By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The Senate yesterday passed a bill amending the Federal Colleges of Education Act 1998 to allow for running of degree courses by colleges of education in Nigeria without affiliation to universities.
The passage of the bill titled, “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Federal Colleges of Education Act, 1998”, followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.
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 for 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 running of degree courses under the supervision of the National University Commission (NUC).
“Hitherto, most colleges in Nigeria offer 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”, Onuh said.
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 overall national educational development agenda.
