Get Guardian on GoogleThe Federal College of Education (Technical), Isu, Ebonyi State, has secured approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) to run 27 degree programmes, with the management announcing full scholarships for 1,500 prospective students for the 2026/2027 academic session.
The Provost, Dr Francis Nwangbo Azunku, disclosed this on Tuesday while presenting the management’s scorecard at the second town hall meeting between the college management and staff at the School of Vocational and Technical Education Hall.
Azunku said the approval covered six academic schools and would enable the institution to implement its dual-mandate programme, combining the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) with bachelor’s degree qualifications.
He explained that students would spend three years to obtain their NCE and, subject to satisfactory academic performance, proceed for another two years to earn a bachelor’s degree in education.
According to him, the 27 approved programmes would run on a full-time basis at the college’s main campus, stressing that the institution had no approval to offer them through part-time, sandwich or outreach-campus arrangements.
The programmes cut across the Schools of Education, Management and Social Sciences, Sciences, Languages, Vocational Education and Technical Education.
They include Early Childhood Education, Guidance and Counselling, Educational Management, Special Needs Education, Political Science, Economics, Social Studies and Civic Education.
Others are Biology, Human Kinetics, Health Education, Integrated Science, Chemistry Education, Mathematics Education, Physics Education, Computer Science, Igbo and English.
The vocational and technical programmes include Home Economics, Agricultural Education, Creative Arts Education, Entrepreneurship Education, Business Education, Building Technology, Electrical and Electronics Technology, Woodwork, Automobile Technology and Metalwork.
Azunku said the new academic opportunities were designed to reposition the institution as a centre for technical and vocational teacher education.
He added that management was developing additional skills-acquisition initiatives to equip students with practical competencies and prepare them for self-employment.
Among the emerging areas identified for training are artificial intelligence, robotics, data science, clothing and textile technology.
“Our students will not be looking for jobs; they will be creating jobs at the end of their tenure as students, based on satisfactory performance,” he said.
On the scholarship initiative, the Provost announced that management had approved full scholarships for 1,500 students admitted for the 2026/2027 academic session.
He said the scholarship would cover tuition and other approved school charges, while beneficiaries would also enjoy free hostel accommodation.
Azunku disclosed that admission into the institution for the 2026/2027 academic session had commenced and would remain open until January 2027, when the college plans to hold its matriculation ceremony.
He explained that candidates seeking admission into the NCE programme would not be required to sit the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), in line with the admission arrangement announced for colleges of education.
Candidates with at least four credits in relevant O’Level subjects could be considered for provisional admission, subject to fulfilling the stipulated requirements before completing their programmes. He added that candidates who had taken the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination would also be considered.
The Provost further announced that the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) had granted the college full accreditation to run the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) programme.
He said the programme, which had commenced at Abakaliki High School Preschool, had attracted about 100 students as of the preceding Saturday.
According to him, the PDE is designed for graduates whose first degrees are not in education but who wish to acquire the professional qualifications required to teach.
He identified graduates of engineering, medicine, law and other non-education disciplines as potential beneficiaries.
Successful participants, he explained, would subsequently sit the TRCN professional qualifying examination to obtain the required teaching licence and professional certification.
On infrastructure development, Azunku disclosed that the college management, in partnership with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and Gosima Group, would lay the foundation for a 240-room hostel project.
He said the initiative was part of efforts to expand the institution’s accommodation capacity in anticipation of increased student enrolment.
The Provost, who said the present management assumed office on March 16, 2026, explained that the town hall meeting was organised to communicate management policies, address staff concerns and promote institutional harmony.
He reaffirmed the college’s zero-tolerance policy on cultism, examination malpractice and other forms of academic misconduct, assuring prospective students and their parents of adequate security within the institution.
