From Umar Dankano, Yola
The Federal College of Education (FCE), Yola, Adamawa State, has graduated 3,555 students who completed their studies in various disciplines during the 2024 and 2025 academic sessions.
The Provost of the college, Professor Mohammed Usman Degereji, disclosed this on Saturday at the institution’s 16th combined convocation ceremony in Yola, where the graduates received their National Certificates in Education (NCE).
Degereji explained that 1,818 students graduated in 2024, while 1,737 completed their studies in 2025.
He also disclosed that more than 200 staff members had attended national and international conferences under his administration to strengthen their professional skills and improve the quality of teaching and learning at the institution.
The provost reiterated his administration’s commitment to providing a conducive academic environment, noting that laboratories, hostels, lecture theatres, staff offices and other essential facilities had received attention.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Education, represented by Dr Uchenna Uba, Director of the College of Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the welfare of personnel in the education sector.
She explained that the Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund (TISSF) was a government welfare and loan initiative established by the ministry to support teachers and other eligible personnel.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Dr Angela Ajala, congratulated the graduates and urged them to uphold high standards of academic excellence and good character wherever they found themselves.
Ajala encouraged the graduates to embrace teaching as a profession of choice rather than treating it as a fallback option when other career opportunities were unavailable.
Earlier, in his keynote address, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri called on the Federal Government to upgrade the college to a University of Education.
He said the proposed upgrade would expand access to higher education and strengthen academic research and contributions to educational development in the region.
Responding on behalf of the graduating students, Paul Ndazimson of the Department of Christian Religious Knowledge, who recorded a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.65, expressed gratitude to the college management and parents for their support and for providing a conducive learning environment.