Gombe State records more successes in higher institutions – Commissioner

The Gombe State Commissioner of Higher Education, Mr Meshack Lauco says Governor Muhammadu Yahaya’s led administration has recorded huge successes in higher institutions in the state within three years.

Mr Lauco told Journalists that the records covered all state-owned institutions.

Breaking down the achievements of the various higher institutions spread across the three senatorial zones, he said the Governor carried over projects started by the past administration for the overall benefit of the people of Gombe State.

COLLEGE OF LEGAL AND ISLAMIC STUDIES

The Commissioner began from the former Gombe State College of Islamic and Legal Studies in Nafada, which he said had been converted to the College of Education and Legal Studies, to encourage indigenes of Gombe North, who by marriage affiliations, may not wish to travel far away for the acquisition of knowledge.

Mr Lauco said the process began with the change in the law establishing the school, afterwards, the National Commission for Colleges of Education was brought in to undertake a resource inspection visit and subsequently approve the accreditation of the college.

He said because the government had the law, the manpower, and the resources for the running of the National Certificate of Education, NCE Programme, the National Commission for Colleges of Education, NCCE, gave the approval for the accreditation of the nine initial diploma courses and also approved 13 NCE Programmes.

Mr Lauco said the school, which was initially affiliated with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; could not issue certificates from the college in Nafada, Nafada Local Government of Gombe State, instead they were bearing the name of the A.B.U.

According to him, the accreditation of the courses and the recognition of the college by the NCCE had enhanced the visibility of the school in the country and attracted benefits of accessing funds from the Tertiary Education Fund.

He also said two interventions had been carried out in the school, beginning with the award of 447 million naira, while the second is 130 million naira for the development of facilities in the school.

Mr Lauco said the college had now been listed among the schools to be offered admission by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board.

GOMBE STATE POLYTECHNIC, BAJOGA

In the Gombe State Polytechnic, Bajoga, Funakaye Local Government Area, Mr Lauco said nine courses offered in the school, which were previously not accredited, had now been endorsed.

He said the government succeeded in achieving this feat after requesting the support of the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, which undertook resource inspection, which led to the subsequent accreditation of all nine courses being offered in the school.

Accordingly, the Gombe State Commissioner of Higher Education said the Engineering Complex in the school, which was uncompleted when the administration of Governor Yahaya came in, completed and furnished the structure, which houses four engineering programmes.

He said the administration of Governor Yahaya also appointed the principal officers, Rector, Registrar and Librarian of the institutions, who before then were serving in an acting capacity.

GOMBE STATE UNIVERSITY

The Commissioner said positive developments at the Gombe State University included the enhancement of facilities, which had now enabled two sets of medical students to graduate from the institution.

Mr Lauco said the law courses had now been established and admission into the Faculty of Law was offered in 2021 after the basic requirements were met.

The Gombe State Commissioner for Higher Education said the state university was now going to take over the former building proposed for the College of Nursing in Dukku.

He said the reason for the change was because the Gombe State University campus had little space for future expansion; hence the conversion of the facility in Dukku should into a campus of the state university.

Mr Lauco said the contract for the completion of the project had been awarded and hoped to be completed and academic activities to commence by the end of the year

He also said another positive development in the Gombe State University was an agreement reached by the Academic Staff Union, on the payment of the Earned Academic Allowances, which the government had commenced with the annual instalment payment of 250 million naira, out of the outstanding 1.3 billion naira.

Mr Lauco, however, said the money could not be paid this year because of the strike the union embarked on.

COLLEGE OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY

The Gombe State College of Nursing and Midwifery had two courses, which were not accredited, but offered Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife, which were offered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

He said because the global practice now is not only for the attainment of the professional Nursing Certificate, but going deeper into academics, the Nursing Council came and inspected the facility and approved the accreditation of the programmes.

Similarly, he said the National Board for Technical Education also inspected the facility and gave its approval for the commencement of the National Diploma and Higher National Diploma Programmes in the Gombe State College of Nursing and Midwifery.

He is hopeful that by the end of the year, they would give the approval for the accreditation of the ND and HND Programmes.

According to Mr Lauco, the institution has now been upgraded to offer National Diploma and Higher National Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery.

The school was initially under the Ministry of Health, but it has been taken to the Ministry of Higher Education.

Admission into the college would now henceforth be through the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, BILLIRI

For the College of Education in Billiri, the government facilitated the accreditation of the 19 NCE Programmes in the school, as well as connected it to the National Grid, and fenced it, through direct labour.

COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KALTUNGO

The Commissioner said the Gombe State Government had ensured that all 16 courses in the College of Health Science and Technology, Kaltungo were accredited and that it would soon produce graduate students for the National Youth Service Corps

He, however, said funding had been a great challenge before the government to carry out the needed development in the tertiary institutions of learning.

UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KUMA AND THE PPP AGREEMENT WITH MALAYSIAN LINCOLN UNIVERSITY

The Commissioner said the Gombe State Government had signed a Public-Private Partnership agreement with the Lincoln University College of Malaysia, to support academic activities at the Gombe State University of Science and Technology Kumo.

He said the Malaysian University was to contribute to the management and development of learning and research activities at the institution in accordance with the current global science and technological innovations for competitive and competent skills acquisition for graduates.

 

 

PIAK