The federal government has carried out a comprehensive assessment of the exiting facilities at the recently upgraded Federal University of Education, Pankshin, Plateau State to have an accurate and reliable information toward the successful take-off of the University.
The University, which hitherto was a Federal College of Education has been inaugurated, and is to be repositioned to be a breeding ground for innovations.
Recall that the upgrade followed a Bill sponsored by the Member representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Mr. Yusuf Gagdi which was later passed by the National Assembly and assented to by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Director of Colleges of Education in the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Cecilia Ubah who headed the Assessment Committee to the new University said the upgrade is ”a step in the right direction.”
She explained that the assessment team comprised of officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and stressed, ”We are here to first unveil the upgraded College of Education to a Federal University of Education.
”Secondly, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the exiting facilities with the aim of providing the government with accurate and reliable information toward the successful take-off of the University.
So far, we have seen that there is need for improvement on infrastructure and additional manpower to enable the institution compete favourably with other Universities in the country. So, we solicit the cooperation of everybody to produce a valid document that will quickly attract the attention of the federal government.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the institution, Dr. Funsho Olumoko, thanked the federal government for the upgrade, added that the transition would enhance teaching and learning, called on the host community to protect the facilities on ground and the ones that will come thereafter, and urged the Management of the institution to prioritise quality teaching and research aimed at solving existing and emerging societal problems.
Also, Gagdi, the lawmaker who sponsored the bill for the upgrade thanked the Federal Government for approving and ensuring the smooth transition of the institution from a collage to a University and disclosed President Bola Tinubu has approved N10 billion through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), as matching grant for the new University.
The State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, represented by the Speaker of the State Assembly, Mr. Gabriel Dewan, promised support for the advancement of education in the State.
