NBTE begins inspection, accreditation of  Gombe horticulture school

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The National Board for Technical Education has commenced a comprehensive resource inspection and full accreditation exercise at the Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa, Gombe State.

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The exercise, which covers selected academic programmes, is aimed at assessing the institution’s facilities, equipment, manpower and other resources required to meet NBTE standards.

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Arewa PUNCH reports that the accreditation team, led by the Director of Polytechnic and Allied Programmes Department, NBTE, Elder Ayo Aroge, was received by the Provost of the college, Dr Umar Abdullahi, and members of the management.

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Programmes presented for full accreditation included the HND Agribusiness Management, HND Fisheries Technology, HND Science Laboratory Technology (Microbiology), HND Cooperative Economics and Management, ND Social Development, ND Computer Science, and ND Library and Information Science.

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The college also presented HND Agricultural and Extension Management and HND Pest Management Technology for re-accreditation, while HND Science Laboratory Technology (Microbiology), HND Cyber Security and Data Protection, and HND Social Development among others were presented for resource inspection.

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Speaking during the exercise, Aroge said the inspection was intended to assess the college’s level of readiness and ensure that the programmes met the regulatory requirements of the board.

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He said, “Resource persons have been deployed to the relevant departments to ensure that the exercise is conducted efficiently and without disruption.”

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Aroge, who noted that the visit was not the first accreditation exercise undertaken by NBTE at the institution, urged the management and staff to cooperate fully with the inspection team.

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“We expect maximum cooperation from all departments and units involved to ensure a successful exercise,” he said.

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The exercise was conducted under the supervision of the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof Idris Muhammad Bugaje.

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In his welcome address, the Provost, Umar, said the college had made concerted efforts to improve its facilities and provide the equipment and qualified manpower required for the programmes.

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He explained further, “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.”

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The Provost disclosed that the institution had funded the improvements largely through its internal allocation despite not currently benefiting from TETFund intervention.

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“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.

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At the exit briefing, the accreditation team inspected more facilities, equipment and learning resources across the relevant departments before receiving feedback on areas where requirements had been met and those still outstanding.

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The team leader commended the management for what it described as remarkable upgrades and improvements across various areas of the institution.

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However, the inspectors identified some minor requirements that needed to be addressed to bring the college to the required standard for the programmes.

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Responding, Umar thanked the team for its professionalism and thoroughness, assuring that the college would address the outstanding requirements promptly.

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“We remain committed to providing all outstanding requirements in record time to ensure that our students have access to quality and globally competitive education,” Umar assured the visiting team.

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