FG Seeks Solutions to Challenges Facing Teacher Education in North-East

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The Federal Government has begun consultations with provosts and other stakeholders in the North-East as part of efforts to address challenges that could affect the implementation of the Dual Mandate Policy for Colleges of Education.

The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education, Dr Angela Ajala, disclosed this on Thursday at a stakeholder engagement held in Gombe.

Ajala said the engagement was designed to enable the commission to understand the specific difficulties confronting institutions in the region and work out practical measures before the policy becomes fully operational.

She explained that the consultations formed part of a wider engagement with Colleges of Education across the country, with the aim of strengthening teacher education and ensuring that graduates acquire both professional qualifications and practical skills.

Under the new policy, students of Colleges of Education are expected to have the opportunity to earn the National Certificate in Education, a Bachelor of Education degree and a skills certificate.

“We are here to know their challenges and how they can be solved. If it is what the colleges can solve on their own, what NCCE can solve or what the government needs to intervene,” she said.

Ajala added that issues beyond the capacity of individual institutions or the NCCE would be taken to the appropriate authorities for intervention.

She said challenges that require government action would be presented to the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, while the commission would also seek the support of development partners where necessary.

According to her, the skills component of the policy is expected to equip graduates with abilities that can help them become self-reliant and develop solutions to problems within their communities.

Speaking on the theme, “Dual Mandate of Colleges of Education: Challenges, Opportunities and Expectations,” a former Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Gombe, Dr Ali Adamu, listed inadequate funding, a shortage of qualified personnel and insufficient infrastructure among the major concerns that could affect the policy’s implementation.

Adamu, however, said the Dual Mandate Policy could create opportunities for improved career progression, revitalisation of Colleges of Education, better teacher quality and stronger human capital development.

He urged the government to provide more funding, improve infrastructure and sustain staff development programmes to support the successful implementation of the policy.

The Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Gombe, Dr Mohammed Abdulhamid, commended the Federal Government and the NCCE for their efforts to reposition teacher education in Nigeria.