The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has begun deploying upgraded technology across colleges of education as part of efforts to strengthen teaching and learning nationwide.

Executive Secretary of NCCE, Prof. Paulinus Okwelle, who disclosed this in Abuja during an interaction with journalists, said that the commission is also reviewing the curriculum for colleges of education to ensure alignment with the present reality and global standards.

He said, “We have entered into partnership with so many other development partners where we have upgraded technology as a means of delivery.

“We have some of the companies like Huawei. Huawei is running an academy. Some of our students and lecturers are there.

“In collaboration with UNESCO, we have also been doing some upskilling of our lecturers on the use of technology in lesson delivery. In many of our colleges, all the beneficiary institutions, we are deploying a new technology that we can use to enhance teaching and learning.”

Okwelle, a Professor of Industrial Technology Education, also acknowledged the support of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), which he said has provided essential financial backing for the rollout of the new technologies in beneficiary institutions.

Speaking on the curriculum review, he explained that the process, undertaken every five years, is currently underway, with new advancements and trends expected to be integrated into the updated framework.

“We are reviewing our curriculum. We have entered another five-year cycle. The last one was in 2020. So we are now reviewing,” he said.

The NCCE boss also revealed that the commission is training lecturers in entrepreneurial skills to help embed innovation into teaching across all subject areas.

He added, “We are building our lecturers. We believe that, as one of the things we are also considering in our curriculum, we believe that for every course, you can become an entrepreneur even in your course. Even as an English teacher, you can become an entrepreneur as an English teacher.

“We are now building our lecturers with entrepreneurial skills, so that in whatever subject area or whatever area of teaching, you should be able to imbibe entrepreneurship in your teaching to prepare the minds of those students that even as you are graduating as a physics teacher, as an agric teacher, as a vocational teacher, whatever that means, that you as well can make a living out of what you have studied outside getting a government job.

“That is the kind of training we are giving our lecturers. At the end of the day, we expect them to apply it in their teaching.” (The Nation)