The Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa, Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, is intensifying efforts to introduce and strengthen globally competitive academic programmes as it hosted an accreditation team from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
The team conducted a comprehensive resource inspection and full accreditation exercise covering selected programmes at the institution.
The NBTE delegation, led by the Director of the Polytechnic and Allied Programmes Department, Mr Ayo Aroge, was received by the Provost of the College, Dr. Umar Abdullahi, and members of the College Management.
The process of accreditation, conducted under the supervision of the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Professor Idris Muhammad Bugaje, forms part of the College’s efforts to expand access to quality technical education, improve its academic programmes and strengthen its standing within the technical education sector.
Programmes presented for full accreditation included HND Agribusiness Management, HND Fisheries Technology, HND Science Laboratory Technology (Microbiology Option), HND Cooperative Economics and Management, ND Social Development, ND Computer Science and ND Library and Information Science.
The College also presented HND Agricultural and Extension Management and HND Pest Management Technology for re-accreditation.
In addition, resource inspection was conducted for HND Science Laboratory Technology (Microbiology Option), HND Cyber Security and Data Protection, and ND Social Development.
Speaking at the opening of the exercise, Mr. Aroge expressed confidence in the College’s level of preparedness and outlined the procedures for the inspection.
He said resource persons had been deployed to the relevant departments to facilitate an efficient exercise with minimal disruption to academic activities.
Mr. Aroge noted that the visit was not the first NBTE accreditation exercise at the College and urged all departments and units involved to provide maximum cooperation to ensure its success.
Receiving the delegation, Dr. Abdullahi reaffirmed the Management’s commitment to meeting NBTE standards.
He said the institution had made concerted efforts, in line with the Board’s guidelines, to provide the equipment, facilities and qualified personnel needed for the continuous development of its academic programmes.
The Provost disclosed that the College was currently not benefiting from Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention, stressing that the facilities and resources provided for the accreditation exercise had been funded through the institution’s internal allocation.
At the conclusion of the exercise, the accreditation team held an exit briefing after inspecting facilities, equipment and learning resources across various departments.
The team also sought feedback from departments on resources already provided, outstanding requirements and the reasons for identified gaps.
In its general observations, the NBTE team commended the College Management for the significant upgrades and improvements recorded across the institution. It, however, identified a few minor requirements that needed to be addressed to bring the programmes up to the optimal standards required by the Board.
Responding to the observations, Dr. Abdullahi thanked the team for its professionalism and thorough assessment.
He assured the delegation that the College remained committed to addressing all outstanding requirements as quickly as possible to ensure that students receive quality, globally competitive education.
The accreditation is expected to enhance the visibility of the Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa, increase student enrolment and strengthen its capacity to produce skilled manpower for Nigeria’s agricultural and technical sectors.
