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  • NCCE begins curriculum review

    NCCE begins curriculum review

    The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has begun deploying upgraded technology across colleges of education as part of efforts to strengthen teaching and learning nationwide.

    Executive Secretary of NCCE, Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, who disclosed this in Abuja during an interaction with journalists, said that the commission is also reviewing the curriculum for colleges of education to ensure alignment with the present reality and global standards.

    He said, “We have entered into partnership with so many other development partners where we have upgraded technology as a means of delivery.

    “We have some of the companies like Huawei. Huawei is running an academy. Some of our students and lecturers are there.

    “In collaboration with UNESCO, we have also been doing some upskilling of our lecturers on the use of technology in lesson delivery. In many of our colleges, all the beneficiary institutions, we are deploying a new technology that we can use to enhance teaching and learning.”

    Okwelle, a Professor of Industrial Technology Education, also acknowledged the support of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), which he said has provided essential financial backing for the rollout of the new technologies in beneficiary institutions.

    Speaking on the curriculum review, he explained that the process, undertaken every five years, is currently underway, with new advancements and trends expected to be integrated into the updated framework.

    “We are reviewing our curriculum. We have entered another five-year cycle. The last one was in 2020. So we are now reviewing,” he said.

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    The NCCE boss also revealed that the commission is training lecturers in entrepreneurial skills to help embed innovation into teaching across all subject areas.

    He added, “We are building our lecturers. We believe that, as one of the things we are also considering in our curriculum, we believe that for every course, you can become an entrepreneur even in your course. Even as an English teacher, you can become an entrepreneur as an English teacher.

    “We are now building our lecturers with entrepreneurial skills, so that in whatever subject area or whatever area of teaching, you should be able to imbibe entrepreneurship in your teaching to prepare the minds of those students that even as you are graduating as a physics teacher, as an agric teacher, as a vocational teacher, whatever that means, that you as well can make a living out of what you have studied outside getting a government job.

    “That is the kind of training we are giving our lecturers. At the end of the day, we expect them to apply it in their teaching.”

  • NCCE inspects Heritage College of Education

    NCCE inspects Heritage College of Education

    The assessment team of National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has inspected the proposed Heritage College of Education, Owo in Ondo State.

    The team comprising experts and specialists in fields of education was at the institution to evaluate the college’s resources, facilities, personnel and infrastructure, to ensure it met the NCCE required minimum standards.

    Led by Dr. Abdulrahman Yahaya, other members of the team were Prof. James Onuh from University of Jos, Prof. Chinyere Ogbuanya from University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Mallam Sirajo Yabo and Mallam Zailani Umar as members.

    During the three-day visit, the NCCE team conducted a thorough assessment of the college’s facilities, including classrooms, laboratories, libraries, farm, garden, health and sport facilities, and offices, among others.

    The team said it interacted with the college’s workers on ground and reviewed relevant documents to gain a deeper understanding of the institution’s strengths and weaknesses.

    Yahaya, who spoke after the meeting, hailed the passion, commitment and resilience of the institution’s founders to bring quality education closer to the people.

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    He said interactions with workers provided valuable insights into the college’s teaching and learning capabilities.

    Representative of Ondo State Ministry of Education, Mrs. Olamide Odidiomo, said the state government was in support of the founders’ intention and assured them that when the proposed Heritage College of Education was approved, her ministry would monitor the college to ensure compliance with NCCE guidelines.

    Founder of the institution, Prof. Oladele Akogun, said the proposed Heritage College of Education had been working to improve access to quality education in Nigeria by preparing tomorrow’s educators today.

    He said the visit provided an opportunity for the college to showcase its progress and assured the college’s management of commitment to providing quality education as well as ensuring their students got the best possible learning experience.

  • NCCE praises AOCOED at inaugural lecture

    The National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has praised the management of the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) Oto/Ijanikin, Lagos for ‘setting the pace’in international best practice in teacher education.

    The Council, which is the regulatory body for colleges of education, expressed its satisfaction with the 61-year-old institution for setting examples for others to follow.

    NCCE representative, Mr Vitalis Uji, spoke during the inaugural lecture by Mr Anakoro Canice Ihentuge, a Chief Lecturer in the Department of English of AOCOED.

    Ihentuge spoke on the theme: ‘The creative artist in the 21st century”.

    Uji, who is the Director Academic Programme, recalled that no sooner had  the Council directed that any lecturer who attains the ‘Chief Lecturer’ status in colleges must deliver inaugural lecture, that AOCOED complied.

