Provost of the College of Education, Katsina-Ala, Dr Tyodoo Iyue, has pleaded with Benue State governor, Rev. Fr Hyacinth Alia, to assent to the Dual Mandate Bill recently passed by the Benue State House of Assembly.
Iyue who made the appeal while interacting with journalists in Katsina-Ala to mark his first year in office, also sought the review of heavy taxation imposed on the institution’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), saying both issues were critical to the college’s survival.
He said signing the Dual Mandate Bill would empower the college to simultaneously run the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree programmes, a move Dr Iyue said would boost enrollment, expand academic opportunities and restore the institution’s competitiveness.
According to the provost, declining enrollment in the NCE programme has significantly affected the college as many prospective students now prefer to pursue degree programmes directly.
“The Dual Mandate initiative will reverse this trend and reposition the institution for greater growth,” he expressed optimism.
Dr. Iyue also called on the state government to ease the tax burden on the college’s IGR, lamenting that the deductions were reducing the institution’s capacity to address pressing operational and developmental needs.
Beyond the dual mandate and taxation concerns, the provost appealed for urgent government intervention to tackle the institution’s worsening infrastructural decay, manpower shortage and funding constraints, saying the 50-year-old college could deteriorate further without immediate support.
He noted that most of the buildings on the campus were constructed when the college was established in 1976 and had become dilapidated, while the absence of a befitting administrative block and the poor condition of the access road to the institution’s second campus were affecting effective administration and academic activities.
The provost identified shortage of academic and non-academic staff, insecurity resulting in repeated theft of school property, lack of operational vehicles for principal officers, non-confirmation of long-serving support staff and the prolonged industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Tertiary Institutions in Benue State (ASUTIBS) as additional challenges confronting the institution.
He disclosed that the last staff recruitment was conducted in 2021, adding that retirements and deaths had since created critical vacancies across both academic and administrative departments.
The provost said his administration had recorded notable achievements within one year in office.
Dr. Iyue listed the domestication of the Dual Mandate Law in collaboration with the College of Education, Oju, pending the governor’s assent, construction of an Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Centre through the 2025 TETFund intervention, establishment of an entrepreneurship centre for skills acquisition, prompt promotion of staff with promotion letters issued in October 2025, reactivation of the institution’s Alumni Association and restoration of relative peace on campus among other achievements.
Earlier, chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Benue State Council, Comrade Bemdoo Ugber, said the visit was intended to objectively assess the administration’s performance, highlight its achievements and draw public attention to the institution’s challenges in order to attract support from government, alumni and development partners.
