The Federal Government has commended the Federal College of Education (FCE), Yola, for effectively utilising its 2022–2023 Needs Assessment Intervention funds.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, gave the commendation on Saturday in Yola at the college’s 16th Combined Convocation Ceremony.
Alausa, represented by Dr Uchenna Ubah, Director of Colleges of Education in the ministry, urged the institution to ensure transparency and accountability in utilising its 2025 intervention funds.
He said the government was implementing reforms to expand educational access, improve teaching quality, strengthen teacher education and promote digital learning and skills development.
Alausa identified the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), dual-mandate policy for Colleges of Education, and interventions through Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) as key initiatives.
He highlighted the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund, which provides financial assistance, including interest-free loans of up to N10 million through the Bank of Industry.
The minister urged the college to strengthen research, embrace digital technologies and establish partnerships with development agencies and the private sector to improve institutional development.
Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, represented by his Deputy, Prof. Kaletapwa Farauta, said his administration prioritised education through increased funding and institutional strengthening.
Fintiri said the government had improved educational access through investments in schools, scholarships, teacher training and skills development for young people.
He added that the state had prioritised Information and Communication Technology training, youth empowerment, startup incubation, business grants and mentorship programmes.
The governor said the 2026 budget allocated significant funds to education agencies, including the Adamawa State Universal Basic Education Board and Post-Primary Schools Management Board.
Fintiri urged FCE Yola to align its teacher-training programmes with the Adamawa State Teacher Recruitment, Deployment and Retention Policy to meet contemporary educational needs.
He reaffirmed the state’s commitment to supporting federal tertiary institutions despite security challenges, adding that his administration was pursuing UNESCO’s recommended 26 per cent budgetary allocation to education.
In her remarks, Dr Angela Ajala, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), described teachers as indispensable to national development.
“Without teachers, Nigeria as a nation cannot function; teacher education and the teacher sit at the middle of the national development of this country,” she said.
Ajala urged graduands to embrace teaching with pride and professionalism, warning against treating it as a last resort while waiting for other opportunities.
“Go as a professional, entering a profession because that is what you are now,” she told the graduands.
Earlier, the Provost, Dr Mohammed Degereji, said the college graduated 3,555 students from the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 academic sessions.
He said the graduands comprised 1,818 students from the 2023/2024 session and 1,737 from the 2024/2025 session, describing them as valuable additions to the teaching profession.
Degereji said the college had renovated 70 per cent of its existing hostels, improved ICT facilities and established a digital hub for collecting certificates and academic transcripts.
He added that the institution had reduced its inherited local debt from more than N100 million in 2022 to less than N1 million in 2026. (NAN)
