WEDNESDAY March 5, 2025 |TheNewsDESK
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A foremost internationally recognised civil society cum human rights organisation in Nigeria, the Center for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN), has urged the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to give speedy passage to the Bill seeking to upgrade the Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit to the status of a University.

The Center made the call during a Press Briefing by its Director, Otuekong Franklyn Isong, at the office of the organisation in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Capital on Wednesday, 5th March, 2025.

The CHRAN commended the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Udeme Otong, and members of the House of Assembly, especially the Chairman and Members of the House Committee on Education, for taking concrete legislative steps towards upgrading the Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit to the Akwa Ibom State University of Education, Afaha Nsit.

The CHRAN stated that it has been at the head of advocacies towards the upgrade of the College of Education, Afaha Nsit, saying that members of CHRAN had embarked on several advocacy visits to the College of Education, Afaha Nsit, during which period the CHRAN team met with the management of the College and toured and appraised the facilities of the College.

“In March, 2024, during an advocacy visit to the College, CHRAN, while advocating for the State Government to upgrade the College to the status of a University of Education, expressed concern that the institution, which was established in October 1990, has been losing students enrolment to universities as most parents and guardians preferred a four-year degree programme to a three-year National Certificate of Education (NCE) programme offered by the College.

“Findings by CHRAN indicates that admission into the Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit for the NCE programme has drastically reduced from over 5,000 in the late 1990s to just 69 in the 2023/2024 session.

“CHRAN also found that the labour market no longer favours NCE graduates. Again, as findings by the CHRAN indicate, about 11 academic programmes in the Akwa Ibom State College of Education are already running the degree programme affiliated to the University of Uyo.

“According to findings by CHRAN, the drastic drop in students enrolment for the NCE programme, coupled with the ceiling by the University of Uyo on admissions by the College of Education, Afaha Nsit for the degree programme, the internally-generated revenue (IGR) of the College of Education, Afaha Nsit has become too low for meaningful administration and academic progress of the College of Education, Afaha Nsit.

“CHRAN had decried that although the College is empowered by Law to award degrees, it can only do so in affiliation with the University of Uyo,” the CHRAN boss asserted.

The CHRAN noted that Section 4(2)(c) of the Akwa Ibom State College of Education Law specifically provides that the Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Uyo shall be a member of the Council of the Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit.

The Center maintained that when the Bill becomes Law, Akwa Ibom State will boast of an institution that will ensure the availability of highly-trained manpower at all levels of education. “Of course, this will be a big boost to the ARISE Agenda of the current administration of Pastor Umo Eno, PhD”, the CHRAN Director asserted.

The CHRAN declared its support for the Bill and urged all stakeholders to close ranks and synergise towards the realisation of the lofty objectives of the Bill.

It would be recalled that the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly had on Wednesday, 26th February, 2025, organised a Public Hearing on “A Bill For A Law To Provide For The Establishment Of The Akwa Ibom State University Of Education, Afaha Nsit And To Make Provisions For Its Administration And For Other Purposes Connected Thereto”, the Bill is yet to be passed by the House of Assembly.