The Federal Government has unveiled plans to close long-standing qualification gaps in teaching education through an Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP) that will target 250,000 serving teachers across the country.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Education on Friday, the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) Kaduna, under Prof. Sadiya Sani Daura, has been saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the programme under the supervision of the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.

Alausa noted in the statement , that the ATPP was conceived to tackle a persistent structural flaw in the system where many teachers have remained in classrooms without meeting professional standards.

He said it had become a concern to policymakers that a large number of these teachers were not licensed by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and therefore operated outside the regulatory framework the council is meant to enforce.

The Minister stressed that under the Renewed Hope Agenda, the goal is not to push them out of classrooms but to equip them with the right credentials.

According to the statement, NTI will act as the Coordinating Secretariat and run the programme through established institutions rather than create a new project unit.

It will work in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the TRCN, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), the National Universities Commission (NUC), and the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure nationwide coverage and alignment.

The statement stated that to accommodate different entry qualifications, the programme will run two tracks in a blended format.

Teachers who already have a university degree but not in education will go through the Postgraduate Diploma in Education ( PGDE)while those with a National Diploma will take the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE).

The statement added that both tracks will mix self-paced online learning with virtual facilitation, periodic assessments, and a supervised teaching practice that will be carried out in the teachers’ actual schools instead of off-site centres.

“In preparation for the take-off of the programmes, the academic track has been substantially completed. The curriculum frameworks for both routes have been reviewed, validated and finalised, and module development has been carried out by a national panel of approximately forty content experts drawn from universities, colleges of education and the mandate agencies: NTI, TRCN, NSSEC, UBEC and the NERDC.

“In addition, the programme architecture has been mapped across the federal, state and local tiers. The remaining scope covers the digital curriculum delivery flow, the teaching practice component, and engagement with partner institutions.

“On content delivery, the approach is blended by necessity, combining virtual and physical components; rather than by preference. The design places four components in a repeating cycle across each module, to ensure that no teacher progresses on the strength of digitaltechnology alone,” the statement said.

The statement added that NTI being the Secretariat, will coordinate curriculum, content management and quality assurance of deliverables with collaboration with UBEC and the Steering Committee.

“The ATPP is a six-month programme that comprises four months of intensive instruction and a two-month teaching practice component.

“The teaching practice component is most likely to determine whether the pathway produces a change in the classroom or merely a change in paperwork.

“Its design rests on three requirements: a structured practicum, a mentor and supervisor protocol, and documented evidence of practice lessons, pupils’ artifacts and work, and supervisor sign-offs, all held against the candidate’s records.

“The training provides a credible, affordable and time-bound route through which serving teachers without teaching qualifications can obtain TRCN-recognised professional qualifications,” the statement said.

The Federal Government has unveiled plans to close long-standing qualification gaps in teaching education through an Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP) that will target 250,000 serving teachers across the country.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Education on Friday, the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) Kaduna, under Prof. Sadiya Sani Daura, has been saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the programme under the supervision of the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.

Alausa noted in the statement , that the ATPP was conceived to tackle a persistent structural flaw in the system where many teachers have remained in classrooms without meeting professional standards.

He said it had become a concern to policymakers that a large number of these teachers were not licensed by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and therefore operated outside the regulatory framework the council is meant to enforce.

The Minister stressed that under the Renewed Hope Agenda, the goal is not to push them out of classrooms but to equip them with the right credentials.

According to the statement, NTI will act as the Coordinating Secretariat and run the programme through established institutions rather than create a new project unit.

It will work in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the TRCN, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), the National Universities Commission (NUC), and the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure nationwide coverage and alignment.

The statement stated that to accommodate different entry qualifications, the programme will run two tracks in a blended format.

Teachers who already have a university degree but not in education will go through the Postgraduate Diploma in Education ( PGDE)while those with a National Diploma will take the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE).

The statement added that both tracks will mix self-paced online learning with virtual facilitation, periodic assessments, and a supervised teaching practice that will be carried out in the teachers’ actual schools instead of off-site centres.

