Fides Media Living the Faith
. . Targets Staff Welfare, Quality Delivery; Seeks Assistance for Funding, Access Road
By Ifeoma Ezenyilimba
The provost of Federal College of Education (Technical) (FCE(T)), Umunze, South East Nigeria, Dr. Tessy Okoli, has said that the management team under her watch is committed to its goal of making the College a Centre of Excellence and an institution of first choice among other colleges of education in Nigeria.
Dr. Okoli, who is the 4th substantive provost of FCE (T), Umunze and the first internally appointed provost of the College, stated this in her first press conference at the Council Chambers of the institution on March 22, 2019.
Pointing out that she assumed office on May 17, 2018 with the passion to serve the good of the institution and the mission policy to contribute to the development of the federal college, Okoli noted that the College would live up to its expectations of providing quality manpower for the nation.
This was even as she added that the management would continuously uphold the mission of FCE (T), Umunze which was established by Decree 4 of 1986, and commenced full academic programme in 1990 with the task to provide skilled and technically oriented manpower for the nation’s education sector.
The provost identified staff welfare as her priority, saying that her administration would continue to encourage and empower the staff to give their best for the growth of the institution.
Okoli, who has served the College in various capacities for 26 years, noted that in line with her belief that a motivated workforce was a sine-qua-non for effective service delivery, she had on assumption, reviewed and placed correctly, members of the staff that were due for promotion.
On quality delivery, the provost said she was committed to academic staff development and training, which according to her, were one of the cornerstones of her administration. She noted that in line with the capacity training, many academic staff currently pursue their higher degrees in universities, under a TETFund funded academic programme.
The 4th provost said the College, as a teacher training institution, would remain committed to her core mandate, and produce quality NCE, PDE and Degree graduates with the requisite competence to work in their chosen areas of interest, after their academic pursuit. This, she said was in addition to the institution’s determination to fill its secured annual 2,500 carrying capacity, as it played a leading role in the provision of access to tertiary education for millions of Nigerian students.
While noting that the College offers full accredited academic programmes in both the NCE, PDE and degrees, in affiliation with Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, Dr. Okoli said FCE (T) had always maintained the standard of academic excellence it was known for. She stated her conviction that the smooth running of the degree programmes, would no doubt, give a strong boost to the institution’s aspiration to become a full-fledged University of Education (Technical).
Okoli, who thanked the 6th Governing Council of the College led by Hon. Philips Shekwo and the Anambra State Government for their supports to the institution, solicited for assistance from all to boost the development of FCE (T).
She solicited for assistance towards tackling the College’s problems of access road and funding for projects, saying that supports such as building projects; donation of vehicles, learning facilities and institution of academic prizes and awards in the names of donors, as well as landscaping of the main campus of the College would be appreciated.