• As NUC Approves Degree Programmes
BY PATRICK MGBODO
The Federal Government, through the National Universities Commission (NUC), has approved the implementation of the dual mandate policy for Delta State-owned Colleges of Education.
Disclosing this to The Pointer today, the Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof Nyerhovwo Tonukari, said the development would address the challenge of poor student enrolment in colleges of education.
Prof. Tonukari said that following the approvals, the College of Education, Mosogar, and the College of Education, Warri, can now run degree programmes and the National Certificate in Education (NCE) concurrently.
He added that, as part of measures to address poor student enrollment, the two state-owned colleges of education are also offering university-affiliated programmes, which have attracted a sizable population of students to these institutions.
‘’Going forward, the colleges of education are going to have more students because of the dual mandate. In Delta State, the law has been passed and signed by the Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori.
‘’We have submitted it to the Federal Ministry of Education, and they have written to the two colleges of education that they can now run the Dual Mandate. The NUC has approved the Dual Mandate for both Mosogar and Warri.
‘’Now, they can admit students who will get both NCE and degrees within five years. Hopefully, with the Dual Mandate, they are going to get more students,’’ Prof Tonukari said, even as he said that the initiative has already commenced in earnest.
‘’The two colleges of education we have in Delta State are doing better than most of their contemporaries in the country. There are some colleges of education you will visit in this country, and you will see just about 100 students” he added.
Recall that the Federal Government commenced the implementation of the Dual Mandate Policy across all Federal Colleges of Education (FCOEs), following the enactment of the Federal Colleges of Education Act, 2023.
This legislation, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, empowers FCOEs to concurrently award the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and Bachelor’s Degrees in Education, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s teacher education reform.
