The Bauchi State government has closed down 39 private colleges of education due to lack of registration.

The Commissioner for Higher Education, Lydia Tsammani stated this at a news conference in Bauchi on Thursday.

Mrs Tsammani said the affected institutions did not get the approval of the National Commission for Colleges of Education or put in place tangible infrastructure.

She said, “A total of 39 colleges were found to be without anything. They are operating in primary schools and when the school closes, then the NCE programmes start with even primary and secondary school teachers as their teachers. They even borrowed teachers because they don’t have anything to make them stand as a college.”

According to Mr Tsammaani, the ministry issues a notice to unregistered colleges with approved structures, to complete their registration within six months or face sanction.

She said that 12 colleges operating with NCCE’s approval would be allowed to continue only after they engaged qualified staff and paid their registration fees to the ministry.

She added, “They must ensure that they admit only qualified candidates because it was discovered that some of them are just interested in the school fees. They must also ensure continuous upgrade of school facilities and equipment. Some of them are still using analogue typewriters in their offices in this digital era.”

 (NAN)