The Bauchi State Government has closed down 39 unregistered private colleges of education.
The Commissioner for Higher Education, Lydia Tsammani stated this at a press conference in Bauchi on Thursday.
Tsammani said the affected institutions did not got the approval of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), or put in place tangible infrastructu.
“A total of 39 colleges were found to be without anything. They are operating in primary schools and when the school closes, then the NCE programmes start with even primary and secondary school teachers as their teachers,” she said.
“They even borrowed teachers because they don’t have anything to make them stand as a college.”
According to Tsammaani, the ministry issued a notice to unregistered colleges of education with approved structures, to complete their registration with six months or face sanction.
She said that 12 colleges operating with NCCE’s approval would be allowed to continue only after they engaged qualified staff and paid their registration fees to the ministry.
“They must ensure that they admit only qualified candidates because it was discovered that some of them are just interested in the school fees.
“They must also ensure continuous upgrade of school facilities and equipment. Some of them are still using analogue typewriters in their offices in this digital era,” she added.