The Federal Government has commenced implementation of the concurrent running of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and Bachelor’s degree in Education programmes in 15 approved Federal Colleges of Education.
The government said the 15 approved Federal Colleges have already started engaging with the National Universities Commission (NUC) to ensure a smooth transition.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, announced this at a one-day sensitisation programme on ministerial deliverables and the education sector roadmap held in Abuja on Tuesday, Punch reports.
Enitan, who was represented by the Director of Educational Planning, Julie Uzor, said the dual certification model was aimed at revitalising teacher education and addressing dwindling enrolment.
“This policy allows Colleges of Education to concurrently award the NCE and Bachelor’s Degrees in Education. As outlined in the Federal Colleges of Education Act, 2023, this dual mode enhances access, improves quality, and modernises teacher training,” he said.
Enitan said the Federal Government has also approved the establishment of more colleges to increase access and enrolment opportunities, adding that a review of the NCE Minimum Standards was in the offing to ensure the programmes meet current educational needs and maintain high standards.
Confirming the development, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, said the commission was intensifying monitoring and evaluation efforts to support effective implementation.
“The dual mode is at the implementation stage, and preparations are in full gear,” Okwelle said. “As advertised by JAMB, admissions under the dual mode will begin in the 2025–2026 academic session. Students will now be admitted for both NCE and bachelor’s degree programmes.”
He said the legal backing for the dual mode derived from the amendment, in 2023, of the Federal Colleges of Education Act, allowing colleges to begin full implementation.
This approach, he said, would boost enrolment as well as ensure a better teacher training quality.
“With proper pedagogical and content training, our teachers will be better equipped to manage modern classroom challenges,” he said.
Okwelle also spoke on the welfare of lecturers, assuring the government was making efforts to enhance staff motivation through various initiatives, with the support of the Federal Ministry of Education and the minister’s office under the directive of President Bola Tinubu.
On her part, the Director of Colleges of Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Uche Uba, confirmed that the 15 approved Federal Colleges were already engaging with the National Universities Commission (NUC) to ensure a smooth transition.
“There is a clear implementation guideline in place. The colleges are liaising with the NUC, and all are following the set conditions to make the process seamless,” she said.
President Tinubu had, in 2023, signed into law the Federal Colleges of Education Act 2023. The implementation was to begin from the 2024/2025 academic session, where only Federal Colleges of Education aged at least 10 years were to pilot the programme. However, that was not to be.
At a stakeholders’ follow-up meeting with staff unions and executives of committees of Provosts of all Colleges of Education in Abuja in April, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced that implementation of the dual mandate would begin from September 2025.
Alausa expressed worry that Colleges of Education were going into extinction and the implementation of the dual mandate, as prescribed by the Federal Colleges of Education Act 2023, would be their only saving grace as it would stop the conversion of Federal Colleges of Education to Universities of Education in the country.
