By Christiana Ekpa
The Federal Ministry of Education has said that given prevailing funding constraints, the House of Representatives should suspend further initiation and deliberations on any other establishment bills due to paucity of funds.
The ministry added that the Lawmakers should rather prioritise adequate funding of existing higher institutions of learning rather than establishing new ones.
The ministry noted that it has streamlined and expanded avenues for the establishment of private tertiary institutions, States and individuals are encouraged to leverage this opportunity to contribute to national educational development.
The Director of Polytechnic in the ministry, Ejeh Usman, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during the public hearing on the ‘Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal College of Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition in Hawal Local Government Area, Borno State’, as well as two separate bills proposing amendments to the Federal Polytechnics Act, CAP. F17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
He said the ministry observed that the establishment of a Federal College of Entrepreneurship falls under technical education, which is regulated by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
Usman added: “Additionally, the ministry reaffirms the federal government’s policy on citing federal institutions equitably across states.
“This policy ensures that no state hosts more than one Federal Polytechnic at a time while guaranteeing that every state has at least one such institution.
“Currently, all states except Sokoto and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are engaged in this initiative. Therefore, the ministry urges the distinguished members of the Green Chambers to prioritise resource allocation towards the successful take-off of already established institutions rather than initiating new ones.
“Given prevailing funding constraints, the Ministry recommends suspending further initiation and deliberations on the Bill for an Act to establish the Federal College of Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition in Hawul Local Government Area, Borno State, at this time.”
While supporting necessary amendments to strengthen polytechnic institutions, the ministry appealed for “prudent allocation of resources, prioritising existing institutions over establishing new ones to optimise the nation’s educational development”.