“In preparation for the take-off of the programmes, the academic track has been substantially completed. The curriculum frameworks for both routes have been reviewed, validated and finalised, and module development has been carried out by a national panel of approximately forty content experts drawn from universities, colleges of education and the mandate agencies: NTI, TRCN, NSSEC, UBEC and the NERDC.

“In addition, the programme architecture has been mapped across the federal, state and local tiers. The remaining scope covers the digital curriculum delivery flow, the teaching practice component, and engagement with partner institutions.

“On content delivery, the approach is blended by necessity, combining virtual and physical components; rather than by preference. The design places four components in a repeating cycle across each module, to ensure that no teacher progresses on the strength of digitaltechnology alone,” the statement said.

The statement added that NTI being the Secretariat, will coordinate curriculum, content management and quality assurance of deliverables with collaboration with UBEC and the Steering Committee.

“The ATPP is a six-month programme that comprises four months of intensive instruction and a two-month teaching practice component.

“The teaching practice component is most likely to determine whether the pathway produces a change in the classroom or merely a change in paperwork.

“Its design rests on three requirements: a structured practicum, a mentor and supervisor protocol, and documented evidence of practice lessons, pupils’ artifacts and work, and supervisor sign-offs, all held against the candidate’s records.

“The training provides a credible, affordable and time-bound route through which serving teachers without teaching qualifications can obtain TRCN-recognised professional qualifications,” the statement said.

The Federal Government has unveiled plans to close long-standing qualification gaps in teaching education through an Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP) that will target 250,000 serving teachers across the country.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Education on Friday, the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) Kaduna, under Prof. Sadiya Sani Daura, has been saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the programme under the supervision of the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.

Alausa noted in the statement , that the ATPP was conceived to tackle a persistent structural flaw in the system where many teachers have remained in classrooms without meeting professional standards.

He said it had become a concern to policymakers that a large number of these teachers were not licensed by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria and therefore operated outside the regulatory framework the council is meant to enforce.

The Minister stressed that under the Renewed Hope Agenda, the goal is not to push them out of classrooms but to equip them with the right credentials.

According to the statement, NTI will act as the Coordinating Secretariat and run the programme through established institutions rather than create a new project unit.

It will work in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the TRCN, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), the National Universities Commission (NUC), and the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure nationwide coverage and alignment.

The statement stated that to accommodate different entry qualifications, the programme will run two tracks in a blended format.

Teachers who already have a university degree but not in education will go through the Postgraduate Diploma in Education ( PGDE)while those with a National Diploma will take the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE).

The statement added that both tracks will mix self-paced online learning with virtual facilitation, periodic assessments, and a supervised teaching practice that will be carried out in the teachers’ actual schools instead of off-site centres.

“In preparation for the take-off of the programmes, the academic track has been substantially completed. The curriculum frameworks for both routes have been reviewed, validated and finalised, and module development has been carried out by a national panel of approximately forty content experts drawn from universities, colleges of education and the mandate agencies: NTI, TRCN, NSSEC, UBEC and the NERDC.

“In addition, the programme architecture has been mapped across the federal, state and local tiers. The remaining scope covers the digital curriculum delivery flow, the teaching practice component, and engagement with partner institutions.

“On content delivery, the approach is blended by necessity, combining virtual and physical components; rather than by preference. The design places four components in a repeating cycle across each module, to ensure that no teacher progresses on the strength of digitaltechnology alone,” the statement said.

The statement added that NTI being the Secretariat, will coordinate curriculum, content management and quality assurance of deliverables with collaboration with UBEC and the Steering Committee.

“The ATPP is a six-month programme that comprises four months of intensive instruction and a two-month teaching practice component.

“The teaching practice component is most likely to determine whether the pathway produces a change in the classroom or merely a change in paperwork.

“Its design rests on three requirements: a structured practicum, a mentor and supervisor protocol, and documented evidence of practice lessons, pupils’ artifacts and work, and supervisor sign-offs, all held against the candidate’s records.

“The training provides a credible, affordable and time-bound route through which serving teachers without teaching qualifications can obtain TRCN-recognised professional qualifications,” the statement said.