    “I can say without fear of contradiction that NCCE as a supervisory body is happy with the college because it has always played by the rules. For instance, the college has never lagged behind in accreditation and it’s always setting the pace in other quality assurance measures,” Uji said.

    “In 2013, AOCOED invited NCCE to conduct a staff audit in the college. The exercise lasted three weeks and a high quality report was produced, which must have gone a long way in elevating the quality of decision-making by the management. This college was the first in the country to take this measure, and since then other colleges across the country have followed suit,” he added.

    Uji said as it is the tradition in universities, the Commission also feels that teachers who have reached the the height of their profession must deliver their inaugural lecture in compliance with international best practice.

    Delivering the lecture, Ihentunge said unlike the previous generations, the 21-century artist have more challenges to contend with. The scenario, Ihentuge argued, is not helped by a surge in global malaise, such as poverty, food and water shortage, ritual killing, kidnapping, famine, corruption, war and global warming.

    Nevertheless, Ihentunge challenged contemporary artists to be on the move, having a deep understanding of the world he lives before putting pen on paper.

    Ihentunge said: “Indeed, corruption seems the hallmark of modern world governance, especially in Africa.Worse still, the young are overzealously being initiated into this ugly tradition.

    “The artist role as the watch-dog of the society is much more required in lifting the next generations out of the mire of extinction The artist should do more urgent and crazy things to save the generation. And like several other advocates of the arts, our proposal would be: ‘Now is the time to strengthen’ our institutions so that artists can emerge uniquely prepared to engage such important global concerns.”

    According to him, contemporary artists are boxed into a corner in their careers, particularly the one’s bordering on creativity and ingenuity. More worrisome is the fact that some teachers do not seem to appreciate art as a concept that is dynamic, he further explained.

    “Just as the society itself, art changes her garment every now and then. Art emanates from man, from nature, and from the creator Himself. Based on my experience, I boldly attest to the reality that ‘art is being’. Human being changed as their world gets transformed. The same happens to art; it cannot stand aloof beside man. It bears out man’s metamorphosis. Unfortunately, some educators do not realise this. Through ignorance or lack of imaginative ability or even indolence in the application of their natural aptitude, art suffers together with the society in their hands.”

    Earlier, AOCOED Provost, Dr Aina Ladele, assured the audience that the inaugural lecture had come to stay.

  • NCCE accreditation team visits college

    A 20-member accreditation team from the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Abuja, was at the College of Education Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, for a five-day quality assurance and assessment of facilities, academic programmes and appraisal of the teaching staff to ensure quality service delivery.

    The Acting Provost, Dr Victor Kehinde, who welcomed the accreditation committee, noted that the exercise is in line with the NCCE’s directives.

    According to him, academic programmes are to be accredited every five years to ensure quality in NCE awarding institutions in the production of teachers for Basic Education.

    The Provost noted that the academic programmes of the College are well-structured and strategically designed to expose students to contemporary formal training, skills acquisition and knowledge in areas pertinent to their fields of study to give them competitive edge over their peers.

    Kehinde added that the College has also embarked on aggressive manpower development through the sponsorship of its staff for postgraduate courses.

    He said: “I am pleased to inform this gathering that since the last accreditation exercise, a good number of our academic workers have bagged Ph.D while some are currently on their courses within and outside the country.”

    The Acting Provost hinted that the College has put in place a vibrant quality assurance unit which monitors teaching and learning to ensure qualitative control and assurance, stressing that it has also improved in other areas where the College was rated low during the last accreditation exercise, particularly the College Language Laboratory.

    The College has also strived to attain academic excellence by initiating national and international collaborations with the ICT University, Baton, Rouge, USA.

    The partnership, according to Kehinde, will afford students the opportunity to pursue a top-up Bachelor Degree programme up to Doctorate level, while academic and non-academic staff will have the opportunity to embark on sabbatical leave to Southern University ,Baton, Rouge, Louisiana, to promote cross fertilisation of ideas and knowledge  among others.

    He hoped the accreditation will further foster a healthy system. “It is our belief that the NCCE team and the panellists will bring up results that will further help the College boost her strength and improve on its weaknesses,” he added. 

    Leader of the accreditation team Dr Sam Ugwuoti said they were in the institution to assess the standard of each academic department to accredit courses which meet the required standard, and deny those that fall below the requirements.

    He explained that the team will ensure a quality exercise, even as he described their visit as a normal exercise done periodically in all Colleges of Education across the country.

    “We are here as part of our mandate to also interact and assess members of academic staff, their ranking, rating and qualifications. The Act establishing NCCE requires that every NCE programme run in the Colleges should be accredited and certified to be of acceptable standards for it to be operational. Therefore, it is illegal and criminal to run NCE programmes that are not accredited or whose accreditation statuses have expired,” he added.

