Some private individuals are setting up private tertiary institutions in order to boost the educational needs of Kano state. BASHIR MOHAMMED reports about such initiative and other recent developments.
When Governor Abdullahi Ganduje made it clear that education is one of the cardinal thrusts of his administration, the people of Kano greeted the pronouncement with jubilation considering the need to make Kano a bastion of education.It was the governor’s opinion that with a vibrant and formidable education sector, other spheres of human endeavours would effectively function in order to meet the yearnings and aspirations of those who had placed high expectations on his government. For such to be workable, Gov Ganduje told everyone that education being an important sector of his administration’s priority, the issue of free and compulsory education is an ambitious programme he is determined to pursue with temerity; therefore, he called on relevant stakeholders to join the crusade of actualising the ambition.It was during the launch of the free and compulsory programme that he solicited the cooperation of the elitists class to contribute their widow’s mite towards initiating programmes aimed at complementing his effort in that direction.
Private Initiative
To that extent, notable indigenes of the state with the capacity to spearhead such efforts swung into action as a way of showing that they really meant business.A case in point was the establishment of the proposed first private college of education in Kano at the behest of some notable patriotic indigenes who saw the compelling need to match words with action in the sector. Consequently, Governor Ganduje stressed the need for their utmost contribution.
The proposed Aminu Kano College of Education according to its deputy provost, Dr Ayuba Ahamad, had been conceived to accord human face to the state’s insatiable desire for more academic institutions, considering the surging population of youths seeking admission as government- owned institutions are inadequate to accommodate everyone at the moment.
It was Ahamad’s firm conviction that the establishment of the college by some patriotic individuals would ginger the confidence of others to tread their footsteps with adequate and sustainable academic institutions to spring up. Kano is therefore set to be in the top echelon of intense academic activity which would also hasten the drive for more feats in other notable areas of human endeavours.
Knowing the fact that establishing a full-pledged academic institution entails painstaking, rigorous scrutiny from relevant regulatory bodies, it compelled owners of such institutions (private or governmental) to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations governing their establishment in order to wax stronger in the ever- competitive academic world.
When accreditation team visited .
Not too long ago, the college hosted a powerful accreditation team from the National Commission for Colleges of Education(NCCE) which was in the state under the leadership of Dr A T Akitoye to inspect the college’s state of preparedness in addition to taking inventory of the academic facilities and courses it was planning to run.
Giving his assessment about the journey so far made in that direction, a deputy director in NCCE, Alhaji Yusuf Shehu Aliyu has said the proposed college is on the road to securing final accreditation from the commission as it has prepared the much needed ground for the exercise.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after inspecting all the academic facilities needed for the institution to swing into action in earnest, Aliyu stated that accrediting the college would be based on the premise of the commission’s satisfaction in accordance with the guidelines and procedures stipulated. He added that the issue of according accreditation to an academic institution entails a painstaking and rigorous scrutiny.
According to him, the commission is poised to act in line with the impression the visiting team got after ensuring that it had done a thorough job that would warrant granting certificate to the college, stressing that the commission would never hesitate to do what is right in as much as it is satisfied with arrangements on ground.
“We are in Kano as you people know to set the machinery in motion for the purpose of accrediting this college. There are guidelines and procedures for accrediting the exercise and we are working towards concluding our important assignment in line with the stipulated standards. We have made serious inroad towards ensuring that we live up to our billing.
“It would not be right to simply tell you people that we have finally given accreditation to this college. but the issue is that we have inspected all the academic facilities put out by the management and we are fully convinced that there is seriousness in the proposed academic move. On a serious note, we are optimistic as far as the issue of accreditation is concerned,” he posited.
Its imperative
On his part, Dr Ahamad said the proposed college has been conceived to offer relevant academic courses that would have positive bearing on the society. He pointed out that running competitive academic courses has become imperative.
He however stated that for the college to be accredited by the commission, the management has ensured that concerted efforts were made to surmount last minute obstacles considering the compelling need for the state to have more academic outfits. However, the deputy provost said that the people of Kano and beyond would be the ones to take full advantage of its creation.
Blueprint investigation reveals that the establishment of the college had elicited reactions from notable stakeholders in the sector on the premise that those who spearheaded the effort deserve kudos at the time when every state in the country is craving to take the lead status in the world of academia.
According to Malam Shehu Uba, a renowned educationist with years of vast academic experience, the establishment of the college would help to train more teachers for the future especially with the state lagging behind in sufficient academic institutions. He added that with notable indigenes of the state spearheading such effort, the state is poised to make considerable inroad at uplifting its academic status.
He said the time has come for the wealthy and elitist class to rise up to the challenge of complementing Gov Ganduje’s effort in giving a face-lift to the sector for the state to effectively compete with sister states across the country.
“I am saying this because we need to buckle-up and put more effort on ground to ensure that we have enough universities and colleges of education in order to enhance our burning quest for development in the present time. If we are left at the lower rung of the ladder in the education sector, we are finished.
“Take the example of other states in the country most especially the South-west; they have gone far ahead of us in the area of education. They have more than enough universities, colleges of education and other institutions of higher learning. This is because their elitists class and wealthy individuals have taken the bull by the horns in proving their mettle in that direction,” he added.
“What are we people doing to meet them up? The answer is just too simple, if our wealthy individuals in the state wake up from their slumber, we can surpass them. It is just a matter of time,” he posited.
Speaking in the same vein, a concerned citizen in the state, Mallam Aliyu Maihula said those behind the establishment of the proposed college has every course to be commended for an initiative well-conceived and wisely articulated, stressing that it is a severe set-back for Kano to be playing the second fiddle in academic business.
He said the time has come for wealthy indigenes of the state to rise to the challenge of establishing private academic institutions at a time like this affirming that rendering such a contribution would ginger the resolve of others to emulate such a good example.
“The way I see it from an individual point of view is that expending resources on building academic infrastructure has the potential of making the state great in the near future. The money that would be spent is not going to be wasted or dissipated on trivialities. We have to look at it from the point of conventional wisdom,” he stressed.
“From my fair assessment of the NCCA’s accreditation team impression, I am highly optimistic that they are ready to execute their assignment with utmost sincerity. They are fully conversant with the nitty gritty of according accreditation to a proposed college of education across the country. This is the crux of the matter,” he retorted.
