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• 60 years after, Alvan Ikoku College finally becomes one
From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Staff of Alvan Ikoku College of Education have long anticipated and prayed for an upgrade to a university. Since its existence in 1963, Advanced Teachers’ Training College, Owerri, Imo State, had been under the promotion of the United Nations (UNESCO) social funds and finance from the Federal Government.
The aim was to train secondary school teachers in Nigeria. But today, it has advanced beyond that.
The college began its journey in 1973 when the old East Central State, by Edict No. 11 of May 31, 1973, upgraded the Advanced Teacher Training College Owerri to a full-fledged College of Education named in honour of the educationist, Alvan Ikoku, a former leader of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and proprietor of the first indigenous privately-owned secondary school in Nigeria.
The institution advanced from teaching secondary school students in 1981 when the college commenced the award of the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree in affiliation with the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). Thus, commencing the orientation and integration into effective university education.
In 2007, on the strength of various recommendations by assessment panels set up by the Federal Government, the college was taken over by the Federal Government.
The Imo State Government effectively handed over the college to the Federal Government by repealing Edict No.11 of 1973 and enacting the Alvan Ikoku College of Education Transfer Law No. 6 of 2009. The college, thus, became the 21st Federal College of Education in the country.
In 2012, it commenced the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE), aimed at producing post-graduate professional teachers for the nation’s education sector, in affiliation with the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). The programme, until now, has remained the institution’s first experience at post-graduate education.
The school enjoyed a brief spell as a University of Education, when in April 2015, the Federal Government announced its upgrade, alongside three other colleges, to university status. Later that same year, the succeeding administration placed a hold on the upgrade.
But that did not deter the institution in chasing its dream of becoming a full fledged university. “The spirit of excellence and accomplishment brought by that brief stint never left us,” said acting Deputy Vice Chancellor, Dr. Stella Lemchi.
She added: “Successive managements and the entire Alvan community worked daily towards the ultimate goal of ensuring that government would have no other choice than to soon re-upgrade the college back to the status of a university.”
And in June 2023, she said: “The resilience and determination of the stakeholders of the college yielded the first much-awaited fruit when the Federal Ministry of Education announced that the earlier hold placed on the university status of the four earlier-upgraded colleges of education has been lifted.
“The ministry thereafter sent an assessment team comprising officials from the ministry, National Universities Commission (NUC), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“The main task of the team was to carry out a detailed inventory and appraisal of all existing physical facilities, students, academic staff and academic structure for teaching and learning, with particular reference to their adequacy, quality and relevance to the new university status.
“October 20, 2023, brought about the final realisation of the long dream of the management, staff, students, and indeed all stakeholders of this institution, when the ministry via a press statement finally announced the approval for the immediate take-off of the Alvan Ikoku University of Education, Owerri.
“On October 30, 2023, the ministry conveyed the final conversion and take-off approval of the Alvan Ikoku University of Education by the President.” The same letter also announced the appointment of the Provost of the erstwhile college as the acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (administration) of the university, while other principal officers of the erstwhile college are to continue to discharge their duties in acting capacity until substantive principal officers of the university are appointed.
This is happening at the 60th anniversary of the institution. Said she: “In its 60 years of existence, this institution has navigated the entire landscape of teacher education and has produced top-level manpower for the Nigerian economy, not only in the educational sector but equally in the political, administrative and industrial sectors of the nation.
“The entire university community remains grateful to successive the governments for identifying the excellence embedded in the institution, thereby positioning us for this well-deserved status where we can begin to immediately contribute more significantly to the excellence of the nation’s education sector.
“We remain grateful to the ministry for being there for us all through the long journey, providing guidance and objective assessment and recommendations on the true status of our institution.
“We appreciate the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), for nurturing the former College of Education onto its enviable height and pedigree all through our days under the commission.
“We would like to appreciate the Imo State Government for dedicated commitment to the final realisation of the university status of our institution.”
She praised the four staff unions and students of the institution, who laboured over the years to entrench the quality of excellence, for keeping faith, especially, to the almost 400 PhD holders for refusing to succumb to the constant poaching by sister universities: “We are all indeed heroes of this attainment.”
Public Relations Officer, Nnaemeka Ijeoma, said the institution ensured no job would be lost: “In the department when you see your peers getting to the height of their discipline with a PhD, you will be motivated to get your own. Also, Alvan is one the biggest College of Education in Nigeria styled Primus Inter pares, so there’s that culture of excellence in the institution.
“If you look at the DVC’s speech, during the 60 years anniversary of the institution, you will see that since the 1960s the college has been working towards upgrading to a university. The quality manpower, infrastructure and equipment in the institution and the historical importance of Alvan are the reasons for the upgrade.
“When I say historical, I mean the impact of the college in teacher education in South East and in Nigeria. There is no major primary or secondary school – public or private in South East without an Alvan graduate as teacher or head teacher or principal.
“The institution has the requisite manpower to support an upgrade to a university with some of the most qualified and experienced academic staff in the various disciplines, many of who are engaged in part-time or adjunct positions in other universities.”
The State Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN) chairman,Clement Ebere, said: My position as the chairman of this union has made me come in contact with so many colleges of education but Alvan parades the highest PhD holders in Nigeria. This is the only institution where you see lecturers celebrating the defense of their PhD.
“I can tell you that 85 percent if not 90 per cent of staff in Alvan are PhD holders. If the yardstick for passing is 80 per cent and you have 85 per cent, so you see there is nothing like job loss. They’re given time to do their PhD to get promotion.
“We have high expectations because 90 per cent of our staff are going to Port Harcourt, IMSU,Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nsuka, Institute Management Technology and Enugu State University for their PhD.
“For me I came into the school with first degree in 2010 even when I have no intention of converting to academics. One of the prerequisites for conversion is having education background. I enrolled for PhD in education after which I did my masters and today I’m a PhD holder.
“We are expecting that a whole lot of developmental facilities will come into Owerri with this new status.”
Nothing comes without a challenge, for the new institution, he said it is suffering from encroachment and land grabbing by the influential people: “Parts of our land were hijacked by the past administration of Rochas Okorocha. There is no influential person that does not have a land there.
“We should be thinking of expanding our school. How do we do that? Look at the school of postgraduate for instance, UNIZIK where some rich Anambra men single handedly build a classroom or hall but here our big men are busy grabbing our land.
“The only building in the state and at IMSU is the one built by the former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Komasi. In Alvan instead of the big men doing the same thing like Komasi, they’re erecting structures inside the school compound.”
Acting Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Alvan branch, Dr. Jovita Ogu, believed there would no job loss. Ogu, who is also state chairman, College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), noted that besides having enough PhD holders in the institution, said the staff of the school have always maintained high standard:
“Having over 400 staff as PhD holders, where would the job insecurity come from? We’re even upgrading and having more qualified lecturers everyday.”
On challenges facing the institution, she admitted that land grabbing by highly placed individuals is major problem: “Gradually all our stollen lands have been recovered by Governor Uzodimma and we hope to see more. Notwithstanding, we still have good portions of land across Nworie at the other side of the river.”
