Governing council chairmen forum holds workshop for improvement, sustainability of FCEs in Nigeria
As part of efforts to improve the quality of teacher education, governance, and sustainability of Federal Colleges of Education (FCEs) in Nigeria, the forum of FCEs governing council chairmen has held a 2-day workshop for critical stakeholders in the education sector.
The workshop, titled Governance, Leadership, Improvement and Sustainability of Federal Colleges of Education (FCEs) in Nigeria, was held at the B. O. Ukeje Conference Hall of National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Abuja.
About 120 participants attended the workshop, including the Honourable Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmed who declared the workshop open; the Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Paulinus Chijioke Okwelle; the Director, Colleges of Education, Dr. Uchenna Uba represented by Mr. Godwin C. Egbunefu, the representative of the Executive Secretary TETFund, Mukhtar Aliyu; Chairmen of Governing Councils of FCEs, Presidential Appointees, Provosts, and other stakeholders in the sector.
The two days event highlighted issues bothering on quality of teacher education in the country, including challenges and possible solutions that will enhance the quality of education, governance, and sustainability of FCEs, with papers on different topics on critical issues which can enhance governance, leadership, improvement and sustainability of FCEs in the country presented by seasoned educationists and academics.
Some of the issues raised at the event were, government neglect for human capacity building for education stakeholders, inadequate funding and poor infrastructure which hinder operational effectiveness, inadequate learning resources hampering the delivery of the core mandates of the colleges, and non-compliance with extant rules which has led to industrial conflicts.
The participants also applauded the Federal Government’s appointment of qualified individuals to Governing Councils of FCEs.
In order to enhance the effectiveness of FCEs, the stakeholders at the end of the workshop made some recommendations which includes, that the Federal Government should continue to appoint qualified individuals into the Governing Councils of the Colleges.
Governing Councils should develop policies that could enhance effective leadership improvements and sustainability in FCEs, and should also effectively use government extant rules and regulations to promote good governance and industrial harmony in the Colleges.
Colleges of Education should be the only authorized tertiary institutions to award all Degree programmes in Education, and that the policy by the Federal Government to give stipends to NCE students as a form of motivation should be fully implemented to increase enrollment, while staff should be motivated for increase commitment and productivity in FCEs.
The Federal Government should provide a budget line for Council activities in FCEs to enhance efficiency and good governance., and there should be effective communication and transparency in managing the affairs of the Colleges. Through TETFund, the federal government should also provide intervention on security and power in FCEs.
Other recommendations are that the Federal Government should increase funding in teacher education, while both the councils and Management should seek for alternative sources to shore up the finance of the institutions, and should ensure accountability and good management of scarce resources.
FCEs should also diversify their programmes through introduction of trade subjects and other entrepreneurial skills to make NCE products more employable., while the value attached to the teaching profession should be enhanced to encourage more enrollment in teacher education, among other recommendations.
The Federal Government was also appreciated during the two days event for the release of funds for revitalization to address physical facility decay in the colleges and was urged to sustain this initiative by m
