NCCE Gives Colleges 2031 Degree Mandate Deadline

The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has given Colleges of Education until 2031 to fully prepare for the implementation of the Dual Mandate.

The commission warned that institutions must build the capacity required to award degree qualifications alongside the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).

The Dual Mandate allows Colleges of Education to offer both the NCE and degree programmes, subject to the requirements and oversight of relevant regulatory bodies.

The policy is intended to reposition the colleges within Nigeria’s tertiary education system, strengthen teacher preparation and expand opportunities for prospective teachers, while requiring institutions to meet appropriate standards in governance, staffing, infrastructure, quality assurance and academic delivery.

Executive Secretary of the NCCE, Dr (Mrs) Angela Ajala, gave the deadline in Abuja during the North-Central Zonal Engagement with Provosts of Colleges of Education, organised under her Listening and Leadership Tour.

Ajala said the 2031 target should not be viewed simply as a deadline for introducing degree programmes but as a test of whether colleges had developed the institutional capacity to deliver quality teacher education.

“If what we are building holds, they will not leave you in three years holding an NCE. They will leave you in 2031 with an NCE, a degree and a professional registration, and then they will walk into a classroom and stand in front of forty children.

“The Dual Mandate is not permission to award more certificates. It is a mandate to build Colleges strong enough to deserve the right,” Ajala said.

The NCCE boss also raised concerns over unresolved administrative obligations to former students, saying some colleges had failed to issue NCE certificates to graduates dating back to the 1990s.

“We have Colleges in this country that have not issued NCE certificates to graduates from the 1990s. Those are people who did the work, passed the examinations, and have spent thirty years without the paper that proves it,” she said.

Ajala further urged the colleges to update their physical development plans, noting that some were still operating with master plans developed before the possibility of degree-awarding Colleges of Education was contemplated.

Earlier, the Director Colleges of Education, Federal Ministry of Education Colleges of Education, Dr Uchenna Uba, said the transformation of teacher education required sustained collaboration among the NCCE, Colleges of Education and other relevant stakeholders.

Represented by Dr Iyabode Alli, Uba said the implementation of the Dual Mandate presented a historic opportunity for the institutions to expand their academic offerings, improve teacher preparation and compete more effectively within the wider tertiary education sector.