The National Universities Commission (NUC) has commenced a resource verification exercise at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Bichi, to assess its readiness to run degree programmes alongside the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) under the Federal Government’s Dual Mandate Policy.
Leader of the Delegation Director of Academic Programmes at the NUC, Dr. Abubakar Muhammad Girei, who represented the NUC Executive Secretary, said the visit was in line with the directive of the Federal Government to expand access to higher education and strengthen teacher training institutions.
He said the mission of the team was to verify the institution’s capacity to operate both NCE and degree programmes concurrently under the dual mandate policy.
Dr. Girei commended the College’s level of preparedness and pledged the Commission’s continued support towards the implementation of the policy.
Receiving the team, the Provost of the College Provost Dr. Bashir Sabo Applauded the Federal Government for introducing the policy, describing it as a transformative step in teacher education.
He said the College is currently running 16 degree programmes in affiliation with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, and the University of Jos, and has submitted seven additional programmes for verification, bringing the total to 23.
Dr Bashir Sabo assured the NUC of the institution’s full preparedness to meet all regulatory requirements and appealed for the Commission’s continued support to ensure the successful take-off of the new programmes.
The Provost reaffirmed the College’s commitment to complying with NUC standards to facilitate the smooth commencement of its degree programmes under the dual mandate.
ABDULLAHI JALALUDDEEN KANO