  • UTME score no guarantee for admission – Registrar

    UTME score no guarantee for admission – Registrar

    The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says that only a combination of JAMB cut-off marks, post-UTME, O’ level results and other admission criteria as determined by institutions can ensure candidates’ admission.

    Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the JAMB registrar, disclosed this at an intensive Training and Sensitisation Forum on Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) for the 2017/2018 academic session on Thursday in Abuja.
    Oloyede said that scoring higher than the minimum cut-off marks did not guarantee admission but made candidates eligible for admission consideration.
    He added that institutions determined the institutional, programme and course cut-off marks and other admission criteria in exercise of their autonomy.
    According to him, the cut-off mark by JAMB is only a threshold below which no institution can admit candidates.
    “JAMB is not an examination body rather it is a ranking body. If there are enough spaces in the tertiary institutions there may not be need for UTME.
    “ JAMB is a screening body to rank already qualified candidates. It is a coordinating and clearing house.
    “The cut-off mark is not a pass or fail mark. It is not the total score but one of many factors such as post-UTME (where applicable), O’ Level results scoring, e.t.c.,” he explained.
    He added that regulating agencies such as the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), among others could decide the admission quota for institutions.
    He further explained that JAMB introduced CAPS so as to ensure that every UTME candidate got fair treatment.
    Oloyede said with CAPS, candidates now have the choice to either accept or reject admission offer.
    He, however, advised candidates to ensure that they indicate the acceptance or rejection of admission online and timely to enable the processing of onward admission.
    He, therefore, urged institutions to comply with their advertised criteria for admission including the cut-off marks.
    Oloyede also said that Nigeria operated the same system of admission procedure with other countries such as China, Iran, Republic of Georgia, Spain and Turkey.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that JAMB in Aug. 22, at the policy meeting by institutions decided to peg the 2017/2018 UTME cut-off marks for degree awarding institutions at 120.
    The meeting also pegged at 100 cut-off marks for admissions for National Diploma (ND) and Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE), among others.

  • Why schools must improve teacher’s education, by NCCE boss

    The Federal College of Education in Umunze, Anambra State, has held its 25th anniversary and 23rd convocation. At the event, stakeholders urged the Federal Government to elevate the college to a degree-awarding institution. 

    Based on its improved rating in technical knowledge and acclaimed academic excellence, the Federal College of Education (Technical) in Umunze, Anambra State, should be converted to a full-fledged University of Technical Education, former Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife has said.

    Ezeife urged the Federal Government to elevate the college to a degree awarding-institution, saying the move would widen students’ access to higher degrees in technical education and equip them with employable skills.

    The former governor made the appeal during the school’s silver jubilee anniversary, which was part of activities to mark its 23rd convocation of the college.

    Speaking on The nascent of Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze in the Southeast of Nigeria: The growth, impacts and strategic plans for tomorrow, Ezeife said the college stood a better chance of becoming a centre for excellent vocational and technical education in the region.

    The pioneer Provost and traditional ruler of Azia community, Prof Titus Eze, supported Ezeife’s call, saying the school would be a model University of Education.

    Also, former Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Prof Boniface Egboka, said the Federal Government needed to grant the college autonomy to award degree to satisfy the expectation of students.

    Prof Egboka, who chaired the college’s pre-convocation lecture, said the college witnessed improved infrastructure under the current management led by Prof Josephat Ogbuagu. He said the college had developed the capacity to become a university, with focus on vocational, technical and science training.

    Prof Ogbuagu noted that enrolment into the college increased progressively in the last five year, because of the introduction of the degree programme in affiliation with UNIZIK. He said the college’s employees showed exceptional dedication to train sound graduates of National Certificate in Education (NCE) and Professional Diploma in Education (PDE).

    “While we acknowledge and appreciate government’s efforts in improving the infrastructure in the college, it is necessary that we bring to your notice the needs for the college to meet up with provision of hostel accommodation for students, landscaping of the permanent site, revamping of campus roads,” he added.

    The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Prof Muhammadu Bappa-Aliyu, who was the guest lecturer at the pre-convocation event, stressed the need to focus on quality training to breed quality teachers for the change agenda of the Federal Government.

    Speaking on the theme: Qualitative teacher education and entrepreneurship in contemporary Nigerian society, Prof Bappa-Aliyu said Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TCRN) and other stakeholders must work out means of improving the position of teachers, noting that there was need for teachers with intellectual and professional background to add value to the profession. He said teachers must have a thorough knowledge of the subjects they teach in order not to misguide their students.

