The Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Dr Ronke Soyombo, has reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to partnering with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), describing the Board as one of Nigeria’s best-performing government agencies.
Dr Soyombo made the declaration during a courtesy visit to the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, in his office on February 9, 2026. She explained that the visit was part of TRCN’s broader strategy to collaborate with relevant agencies and leverage tested, technology-driven systems in delivering its mandate.
According to her, JAMB’s operational standards and examination processes offer models worth emulating. She noted that the Council is particularly interested in collaborating with the Board in areas such as serialisation of examinations, randomisation, enhanced monitoring mechanisms, and other integrity-driven innovations that have strengthened public confidence in JAMB’s assessments.
“JAMB is one of the best-performing agencies to partner with,” she said, adding that the Council intends to adopt some of the Board’s excellent practices to improve teacher certification and regulation processes nationwide.
Dr Soyombo also briefed the JAMB Registrar on reforms introduced within eight months of her assumption of office. She highlighted the digitisation of TRCN services, including the launch of the Teacher Services Portal Online, which enables teachers to register for examinations, verify their status within the civil service structure, access results, and print certificates remotely.
She further disclosed the introduction of an AI-powered lesson plan generator to enhance teachers’ preparedness and strengthen digital literacy competencies, particularly in response to low digital proficiency levels within the profession.
Other initiatives, she said, include the rollout of online digital literacy training programmes, an updated curriculum for the Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) to reinforce quality assurance, and the establishment of a Teacher Ethics and Criminal Record Verification Framework aimed at improving classroom safety and professional standards.
In his remarks, Prof. Oloyede congratulated Dr Soyombo on her appointment and commended the progress recorded under her leadership. He described TRCN as a critical institution in Nigeria’s human capital development ecosystem, stressing that teacher quality remains central to educational advancement.
Reflecting on his tenure as Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, he recalled the approval of a post-doctoral Diploma in Education programme designed to encourage senior academics to acquire pedagogical training without the stigma of sitting alongside junior colleagues.
He noted that the initiative was later adopted in some African countries as a model for professional development.
The JAMB Registrar also lamented the declining perception of the teaching profession, attributing it to poor reward systems and the misconception that teaching is an all-comers vocation.
He called on policymakers to address these structural issues and advocated for the revitalisation of Advanced Teachers Colleges (ATCs) as feeder institutions into the profession.
“Teaching is not a casual job; you must be trained to be one,” he stated.
Prof. Oloyede assured the TRCN delegation that JAMB remains open to collaboration and pledged continued support to ensure synergy between the two agencies for the mutual benefit of Nigeria’s education sector.
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