Allow NCE graduands complete their degrees in Colleges of Education, NAPTAN begs FG

The National President, National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Professor Boniface Odeh, has called on the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, to ensure that all willing old NCE graduands be allowed to return to the Colleges of Education where they obtained their NCE to complete their degree programmes.

In an appeal letter written to the minister through the Executive Secretary,

National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), dated September 19, 2026, Professor Odeh said such an arrangement, under a dual mandate arrangement, would expansion access and decongest the nation’s universities drastically.

In the letter entitled “A PASSIONATE PLEA FROM NIGERIAN PARENTS AND EDUCATION STAKEHOLDERS FOR THE INCLUSION OF OLD NCE GRADUANDS TO COMPLETE THEIR DEGREE PROGRAMMES IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION UNDER THE DUAL MANDATE POLICY,” the NAPTAN president, who is also the Provost, College of Education, Oju, Benue State, said the programme would also fast track equity and social justice.

He said “Colleges of Education are community-based and more affordable. This will reduce the financial burden on parents who cannot afford to send their children far to Universities,” adding that the policy would help to retain teachers who abandon teaching out of frustration

According to Professor Odeh, the inclusion of NCE graduands to complete their degree programmes would similarly optimize the utilization of resources, noting that many “Colleges now have Professors, Ph.D. holders, and improved facilities for degree programmes. Their capacity should be fully utilised.”

He commended the federal government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the minister of education for what he called “the historic approval of the Dual Mandate for Colleges of Education to run both NCE and Degree programmes,” saying: “This singular policy has rekindled hope in Teacher Education and remains one of the most celebrated reforms in our Educational history.”

Odeh however said “we are confronted with a painful reality that requires your urgent fatherly intervention.

“Every year, our Colleges of Education produce thousands of NCE graduands. The dream of every Parent who laboured to train a child to obtain NCE is to see that child progress to obtain a Degree. Sadly, this dream has become a mirage.

“Due to limited carrying capacity regulated by the NUC, Universities admit only 5,000 to 10,000 out of 20,000 to 30,000 applicants per institution. Universities understandably prioritize UTME candidates over NCE holders seeking Direct Entry.

“The consequence is that every year, over 10 million qualified Nigerians, including a huge population of NCE holders, are denied access to University education.

“Hon Minister, these NCE graduands roam the streets with certificates but without jobs. How many secure employment with NCE alone in today’s Nigeria? How many are actually admitted to complete their degrees in our Universities?

Very few. Parents watch in agony as their investments and their children’s futures waste away. This is not just an educational problem; it is a social, economic, and security challenge.”

He said, in the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda, stakeholders of education in Nigeria, “most respectfully appeal that the Federal Ministry of Education graciously approve that all willing old NCE graduands, irrespective of year of graduation, be allowed to return to the Colleges of Education where they obtained their NCE to complete their Degree programmes.”