    He said: “A number of questions readily come to mind these days. Do teachers have a thorough knowledge of the subject they teach? Do teachers have a perfect command of the medium of instruction? Are they professionally trained for a classroom interaction with their students?

    To improve the quality of teacher education, schools must allow in-depth curriculum content, which are the basis for effective teachers and teaching.”

    He urged teachers to improve their knowledge to become authority in their chosen discipline. According to him, good teaching is the hallmark of teacher education.

    He said: “It is obvious that the progress of education requires that teachers should enjoy a moral and material status worthy of their mission. In some states of the federation and beyond, there is a problem in recruitment and retention in service of qualified teachers and this could be achieved only if the status of the profession is adequately recognised by teachers themselves, governments, education authorities and the public.

    “Teaching and learning should engage learners with big ideals, key processes or modes of discourse and narratives of subjects, so that learners can understand what constitutes quality and standards in particular domains. Schools must change today.”

    Others at the lecture included

  • NCCE shuts illegal college of education in Gombe 

    NCCE shuts illegal college of education in Gombe 

    The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has shut down Lakwanjang College of Education and Entrepreneurship, Kaltungo, Gombe State.

    The NCCE said that the college had been operating illegally in the State for over two years.

    The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Professor Monday Joshua, who led a crack team from the NCCE Headquarters, Abuja to raid the institution, said the college was operating from a ramshackle primary school in the State.

    According to him, information got to the management of the commission that an institution in Kaltungo, was running Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) illegally.

    Prof. Joshua said that the institution had advertised for and admitted unsuspecting students for two academic sessions without any involvement of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    He warned the students of the college that any certificates obtained from the illegal programmes would not be recognized in Nigeria.

    According to a statement on Thursday in Abuja endorsed by the commission’s Public Relations Officer, Mallam Garba Sulieman, said that the team from NCCE to close down the illegal college of education was surprised to learn from the students that the college conducted classes only in the evenings in the premises of a primary school at the Nasarawa area of Kaltungo town.

    The college had claimed through an advertisement that it offered NCE programmes in Primary Education Studies, Biology, Islamic Religion studies, Christian Religion Studies, Hausa Language, Mathematics, Computer studies, Business Education, Economics, Social Studies, Arabic Medium and NCE in English.

    The statement said that the NCCE boss on discovering the existence of the college ordered its immediate shutdown for alleged breach of the laws for the establishment of Colleges of Education in Nigeria as contained in the Act establishing the Commission.

    The management of the commission, according to the statement, has commenced necessary action to prosecute the promoters of the illegal institution.

    The Statement said: “The attention of NCCE had earlier been drawn to unconfirmed information that an institution existed in Kaltungo, illegally running NCE programme.

    “The management of NCCE consequently put up a team to investigate the institution based on the information obtained.

    “On Friday, 22nd January, 2016, the team from NCCE led by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, including Heads of Academic programmes Department and other senior staff of the Commission, visited the College on facts finding.

    “The College has operated illegally, purportedly training NCE teachers for the past two academic sessions, without recourse to the extant laws that should cover its establishment and operation.

    “The said Lakwanjang College of Education and Entrepreneurship, Kaltungo, is hereby closed down with immediate effect. The students and parents of the said College and the general public are to note that the NCE programmes purportedly run in the College have never been accredited and the College had never obtained approval to run the programmes.

    “Any certificates that will arise from such illegal programmes will not be recognized in Nigeria. This action is taken based on the mandate of NCCE, and also to save teacher education in Nigeria from further ridicule.”

     

  • Osinbajo tasks NCCE on quality of teachers

    Osinbajo tasks NCCE on quality of teachers

    The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has urged the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) to expedite action towards improving the quality of teachers in Nigerian schools.

    Osinbajo said there had been public outcry against the quality of NCE teachers in Nigeria, urging the NCCE to address the challenge through ongoing reforms.

    He urged the commission to ensure that the physical, psychological and academic environments producing Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) teachers meet the expected prescribed minimum standards.

    Osinbajo, who spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the Silver Jubilee celebration of the NCCE, added that the quality of teaching and learning is expected to improve greatly at the end of the ongoing reforms being carried out by the NCCE.

    The vice president, who was represented by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said with the establishment of the NCCE at the instance of Ashby Report’s recommendation, teacher training institutions, especially colleges of education in Nigeria now operate on national benchmark.

    He said: “I want to use this opportunity to draw attention of the NCCE to the public outcry on the quality of NCE teachers in our schools, and it is my hope that the commission will address this soonest via the ongoing reforms.

