Strategic Focus for Addressing the Strategic Issues
- Evolving a Service and Development Oriented, Team Bonded Governance Structure
In order to achieve the vision and mission of the College through a service and development oriented, team bonded Governance structure there is the need to do the following:
- Aligning institutional actors around clearly articulated goals;
- Building effective working relationships;
- Reducing ambiguity in members’ roles;
- Emphasis on team work;
- Orientation and re-training of Council members, Management staff, Academic board, and all other staff;
- Implement e-administration to cover all admin functions;
- Prepare a standard calendar for Annual processes such as admission, Council and Senate meetings at the beginning of the year and adhere strictly to it;
- Establish measurable standards of performance for all staff;
- Perform periodic staff and performance audit.
- Re-appraisal of the existing and planned Expanded Structures and Facilities for Establishing the Relevant Sustenance and Service Value Utilization for Improved Teacher Education
We are all living witnesses to the serious infrastructural development recorded in the College in the last decade. With the type of programmes we intend to introduce to the College, there is the dire need to re-appraise the existing structures for sustenance and equip them with high-tech equipment that would enhance teaching and learning. This could be achieved in the following ways:
- Inculcate culture of better utilization and maintenance of facilities;
- Completion of existing uncompleted projects;
- Judicious utilization of TETFund interventions to construct more academic buildings and related structures;
- Campus beautification;
- Actively implement alternative power solution to cover the entire campus within 4 years.
- Implement power conservation solutions.
- Curricular Re-Invention within the Context of the National Teacher Education Policy and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) Programme-Re-Structuring Drive for Appropriate Quality Basic Teacher Education Delivery
In addition to the existing programmes offered in the College, we will introduce/strengthen courses that would address specific Teacher Education needs and could be achieved through
- Development of a pathway for the adoption of the NCCE re-invented Basic Teacher Education Curriculum (School of Basic Education, Early Childhood & Special Needs Education, School of Literacy and Adult Education, School of Secondary Education, School of General and Foundation Education).
- Addressing the University Teacher Education Programmes of the College for sustainability and quality Secondary Education Delivery.
- Building synergy between the College and Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Faculty of Education and NSTPDI for quality Professional Basic Teacher Education strengthening.
- A Robust ICT Driven Quality Teaching and Learning
Providing an ICT-driven and intellectually stimulating teaching and learning condition for staff and students to achieve their optimum levels of outputs. This could be done through:
- Ensuring availability of ICT services all over the campuses;
- Extensive use of ICT in teaching ;
- Produce digital course modules;
- Implement/strengthen computer based assessment;
- Central time-tabling for lectures and examinations;
- Inculcate e-learning and enhanced online opportunities;
- Continually increase bandwidth to support e-learning;
- Processing of students’ result electronically;
- Re-structuring of the ICT/MIS directorate for greater efficiency.
- Research and Development Focus
Here the College under my watch shall provide leadership in innovative and edge cutting research in areas of Education. Researches that could help solve education-related problems in this could be achieved in the following ways:
- Develop/strengthen research policy;
- Harmonize research administration in the College;
- Organize capacity building programs on research methodology and proposal writing;
- Ensure timely utilization of available research grants;
- Make available to staff and students online courses and research methodology;
- Appropriate research grants to faculties;
- Create a dedicated page of links to available research grants on the College website.
- Community Engagement, Service and Exploring and Intensifying Linkages and Collaborations for Extra Resources and Professional Teacher Education Development
Community engagement facilitates the convergence of the town and gown and stakeholder participation. Partnership brings about linkages and collaboration. This could be achieved by:
- Encouraging all academic departments to establish at least one project or program in its discipline with a Community or relevant Agency of Government;
- The College could undertake a socially desirable program or project in its host community, periodically, with specific focus on the unemployed and juvenile youth, adult/literacy and entrepreneurship education in communities and prisons;
- As part of community service and stakeholder involvement, the College shall take NCE to the door steps of all primary school Teachers in Niger state. By this arrangement, 90% of all primary school Teachers in Niger state shall have the minimum teaching qualification in the next four years;
- In partnership, Advancement office will be created to take care of linkages and collaboration;
- A robust Alumni relations office;
- Exploring Linkages and Collaboration with stakeholders like, Niger State Universal Basic Education Board (NSUBEB), and Foremost International Teacher Education Institutions.
