomenon, but our teachers are global teachers, they are not just prepared for Nigeria environment only.

 In our quest to meet up with the labour demands and to compete globally in terms of graduates churned out from the university, there is the need to overhaul the curriculum. What do you think could be added to our current curriculum so as to meet these demands especially making our graduates have entrepreneurial skills/mindset and not be jobseekers?  A lot of efforts are going on in the area of reengineering our education curricular from basic to tertiary levels in Nigeria to meet the 21st century challenges and the global world of work. For basic education, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has done a lot in terms of review of old curricular and development of new ones. In fact, the National Universities Commission has just released a new curricular, moving from BMAS to Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), all in the efforts to rejuvenate the curricular. Curriculum review and change is a dynamic thing, and all relevant institutions in education are not resting on their oars.

I stumbled across a report in which someone said that he did analysis of the winners of the Spelling Bee competition which has been giving birth to the one-day governor and found out that most of the winner of this competition are from the eastern part of the country and not from the werst. In your own view what could you say could be responsible for this? Is it an indication that the westerners are not at the forefront of knowledge any longer? Maybe you will spare me from that controversy. I have not been following up with the Spelling Bees competition. But I can only encourage all the States in the Federation to invest more in the education of our children. If truly we agree that they are the future leaders, we need to scale up investment in education in Nigeria. Other countries are investing a larger percentage of their GDP and annual budgets to Education, significantly more than what we do around here. Also, investment in teacher education and professional development in highly imperative to have quality education.       

 What is the TRCN doing to meet the United Nations agenda of the goal 4. According to the UN, by the year 2030, all girls and boys must have access to complete, free equitable and quality education. In what way can we align with this goal to make it realisable in Nigeria? The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria as a teaching regulatory body is particularly working in tandem with the Federal Ministry of Education and its agencies and all the States Ministry of Education, Teaching Service Commissions and SUBEBs to ensure that Nigeria has quality teachers to deliver an inclusive education system. We produced the professional standards for teaching in Nigeria, a new career path policy for Nigeria teachers, professional qualifying examination, and certification and licencing of professional teachers. SDG 4.3 is all about quality teachers and this has been the major preoccupation of the TRCN.

How is the TRCN ensuring that teachers are meeting up with the professional and ethical standards in the profession and making teaching impactful as it is the demand of the profession? Given its mandate, the TRCN is primarily concerned with quality teachers through its regulatory activities as mentioned above. And the efforts of TRCN has attracted global accolades, including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certificate in October 2022. Furthermore, TRCN is a member of the International Forum for Teaching Regulatory Authorities (IFTRA) and presently the Registrar of TRCN is the sitting President of the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA), that is to show you that TRCN is a global player in teacher regulatory affairs.

Thanks so much. Could we tell us about yourself? My name is Professor Josiah Olusegun Ajiboye. I am the Executive Director of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) - a body saddled with the onerous task of regulating the teaching profession. Besides, we are also involves in certifying the teachers. As a regulatory body, we ensure ethics, standards and effectiveness of the teaching profession. I was appointed the Registrar/Chief Executive of this body by President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari on 1st August, 2016 where I am currently serving tjhe nation towards uplifting the teaching profession in Nigeria. I am married to Dr. (Mrs.,) R.O Ajiboye and we are blessed with children.   

I obtained my BEd, MEd and PhD from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. I was a professor of Social and Civics/Environmental Education at the University of Ibadan, where I have also served as the HOD/Department of Teachers Education, Faculty of Education.

I have played active role as a member of the Social Studies of Nigeria (SOSAN), and the Secretary, Social Studies Association of Nigeria (Western Zone) from  1999-2011. Besides, I was member of the senate of the University of  Ibadan from 1988-2004. I was appointed again as a member from 2011-2016.

Besides, I was a member of the governing council of the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa between year 2000 and year 2004 and again in year 2010 and 2015. I am the Deputy President of the Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA).

I also took active role in ASUU as the helmsman of the University of Ibadan branch from November 24th to January 22nd, 2016. At present, I am the Zonal Coordinator of the UI Ibadan Zone till date.