Colleges Of Education To Begin Awarding Degrees In September 2025

Education Minister Tunji Alausa emphasized that the dual mandate marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s teacher education strategy. By allowing qualified federal Colleges of Education to offer both bachelor’s degrees and the traditional NCE, the reform aims to elevate the status of COEs, make them more attractive to prospective students, and reduce pressure to convert them into full-fledged universities.

He clarified that the pilot implementation will begin in September 2025, instead of the initially planned 2024 start, to give institutions more time to prepare, especially in terms of curriculum development, infrastructure, and faculty capacity.

The initiative, signed into law in 2023, had been developed through wide consultations with education experts and stakeholders. Only federal COEs that are at least 10 years old will be eligible to pilot the programme in its initial phase.

Alausa also called on COEs to embrace innovation, particularly through curriculum updates that reflect 21st-century skills like digital literacy, critical thinking, and computational reasoning, in order to equip future teachers with relevant tools for modern classrooms.

Would you like a list of the COEs likely to qualify for the pilot phase, or insight into how this could reshape teacher training in Nigeria?

“We once had a strong educational system, and that’s what we are working hard to restore. All hands are on deck to achieve this,” he said.

“We must tackle the high number of out-of-school children and reduce learning poverty across the country. As teachers, you are at the centre of driving this change, and you must also challenge yourselves.

“The way we taught 30 or 50 years ago is no longer relevant. Education and teaching methods are evolving. You must start thinking about how to use technology in the classroom.”

Addressing declining enrolment in colleges of education, Alausa urged administrators and staff to support the ongoing reforms, warning that the survival of their institutions depends on their ability to adapt.

“With this dual mandate, there is no need for conversion to university status. You should be the ones pushing for implementation, not the other way around. It’s a matter of your survival,” he said.

“The government has secured the future of colleges of education. It is now up to you to sustain them. Failure to embrace this mandate could lead to extinction.

“With this reform, there’s no justification for any college of education to seek university status.”