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Onye Imman
When the National Assembly on Thursday, May 30, 2019, following Senate concurrence to that decision of the House of Representatives passed the law establishing the Federal University of Education, Nsugbe, Anambra State, it inevitably left an educational legacy that the 8th Senate would be remembered for. The Senate’s concurrence with the bill followed the earlier passage of the same bill by the House of Representatives on July 12, 2018.
The import of the bill is to upgrade the Anambra State government-owned Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, to a university of education.
The proposed Federal University of Education, Nsugbe, is fashioned to offer special education degree programmes with the intention of producing highly competent special education professionals who will set the pace for advancement in education. Remarkably, the bill was sponsored by a medical doctor, who, more than 10 years ago, set a legacy for himself in projecting the country’s educational system as national president of the National Association of Nigerian Student (NANS).
That Dr. Tony Nwoye, APC, Anambra East/West Federal Constituency, may have been known nationally as a student-cum-youth activist more than as a medical doctor or as a businessman is a result of the fact of how he has exercised his energies towards promoting education and the interests of the youth. That passion was what, undoubtedly, underscored his sponsorship of the bill, which, when it came for consideration in the House of Representatives, won universal acclaim. This is not only because of his cross-appeal across political divides, but also because of the significant merits the sponsor of the bill was able to project to his fellow lawmakers both in the House and in the Senate. The motion seconding the bill was moved by Hon. Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta State), a former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly. Seconding the motion, he said the school would provide the much-needed manpower in the education sector.
“We need the school to be upgraded to a university; they have the necessary manpower. I support the bill,” he simply said.
The immediate import of the bill is that it would, by law, establish the first university of education in the South East. An attempt in that direction had been made by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, which approved the upgrading of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education to a university of education. However, that move has largely remained a pipe dream following the failure to give legal effect to the pronouncement in the form of an enabling law.
Putting forward the need for the new legislation, Nwoye, in his proposal, had said: “With increased quest to acquire education by Ndigbo and the rising demand for specially trained teachers in the country, this university, when fully upgraded, will go a long way in addressing a lot of issues, including serving as an accessible centre to acquire both basic and advanced degrees in education in the South East and also aid the obtaining of teaching prerequisites for career lecturers/teachers.”
Undoubtedly, in pushing for the establishment of the university in his native state, Anambra, Nwoye had taken into consideration potential benefits for the state. Among the potential benefits to the state, which other stakeholders from the state would be mindful of supporting, will be the fact that the upgrade will make Anambra the next educational centre for the training of professional teachers and acquisition of education certification in the South East.
The establishment of the university will also bring about jobs for the immediate and neighbouring communities and boost the economy of the region. The state government will also be relieved of the burden of sustaining the Nwafor Orizu College of Education, as the proposed law would put the upgraded institution under the tutelage of the Federal Government.
An important argument that was presented in support of the bill is the reality in the country that colleges of education have lately become dumping grounds for persons who failed to meet the qualification needed to enter universities or other supposedly dignified professional callings.
The import is that the project of producing teachers and other professionals needed to groom students for the future has been left in the hands of persons who are sometimes seen as rejects of universities.
By upgrading the College of Education, Nsugbe, to a university, that breach would be adequately addressed as products of the proposed university would be put in the same dignified rank as their peers in other strata.
Similarly, the school, like many other colleges of education in the country, had been subjected to many challenges arising from shortage of funds.
Whereas universities still complain of not getting a fair share of the funds from the education sector, the colleges of education, like the one in Nsugbe, bear the brunt of often dislocated budgeting.
It is in that light that Nwoye’s proposal to establish the Federal University of Education, Nsugbe, won approval in the two chambers of the National Assembly.
With the legislature having acquitted itself as an advocate for enhanced capacity and quality in the education sector, the ball has, as it should be, passed to the executive, with eyes on President Muhammadu Buhari.
•Imman writes from Abuja
