The Social Advancement Forum (SAF) has hailed the Federal Government’s decision to approve Bachelor’s Degree programmes in 15 Federal Colleges of Education across Nigeria.
The commendation follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent assent to a bill that empowers these institutions to award both the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degrees. In a statement signed by the group’s chairman, Tahir Ibrahim Tahir, on Thursday, SAF described the development as a positive step for the country’s education.
”We see the dual certification model as a good move aimed at revitalising teacher education in the country as well as addressing dwindling enrollment. By allowing Colleges of Education to award NCE and B.Ed, the country has taken a significant step towards improving teacher training and access to quality education. We also acknowledged efforts being put in place to review NCE’s minimum standards to maintain quality and to ensure that education requirements are met,” he said. Tahir, however, emphasised the importance of adequate supervision and implementation to achieve the intended impact of the policy. “We are hopeful for proper supervision of the implementation process. But we also urge students to take note of these developments and not allow the President’s efforts at empowering youths to go down the drain,” he said.
