By Oso Abidemi
In a landmark reform set to reshape Nigeria’s teacher education landscape, the federal government has announced that colleges of education will begin awarding bachelor’s degrees from September 2025.
Minister of State for Education, Tunji Alausa, revealed this on Tuesday during a follow-up meeting on resolutions from the last stakeholders’ summit in Abuja. He confirmed that the long-awaited dual mandate — empowering colleges to issue both the National Certificate in Education (NCE) and bachelor’s degrees — will officially take off next academic session.
Initially slated for September 2024, the policy’s implementation has now been moved to 2025, giving institutions more time to prepare.
“This is a game-changer,” Alausa declared. “With this dual mandate, there is no longer any justification for converting colleges into universities. We have secured their future — now they must embrace the change or risk extinction.”
The dual mandate was passed into law in 2023 following extensive consultations and recommendations from education reform committees.
Alausa noted that only federal colleges of education that are at least 10 years old will pilot the programme at inception. He urged administrators, educators, and stakeholders to rally behind the policy, warning that resistance could threaten the survival of their institutions.
Beyond structural reforms, the minister charged educators to modernise their teaching methods, integrating technology, artificial intelligence, and critical thinking into their curriculum.
“We can no longer teach like we did 30 or 50 years ago,” he said. “Education must evolve to match the demands of a digital world. Teachers are the drivers of this transformation.”
Alausa emphasised the importance of equipping students with skills relevant to the 21st century, stressing that the success of the education sector rests on the ability of its institutions to innovate and adapt.
As the countdown to 2025 begins, Nigeria’s colleges of education are at a critical crossroads — one that demands bold steps and unwavering commitment to a reimagined future for teacher training.
