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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has raised the alarm that interest in Colleges of Education among Nigerians is drastically dropping.
Colleges of Education are responsible for the production of teachers for primary and secondary schools across the country, in addition to other responsibilities.
NCCE said the implications of the drop in enrolment into Colleges of Education is that Nigeria might run shortage of teachers that would attend to children in primary and secondary classes.
NCCE Executive Secretary, Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, at press conference in Abuja, to herald the two-day national summit on the future of NCE programme in Nigeria, confirmed that adequate human and material resources in the Colleges across the country.
He noted that many factors could account for the negative posture of the colleges, stressing for proper attention, hence the decision for the Summit with the theme: Nigeria Certificate in Education: The Way Forward, a platform for stakeholders brainstorm on how to revamp teacher education in Nigeria.
NCCE boss, however, expressed dismay over huge backlog of unissued certificates, and directed all Colleges of Education in the country to ensure that certificates are promptly released to students in line with the best practices.
He disclosed that about 63,554 NCE certificates have been issued in the last 11 months of him being in office as the NCCE boss.
He encouraged Colleges of Education to clear the backlogs of unissued NCE certificates, stating that the Commission has vetted and approved final year results from various NCE awarding institutions.
Prof. Okwelle vowed that the Commission would continue to entrench standards and upgrade the quality of Colleges of Education in the country through accreditation, resource visitations, monitoring and programme inspection.
He said the Commission has also commenced clampdown on illegal colleges of education across the country.
