By Son Tertsea, Abuja

Due to regulatory breaches involving admissions, accreditation and university affiliations, the Federal Government has cancelled all admissions into the National Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree programmes of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, for the 2026 academic session.

Flowing from the above, the institute has also been directed by the Federal Ministry of Education to discontinue all university affiliations and degree-awarding arrangements, stressing that it is not authorised to award NCE or university degrees.

This was disclosed on Saturday, by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the Ministry, Boriowo Folasade, who warned prospective students, parents and the general public against seeking admission into unauthorised programmes at the institute.

She stated that no further admissions into the affected programmes, whether full-time, part-time or through Distance Learning Studies (DLS), would be permitted. The statement read:

“Consequently, all admissions into NTI’s NCE and degree programmes for the 2026 academic session have been cancelled, while the Institute has been directed to discontinue all university affiliations and degree-awarding arrangements, as it is not authorised to award NCE and University degrees.”

The Ministry also advised members of the public not to apply, accept admission offers or make payments for such programmes, adding that the directive followed violations of the Ministerial Operational Guidelines issued on September 12, 2025.

It further said NCE admissions must comply with the applicable requirements of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the accreditation standards of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).

The Ministry further directed the National Universities Commission (NUC) to notify affected universities and ensure compliance with the decision to discontinue NTI’s degree-awarding arrangements.

“Ministerial Operational Guidelines issued on 12 September 2025.
The Ministry clarifies that NCE admissions must comply with applicable Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) requirements and accreditation standards of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).

“The National Universities Commission (NUC) is also to notify affected universities and ensure compliance with the directive on NTI’s discontinued degree-awarding arrangements,” it stated.

However, to protect students already enrolled in the affected programmes, the NCCE will conduct a comprehensive accreditation exercise covering existing NCE II–IV Distance Learning programmes and study centres across the six geopolitical zones.

The Ministry said eligible students would be allowed to complete their programmes, subject to accreditation outcomes and other regulatory requirements.

It reaffirmed that NTI’s statutory mandate remained teacher training, retraining, in-service development and continuous professional development.

By Son Tertsea, Abuja

The Federal government has appealed to the National Assembly to halt the passage of bills establishing new federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for seven years.

The appeal was contained in a communication to the President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa saying the Federal Executive Council approved the moratorium in August 2025 to address the proliferation of tertiary institutions, duplication of programmes and inadequate funding.

Alausa noted that existing federal tertiary institutions are grappling with inadequate lecture halls, overcrowded classrooms, insufficient laboratories, shortage of qualified personnel and deteriorating infrastructure.

He warned that establishing more institutions without addressing these challenges could further weaken academic standards and the quality of education.

He gave reference to the decision of Ekiti and Imo States, which undertook consolidation and restructuring of some tertiary institutions due to financial and administrative challenges.

He further clarified that the moratorium was not intended to permanently restrict access to tertiary education but to allow government consolidate existing investments, improve infrastructure and academic standards, and ensure sustainable funding.

By Son Tertsea, Abuja

The Federal Government has planned spending up to N80 billion of financial support on 40 tertiary institutions to establish commercial farms, in order to boost food production.

The strategic intention is to further create employment opportunities, reduce dependence on government funding by universities and other higher institutions to become self sustaining..

Dr Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, unveiled this at a meeting with heads of some selected institutions and the management of the Bank of Agriculture. The meeting’s aim was to discuss the implementation of the Renewed Hope Tertiary Agricultural and Entrepreneurship Programme.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the minister, Ikharo Attah, “The programme is designed to mobilise more than 500,000 hectares of underutilised land across tertiary institutions for commercial agricultural production, research and enterprise development.”

Alausa said participating universities, polytechnics and colleges of education would be expected to provide approximately 1,000 hectares each, although institutions with smaller landholdings could also qualify based on the viability of their business proposals.

The understanding is for every participating institution to establish a limited liability company, partner with the Bank of Agriculture “which would provide between N1bn and N2bn in financing for agricultural production and related inputs.

“The minister explained that the initiative was aimed at addressing the longstanding under utilisation of agricultural land in tertiary institutions by providing access to financing, machinery, technical expertise and institutional support.”

He said the Federal Government had also made provisions for the initiative through previous interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, which approved N1bn for some institutions and N2bn for others.

Alausa added that the Federal Ministry of Education had provided N20bn in its capital budget to support 20 tertiary institutions under the agricultural development initiative.

Oarticipating institutions are to receive 10 tractors each at significantly reduced costs through the government’s agricultural mechanisation initiative.

In addition, modern seedlings, farm implements, irrigation equipment, water pumps, fertilisers and technical expertise would be offered to improve productivity.

To guarantee markets for the expected harvests, the minister said arrangements would be made with produce aggregators to purchase crops, while measures would be introduced to minimise post-harvest losses.

He added that the programme would extend beyond primary agricultural production to processing and other agro-allied businesses, creating a sustainable value chain around participating institutions.

Alausa said students, unemployed graduates, alumni, academic and non-academic staff, as well as members of host communities, would be encouraged to participate in the commercial farming activities under the supervision of lecturers and agricultural experts.

Prof. Adamu Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, welcomed the programme saying it would help the institution translate its extensive agricultural research capacity into commercial production.

The Rector, Federal Polytechnic Oko, Dr Chioma Awuzie, expressed hope that the initiative would enable the institution to maximise its available land through mechanised farming and improve agricultural production.

The Managing Director of BOA, Ayo Sotinrin, meanwhile has promised the bank’s provision of financing and market linkages to help institutions commercialise agricultural research, improve productivity and generate revenue.