The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has commenced a comprehensive resource inspection and accreditation exercise at the Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa, Gombe State.
The exercise covers selected academic programmes and is aimed at assessing the institution’s facilities, equipment, staffing and other resources for compliance with NBTE regulatory standards.
The accreditation team, led by the Director of the Polytechnic and Allied Programmes Department, Elder Ayo Aroge, was received by the college’s Provost, Dr Umar Abdullahi, and members of the management team.
The college submitted several programmes for full accreditation, including Higher National Diploma (HND) Agribusiness Management, HND Fisheries Technology, HND Science Laboratory Technology (Microbiology), HND Cooperative Economics and Management, National Diploma (ND) Social Development, ND Computer Science and ND Library and Information Science.
HND Agricultural and Extension Management and HND Pest Management Technology were submitted for re-accreditation, while HND Science Laboratory Technology (Microbiology), HND Cyber Security and Data Protection, HND Social Development and other programmes were presented for resource inspection.
Speaking during the exercise, Aroge said the inspection was intended to determine the institution’s readiness and ensure that the programmes met the board’s regulatory requirements.
“Resource persons have been deployed to the relevant departments to ensure that the exercise is conducted efficiently and without disruption,” he said.
Aroge noted that the visit was not NBTE’s first accreditation exercise at the institution and urged the management and staff to provide full cooperation to the inspection team.
“We expect maximum cooperation from all departments and units involved to ensure a successful exercise,” he said.
The exercise was conducted under the supervision of the NBTE Executive Secretary, Prof Idris Muhammad Bugaje.
In his welcome address, Provost Abdullahi said the college had made sustained efforts to upgrade its facilities, provide the necessary equipment and recruit qualified personnel to support its academic programmes.
“In line with the guidelines provided by the Board, the management has made concerted efforts to put in place the necessary equipment, facilities and qualified manpower required for the continuous assessment and development of the College,” he said.
Abdullahi disclosed that the improvements had largely been funded through the college’s internal allocation, noting that the institution was not currently benefiting from intervention by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“Despite the College not currently benefiting from TETFund intervention, all the facilities and resources provided were funded from the College’s internal allocation,” he said.
During the exit briefing, the accreditation team conducted further inspections of facilities, equipment and learning resources across the relevant departments.
The inspectors provided feedback on areas where the institution had met the required standards and those where additional work was needed.
The team leader commended the college management for what he described as significant upgrades and improvements in several areas, but identified some minor outstanding requirements that needed to be addressed before the institution could fully meet the required standards for the programmes.
Responding, Abdullahi thanked the team for its professionalism and thorough assessment, assuring the inspectors that the outstanding requirements would be addressed promptly.
“We are committed to meeting all outstanding requirements promptly to ensure our students receive quality and globally competitive education,” he said.
