Colleges of Education to Award Degrees, Ease Varsity Pressur

The National Commission for Colleges of Education has said the new Dual Mandate Policy, which empowers Colleges of Education to award degrees, will help reduce pressure on university admissions across Nigeria.

The Executive Secretary of the NCCE, Angela Ajala, made this known on Friday during a media parley at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja themed ‘A New Dawn for Teacher Education in Nigeria.’

Under the new policy, qualified Federal Colleges of Education will be able to independently award both the Nigeria Certificate in Education and Bachelor’s Degrees in Education without affiliation to universities.

Previously, the institutions operated under affiliated universities for degree awards.

Ajala said the reform is designed to expand access to higher education, reduce overcrowding in universities, and strengthen teacher training in the country.

“The policy will expand access to higher education; reduce pressure on universities; strengthen teacher specialisation; improve institutional autonomy; and attract more candidates into teaching,” she stated.

The NCCE boss noted that the reform followed the enactment of the Federal Colleges of Education Act No. 132 of July 24, 2023, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, and directed that full implementation would begin from the 2026/2027 academic session.

According to her, the commission is already working with the National Universities Commission to “work out the modalities for its seamless take-off as directed by the Federal Government.

“A draft curriculum that allows NCE to dovetail into the degree programmes has been drafted by the commission and forwarded to NUC for more inputs to ensure that the quality of the degrees to be awarded by Colleges of Education is at par with that of the universities.

Ajala added that under the new structure, “NCE programme is to run for three years, while degree components will be for two years.”

Ajala said state and private CoE would also be allowed to implement the policy once they domesticate the reform framework.

The NCCE boss maintained that the reform was not intended to erase the identity of CoE but to strengthen it.

She explained, “Let no one misunderstand this reform. The Dual Mandate is not about making Colleges of Education lose their identity.

“It is about strengthening that identity. It is about saying that teacher education must no longer be treated as a lower pathway. It is a professional pathway. It is a national development pathway. It is a future-shaping pathway.

“It means a student who chooses a College of Education today is not choosing a lesser path.”

Ajala said the commission was also reviewing admission pathways into CoE to improve access while maintaining standards.

She said the commission was already engaging relevant agencies and stakeholders on a more flexible admission framework for teacher education.

The ES stated, “The commission is aware of concerns around access, enrolment, admission processes and the attractiveness of the NCE pathway.

“We are currently in active discussions with relevant agencies and stakeholders on a more flexible, professionally responsive admission framework for teacher education, especially for the NCE.

“The goal is simple: We want to remove administrative barriers, not professional standards.”

Ajala stressed that while access to teacher education must improve, standards would not be compromised.

According to her, the commission’s position was that young Nigerians interested in the teaching profession should not be discouraged by avoidable bottlenecks.

“What we are saying is that a young Nigerian who is passionate about teaching should not be discouraged by avoidable administrative obstacles,” she stated.

Ajala stressed that Nigeria needed “prepared teachers, professional teachers, competent teachers, ethical teachers, future-ready teachers.”

The NCCE boss also used the occasion to announce wider reforms in teacher education, saying the commission was shifting from being merely a compliance regulator to a development-focused agency.

“NCCE is not just a compliance agency. Yes, we regulate. Yes, we accredit. Yes, we monitor standards. Yes, we review institutional readiness.

“But under this administration, NCCE must become more than a commission that checks files, inspects facilities and submits reports.

“We are shifting from being seen only as a compliance regulator to becoming a development-focused agency,” she noted.

She said the commission would now pay more attention to learning outcomes and the quality of teachers produced by Colleges of Education.

Ajala added, “We will not only ask: What is in the accreditation report? We must also ask: What is happening to the child in the classroom?

“We must be concerned about whether the teacher produced can teach effectively, inspire learners, use technology, support children, solve classroom problems and improve learning.”

Ajala further revealed that the teacher education curriculum was being redesigned to align with global realities and emerging technologies.

She listed digital literacy, artificial intelligence awareness, entrepreneurship education, inclusive education, emotional intelligence, STEM education and competency-based learning among the major focus areas of the revised curriculum.

“We cannot prepare teachers for chalkboard-only classrooms when children are growing up in a digital world.

“We cannot prepare teachers for rote learning when the global economy now demands creativity, collaboration, communication, problem-solving and innovation,” ES stated.

Addressing journalists during the media parley, Ajala described the media as a key partner in the reform process and urged journalists to help change public perceptions about teaching.

“For too long, teaching has been portrayed as a last-resort profession. That narrative is inaccurate. That narrative is harmful. That narrative must change,” she said.

Ajala added that teacher education remained central to national development and called on stakeholders across the country to support the reform efforts.

The NCCE was established on 17 January 1989 as the regulatory body responsible for the orderly development, coordination and quality assurance of teacher education in Nigeria.

Ajala is the first female and seventh ES of NCCE, appointed by President Tinubu on March 10, 2026 and resumed on March 17, 2026.