The Federal Government, on Friday, threatened to withdraw licences of Universities, Colleges of Education, Polytechnics and other tertiary institutions operating below prescribed standards by law.
This came as the Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education, Nigeria (SSUCOEN) called on the federal government to ensure immediate release of the N15 billion revitalisation fund approved for Colleges arising from the NEED Assessment exercise.
Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, said this in Abuja, when he meet with a delegation from SSUCOEN over lingering and “disturbing” issues affecting members of the Colleges of Education sector. The delegation was led President of SSUCOEN, Comrade Danladi Ali Msheliza.
He was responding to a comment by SSUCOEN President about poor state of some State owned Colleges of Education across the country and that if it was not for Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention, most of the Colleges would have been moribund.
He vowed to withdraw licences of the tertiary institutions that substandard and found to have deviated from their mandates for which licences were issued to them.
He said: “I want to tell you that I have already discussed with the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission and I know that this would have gone to National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education. I want to make sure that before I leave this place, I withdraw licences of some of these institutions.”
The minister response, promised that necessary steps would be taken to ensure release of the N15 billion revitalisation fund to Colleges, just as he disagreed with the SSUCOEN President on the assertion that Colleagues of Education were being segregated.
On the banning of Staff Demonstration Schools, Adamu said goverment would look into it, based on the explanation that the Colleges of Education Staff Demonstration Schools are a requirement for graduating students.
He also pledged that all the issues raised would be given due consideration and expeditious response.
The SSUCOEN President had earlier called on the FG to ensure immediate release of the N15 billion revitalization fund approved for Colleges arising from the NEED Assessment exercise.
He also demanded for resumption of the stalled renegotiation of the 2010 FGN/SSUCOEN Agreement. He accused the FG of segregating against Colleges of Education, while noting that Goverment had commenced renegotiation of agreements reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), leaving out Colleges of Education.
Msheliza, however, commended the Federal Government for payment of arrears of minimum wages for Colleges of Education Staff, affirming all members of the Union have received their payment.
He called on the Minister of Education to intervene in ensuring the restoration and mainstreaming the staff of Demonstration Schools in Colleges of Education, saying the FG had erroneously stopped funding the schools because they were referred to as private schools.
Msheliza argued that the Colleges of Education Staff Demonstration Schools are a requirement for graduating of students of primary Education studies (PES) and Early Childhood care education (ECCE).
He also called for reconstitution of the Governing Councils of Colleges of Education as well as push for quick passage of the Colleges of Education Amendment Act, said to have passed through 3rd reading in the National Assembly.