The Bauchi State House of Assembly has directed the state government to shut down privately owned Nigeria Certificate in Education awarding institutions, who are not registered but operating illegally.
This was part of resolutions of the lawmakers following the recommendation of a report by the House Committee on Education on a motion calling on the state government to regulate the incessant proliferation of illegal private NCE awarding institutions in Bauchi State.
The report was laid by the chairman of the committee, Babayo Muhammad, who represents Hardawa Constituency, during a plenary on Wednesday.
The chairman explained that in the course of the committee’s assignment, it requested the Ministry of Education to provide it with the names of all private NCE awarding institutions in Bauchi State adding that it also requested the provost of the institutions to be present during their visits and receive the Committee.
He said that a questionnaire was designed and the private colleges of education were requested to complete and submit the same to the committee.
According to him, the committee also visited all the four public institutions owned by the state government with a view to collecting inputs on how the incessant proliferation of illegal private NCE awarding institutions in Bauchi State affected them.
Muhammad said that they discovered that there were 54 privately owned NCE awarding institutions while four were government owned.
“The committee found that Bauchi State has highest number of private NCE awarding institutions in Nigeria presently as there are 58 NCE awarding institutions; only four of them are public institutions owned by the state government while 54 are private NCE awarding institutions established by businessmen as profit making ventures.
“Similarly out of the 54 private NCE awarding institutions, 12 were found duly registered with National Commission for Colleges of Education, while the unregistered institutions are operating without meeting the prescribed minimum basic requirements by NCCE in terms of personnel, physical infrastructures and appropriate teaching and learning facilities.
“The existence of these unregistered private NCE awarding institutions is negatively affecting enrollment of prospective candidates into existing conventional and accredited public institutions in the state as they are not admitting students up to 50 percent capacity thereby reducing their inflow of revenue generation.”
The committee chairman said that they found out that majority of the unregistered institutions operating in the state are affiliated to other colleges of education operating in other states.
He pointed out that the existing policy of the National Council of Colleges of Education on affiliation prescribes that no institution can register or grant and affiliation right to any other sister institution of the same ranking or status for the running of NCE courses apart from the commission itself but the institutions flouted the order to the detriment of the system.
He added that the committee observed that the public institutions owned by the state government have huge modern facilities that are under utilised due to smaller students population while the majority applied to get admitted into the unregistered institutions without meeting admission requirements.
According to him, the committee found out that the AD Rufai College of Education Legal and General Studies Misau, was facing dwelling admission problem and the college is on the verge of collapsing.
Muhammad therefore said that the committee recommended that “the state government be advised to enforce the total closure and proscription of all the illegal colleges of education with a view to redeeming the lost glory of the education sector of the state, and that all the illegal private colleges of education be blacklisted and prosecuted appropriately to serve as deterrent to others.
“It further recommended that the Bauchi State Ministry of Education be banned from granting approval and recommending to NCCE for the establishment of any College of Education without meeting the stipulated requirements of the commission.
“The committee also recommended that a strong Taskforce Monitoring Committee be established to enforce the total closure of all the illegal private NCE awarding institutions across the state as allowing them to continue operating could be dangerous in fostering the graduation of incompetent and quack teachers who would only succeed in causing harm to the system.”
Other recommendations according to him include; that the state government be advised to re-establish the Ministry of Higher Education in the state in order to supervise, control, coordinate and manage the state tertiary institutions most effectively and give it the rightful attention they deserve; the state government be advised to henceforth recruit only products of recognised and registered NCE awarding institutions in the state and that the Bauchi State Government through its Ministry of Information be mandated to mount serious awareness campaigns to dissuade candidates who have been ignorantly applying to illegal private NCE awarding institutions for studies.
He added that it was also recommended that the media, seminars and billboards should be used as means of disseminating the information that the students from the affected institutions, who may be found qualified to have met stipulated admission requirements into the NCE studies should be transferred to any available accredited NCE awarding institution within the state for direct absorption.
Finally, the committee recommended that the executive arm of government be advised to give special intervention to AD Rufai College of Education, Legal and General Studies Misau, so that it would establish degree courses that will attract more students to enable the college stand on its feet.
The Committee stated that the duly registered private NCE awarding institutions with the NCCE are: Bauchi State Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Bakari Dukku; Bilyaminu Usman COE, Dass; College of Education, Dutsen Tanshi; Da’awa College of Education, Bauchi; Sunnah COE JIBWIS, Kofar Wambai and College of Education, Bogoro.
Others are: Adamu Garkuwa College of Education, Toro; Sarkin Yamma COE, Tilde; College of Education, Darazo; JIBWIS College of Education, Jama’are; Danyaya College of Education Ningi and Climax College of Education, Ningi.
The underlisted, according to the committee, are the unregistered NCE awarding institutions operating illegally in the state.
1.Garba Ibrahim College of Education Alkaleri
2.Apex College of Education Liman Katagum
3. ECWA College of Education Bayara
4. Ibn Abbas College for Arabic and Islamic Studies Bauchi
5. Matori College of Education Kofar Ido
6. College of Islamic Studies Bauchi (Sa’adatu Rimi COE Bauchi Outreach)
7. Sahib College Education Bauchi
8. Sardauna College of Education Bauchi
9. Sheikh Sama’ila Bajoga College of Education Bauchi
10. Mbula College of Education Bauchi
11. Ahmad Adamu Muazu COE Biyo
12. College of Education Bununu
13. Muhammad Ibrahim College of Education Magama Gumau
14. College of Arabic and Islamic Studies Toro
15. Maidawa COE Magama Gumau
16. Sunnah College of Education JIBWIS Toro
17. College of Arabic and Islamic Studies Toro
18. Darazo College of Education Akuyam
19. JIBWIS College of Education Dambam
20. Da’awa College of Education Darazo
21. Danyaya College of Education Miya Campus
22. Annur College of Education Burra
23. Annur College of Education Warji
24. Garko College of Education Gamawa
25. Sa’adatu Rimi COE Gololo
26. Annur College of Education Giade
27. Annur College of Arabic and Islamic Studies Abu Kilishi Azare
28. Annur College of Education Azare
29. Markazil Islam Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies Azare
30. Annur College of Arabic and Islamic Studies Katagum
31. Sa’adatu Rimi COE Gidan Marayu Katagum
32. Kafin Madaki COE Ganjuwa
33. Da’awa College of Education Dagauda
34. Maikalam College of Education Bauchi
35. Da’awa College of Education Gamawa
36. Da’awa COE and Islamic Studies Bauchi
37. Institution of Management and Computer Studies Bauchi
38. Da’awa College of Education Kafin Madaki