    “The commission is therefore challenged to ensure that colleges will henceforth produce specialized and right caliber teachers to teach at the various levels of basic education.

    “NCCE is called upon to rise to the challenge posed by illegal colleges of education operating in different parts of the country and to ensure that the physical, psychological and academic environments producing NCE teachers do meet the expected prescribed minimum standards.”

  • NCCE to shut colleges over non issuance of certificates

    Provosts of Colleges of Education, who are in the habit of over admitting students, but delay releasing their certificates years after graduation, may soon have their colleges shut down.

    The Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Abuja, Prof. Monday Joshua, read the Riot Act in College of Education, Afaha Nsit, Akwa Ibom State during the inauguration of Multi-Media Micro Teaching Laboratories and the flag off of the Personnel Training on the use and maintenance of the multi-media equipment for Colleges of Education, South-South Zone.

    The NCCE Executive Secretary, who is a Professor of Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation, also threatened to direct the authorities of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Boards (JAMB) to deny students admission into Colleges of Education known for non issuance of Certificates to students after graduation and prompt release of results after examinations.

    He however, commended the Provost of Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit, Dr. Patrick Uko, for instituting a policy of prompt issuance of certificates to students after completion of their academic programmes.

    Speaking on the use and maintenance of multi-media equipment in Colleges of Education, Prof. Joshua noted that since young learners are growing up in an increasingly digitalized world, and are being familiar and comfortable with most technological devices and learning gadgets, there was a compelling need to embark on comprehensive skills development to deepen teachers-students knowledge on the use of ICT.

    According to the Executive Secretary, the federal government considered and approved funds for the construction and equipping of state-of-the-art Multi-Media Micro Teaching Laboratories in all Federal Colleges of Education and one State College of Education in all the states of the federation, including the FCT.

    He added that as the project was commissioned and put to use, it was no longer necessary to engage foreign experts to showcase how new Information Communication Technology (ICT)- powered teaching methods can be delivered in College classrooms.

    The university don also reiterated government’s readiness to ensure continuous maintenance of the equipment in order to serve the intended function.

    The Executive Secretary however, lauded the effort of Dr Uko in transforming the landscape of the college through quality infrastructure.

    Earlier in his address, Dr Uko, expressed gratitude to the government and the Management of NCCE for choosing the College for the project, as well as training of staff for its use and maintenance.

  • NCCE clears air on Alvan Ikoku varsity status

    NCCE clears air on Alvan Ikoku varsity status

    The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) Friday cautioned the Staff and students of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education in Owerri, the Imo State capital, to respect the directives of the Federal Government, which has put the upgrading of the College to a University on hold.

    The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Professor Joshua Monday, who briefed journalists in Owerri, said that those resisting the directive are not doing the institution any good.

    According to him, the decision to reverse the four Colleges of Education that were upgraded to Universities of Education back to their former status, was not influenced by any person or group of persons within or outside the Colleges, but was taken by the President in his wisdom.

    According to him, “we are here to put the records straight. Alvan Ikoku is a one of the oldest Colleges of Education. It has been running as a degree awarding college in affiliation with other institutions. It was upgraded to a University of Education and the people jubiliated and everything was put in place. A Vice Chancellor was appointed, while the Provost became the Deputy Vice Chancellor.

    “But early this month there was a new directive from the Federal Government that the conversion be put on hold. It was expected that the directive will stir up emotion but one thing is certain that the Federal Government has spoken and the institution, whether remain as a University or College of Education, still belongs to the Federal Government”.

    The NCCE boss who was accompanied by Directors in the Commission, added further that, “after the directive was given, the four VCs were invited by the Federal Ministry of Education and told the implication of the directive, which is that the conversion has been reversed and there is no longer a place for the post of a VC. And for the Provosts who were the Deputy Vice Chancellors, they were also invited and told in clear terms the implication of the directive that they should go back and take over as Provosts and they were given authorization letters to that effect.

    “We know that the Staff and other individuals received the directive with mixed feelings which they are entitled to but no one should oppose the directive or be seen as fighting the Federal Government. So anyone still parading as a VC or manipulating the Staff or unions is not doing the institution any good.”

    Meanwhile, the staff and students had vowed to continue to resist the directive, until the Federal Government reverses itself on the decision.

    The students, who barricaded the school gate, lamented that some elements within the institution, were responsible for the downgrading of the University.

    When The Nation visited the College, the gate was still under lock and key, while heavily armed policemen guarded the premises to avoid breakdown of law and order.