Senate Passes Bill to Empower Colleges of Education to Award Degrees
The Senate on Tuesday 25th January, 2022 passed a bill to amend the Federal Colleges of Education Act of 1998.
According to a statement signed by the Special Assistant (Press) to the Senate President, Ezrel Tabiowo, the passage of the bill titled, “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Federal Colleges of Education Act, 1998.” In the statement, the bill passage followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.
It said Senator Sandy Onuh, who presented the report on behalf of the Chairman, Ahmad Babba Kaita, said the core objective of the bill was to provide a legislative framework to support the Federal Colleges of Education Act, 1998.
According to the lawmaker, it also seeks to re-enact the Federal Colleges of Education to allow for the running of degree courses under the supervision of the National University Commission (NUC).
In his words, “Hitherto, most colleges in Nigeria offered degree programmes in affiliation with some universities in Nigeria, to nurture career teachers with a view to augmenting shortfall of teachers and to meet learning, research, instructional and teaching needs of the prospective students in Nigeria and beyond.
“However, this framework enables the colleges of education in Nigeria, to offer Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), First Degree (B.sc/B.A) and similar certification in the area of its core subjects on both full-time and part-time basis.”
He added that the legislation would be a lasting solution to the yearning of the Nigerian people in the area of Teacher Education within the context of the overall national educational development agenda.