- Creating Morally Sound and Siren Environment for Functional Teacher Education
This entails creating a stimulating and conducive environment for learning. This will involve safety, security and maintenance of facilities and structure in the College.
- Strengthen the security unit of the College;
- Enhance the physical environment and aesthetics of the College;
- Develop a strong culture of sustainable waste management;
- Evolve a strong maintenance culture;
- Curbing cultism through information sharing and management;
- Ensuring proper dress code;
- Addressing issues of students/staff harassment;
- Zero tolerance to corruption;
- Proper management of religious, ethnic and sectional issues.
- Ensuring Sustainable Resource Generation and Management Drive
Funding of education in Nigeria has become a very serious challenge. Achieving the Vision and Mission of the Niger State College of Education, Minna will remain a mirage if adequate and sustainable funding is not evolved. Management of the little resources provided by government in higher institution of learning remains a problem. Strategies for generation and management of the resources must be put in place.
- Restructuring and strengthening the Consultancy Company;
- Strengthening the COEMINNA Microfinance bank;
- Diversifying in the area of agriculture and agricultural related enterprises; novel agricultural technological production systems that will spin money to the College;
- Re-structure the College businesses by injecting more funds and ensuring accountable leadership;
- Generate income through external research grants;
- Resuscitate the College endowment fund headed by General Gado Nasko;
- Reach out to Government Agencies, CBN, SEC, UNICEF, RMRDC, NSUBEB etc.
- Re-inventing fund raising and extra funds accessing opportunities while ensuring prudence, transparency and accountability in the management of funds, the Management shall also employ best practices in financial control;
- Generally reduced overheads;
- Deploy a robust and efficient integrated financial software in revenue collection;
- Implement e-payment to cover all payments;
- Increase recurrent allocation to Academic activities targeting NCCE benchmarks;
- Devolve more financial powers to Schools and ensure adequate monitoring and control of expenditure;
- Strengthen budget implementation;
- Fostering enhanced transparency and accountability in funding sources available.
- Sustaining Staff and Students’ Welfare
It is our intention to ensure a sustained staff and students’ welfare for better productivity
- Ensure payment of staff entitlements;
- Create opportunities for staff to earn extra income through personal practices;
- Strengthening and upgrading the already existing sporting and recreational facilities;
- Staff Loan Scheme(s);
- Vigorously pursue Staff Housing Projects opportunities through PPP;
- Promoting employee well-being through Personal Effective programs;
- Organize annual productivity award for outstanding staff.
We shall also evolve a welfare package for students such as
- Institute scholarships for outstanding students;
- Soft loan for indigent students;
- Provide sporting and recreation facilities;
- Regular Hostel maintenance;
- Build more Hostels through, Proprietor, Interventions, PPP and high-net worth individuals;
- Organize achievement motivation and wellness programs periodically.
- Institutionalizing Quality Assurance
Looking at the quality and standard of our graduate in Colleges of Education in recent times, there is the dire need to institutionalize quality culture in all the processes and procedures of the College in order to ensure better output. This could be achieved in the following ways:
- Establishment/strengthening Directorate of quality assurance;
- Ensuring quality assurance in all academic and nonacademic units of the College;
- Standardize admission procedure and processes;
- Ensuring Quality Assurance in the conduct of examination and processing of result;
- Punctuality in the system.
- Staff Development and Promotion
- Design a training schedule at the beginning of the year;
- Ensure regular and equitable training for all categories of staff;
- Conferences and workshops;
- Recognize and reward outstanding personal development efforts of staff;
- Conclude all staff promotion in time and before the end of the year;
- Ensure that promotion guidelines encourage and promote productivity and improvement in the system;
- Reduce promotion guidelines to objective, measurable and unambiguous parameters;
- Make the criteria available to all staff;
- Exploring extra opportunities for Staff Capacity Development.
Pledge
I pledge to take Niger State College of Education, Minna to greater heights by consolidating and re-positioning its status for Quality Basic Teacher Education.