The Social Advancement Forum (SAF) has commended the federal government’s decision to approve bachelor’s degree programmes in 15 federal colleges of education across Nigeria.

The commendation follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent assent to a bill empowering these institutions to award both the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degrees.

In a statement signed by the group’s chairman, Tahir Ibrahim Tahir, on Thursday, SAF described the development as a positive step for education in the country.

He said, “We see the dual certification model as a good move aimed at revitalising teacher education in the country as well as addressing dwindling enrolment. By allowing colleges of education to award NCE and B.Ed., the country has taken a major step towards improving teacher training and access to quality education. We also acknowledged efforts being put in place to review NCE’s minimum standards to maintain quality and to ensure that education requirements are met.’’

‎Mr Tahir, however, emphasised the importance of effective supervision and implementation to achieve the intended impact of the policy.

‎”We are hopeful for a proper supervision of the implementation process. But we also urge students to take note of these developments and not allow the president’s efforts at empowering youths to go down the drain,” he said.

SAF also commended other recent reforms in the education sector, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme.

The group said these initiatives would help empower Nigerian youths by focusing on skills acquisition and entrepreneurship through structured learning and training.

(NAN)