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Plateau State will soon have two federal universities with the proposed upgrade of the Federal College of Education (FCE), Pankshin to a Federal University of Education.
This is sequel to the passage through third reading, a bill seeking to establish Federal University of Education in Pankshin, Plateau State by the House of Representatives.
The North-Central Nigerian State presently has a federal university, named University of Jos established in 1975 and the passage of the new bill will bring the number of such institutions to two in Plateau.
The new legislation was passed at the Committee of the Whole after the adoption of the report and recommendations of the House Committee on Tertiary Education chaired by Aminu Suleiman.
Sponsored by Yusuf Gadgi (APC, Plateau) the bill seeks to upgrade the status of Federal College of Education, Pankshin, Plateau State to a Federal University of Education Pankshin as a training institution for the development of teacher education in the country.
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Clause 1(4) of the proposed law provides that the “University shall be supervised by the Federal Ministry of Education through the National Universities Commission (NUC) who is responsible for approving and regulating all academic programmes run in the University, to ensure quality compliance and provide funds for academic and research programmes infrastructures and remunerations of employees.”
The objectives of the University as stipulated in the bill, include to: “encourage the advancement of learning and to hold out to all persons without distinction of race, creed, sex or political conviction; develop and offer academic programmes leading to the award of certificates, first degrees, post-graduate, diploma and higher degrees with emphasis on planning, developmental and adaptive skills in education, technology, applied science, agriculture, commerce, arts, social science, humanities, management and allied professional disciplines; produce socially mature experts in education.”
The new University is also expected to act as agents and catalysts for effective educational system, through post graduate training, research and innovation, for effective economic utilisation and conservation of the country’s human resources as well as bring quality change in education by focusing on teacher education through teaching and learning innovations.
Clause 1(f) of the bill empowers the University to collaborate with other national and international institutions involved in training, research and development of education with a view to promoting governance, leadership and management skills among educational managers; and identify educational needs of the society with a view to finding solutions to them within the context of overall national development.
The Institution is also expected to provide and promote sound basic education training as a foundation for the development of Nigeria, taking into account indigenous culture and the need to enhance national unity; provide higher education and foster a systematic advancement of the science and act of teacher education; and provide for instruction in such branches of teacher education as it may deem necessary to make provision for research advancement and dissemination of knowledge in such manner as it may determine;
Clause 1(k) further empowers University to provide teachers with operational competence for teaching in pre-tertiary institutions, basic, senior secondary schools and non-formal educational institutions; and undertake any other activity that is appropriate for a university of education of the highest standard.
