Abia gets Federal College of Education, takes off September

By Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

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Gov Alex Otti has handed over the Certificate of Occupancy, CofO, of the land donated to the Federal government for the establishment of a Federal College of Education in Ofoeme

The federal government has proposed to establish a Federal College of Education in Abia State, with September 2024 as the school’s take off date.

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has already donated land for building of the institution in Ofeme, Umuahia North Local Government Area and, as well, handed over the Certificate of Occupancy of the land. Ofeme is a suburb of Umuahia, the Abia capital city.

Also, the Governor has put in place, a four-man committee charged with ensuring the realization of the project within the proposed September deadline. The committee is headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Kenneth Kalu, and has the Commissioner for Education, Prof Eme Uche Eme; Commissioner for Lands and Housing; Mr. Chaka Chukwumerije, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Kenechukwu Nwosu. The Governor directed the committee to give him a biweekly progress report.

Performing the handing over ceremony of the Certificate of Occupancy to federal government officials on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Governor Otti promised that his administration would provide every necessary support needed for the school to be ready to receive students in September, saying it would be a great asset to the state.

“If you have set a September deadline, we will support you to meet it. A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. We may not be completely ready but let’s start. When we start, we will continue building,” he told the federal government team.

The Governor said that although the State has a College of Education which his administration was working hard to retrieve from ruins of abandonment, one College of Education was not enough to train the kind and number of teachers the state needs.

“We do have a College of Education here that has been abandoned over the years. We are working very hard to retrieve it – the State College of Education in Arochukwu. But, we strongly believe that one College of Education is not enough to train the kind of teachers and the numbers that we require,” the Governor said, adding, “we Consider the Federal College of Education as a great asset to the state.

“For us, we are very resolute and unrepentant about our commitment to education,” he said, noting that with teaching, one gets better with age and stressed the need for continuous training for teachers, focusing on where the world is going.

“We need to continuously train our people; we need to put our feet down on what teachers should learn and how they should learn them. The truth is that you cannot give what you don’t have. So, if you teach pinhole cameras in 2024, what you will get are graduates that will retire before they start.

“Everywhere today, we are talking of digital technology, we are talking of broadband, we are talking of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). We are talking of software engineering. We are talking of artificial intelligence. We are talking of robotics and electronic vehicles. I’m bringing that to tell you where the world is going. Those are the kind of things I hope I can work with you particularly the Provost, the Chairman of the Governing Council. We need to sit down and look at the curricular so that you teach people what will be useful to them,” Governor Otti said.

Earlier in her speech, Dr. Uchenna Ubah who represented Mrs. Didi Wilson-Jack, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, said that they had tried in the past to commence building the College but could not get the necessary cooperation from the state. However, he noted that things changed for good when Governor Otti mounted the saddle.

 “Your Excellency, I want to really thank you for taking the bull by the horn to establish this College of Education because when you came in, you took charge and sent some of your Commissioners. That’s where I met Chukwumerije (Commissioner for Lands and Housing). He came to Abuja and made us to start processing the establishment of the college again because at a stage, we had to really take it off and take it to another State. He came and showed passion that you sent him and we started again,” the Permanent Secretary said.

“We are here today to take over the documents of the land and also to access the place that you have given us, to see if by September the students can come in,” she added.

In a Vote of thanks, the Provost of the College, Dr. Titus Ezeme, thanked Governor Otti and the members of his team who played strategic roles in ensuring that the college would become a reality.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Citizen Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, stated that Governor Otti was joined by his Deputy, Engr. Ikechi Emetu, the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, Secretary to the State Government Prof. Kenneth Kalu, among other top government officials witnessed the handing over the Certificate of Occupancy to the federal government officials.