The Five Best Colleges Of Education In The Southeast

In Nigeria, it is universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education in that order. Colleges of education are a close third now that you require JAMB to get admission. They used to be a distant third by a great degree. In the time past, you just buy form to the college of education of your choosing and you wait for your name to be published on the school notice board. During registration, you are taxed the Jamb fee and that was that. Having their names appear in JAMB brochures really helped Colleges of Education gain some respect. Many colleges of education now offer degree programmes and, in this aspect, they trump polytechnics and monotechnics.

According to the National Commission of Colleges of Education, NCCE, as of May 2021, there are 152 colleges of education in Nigeria, consisting of 21 Federal, 82 private, and 49 state colleges of education. In the South East, there are over a dozen colleges of education – three of them Federal, five of them state-owned, and the rest of them private.

If you are thinking of studying in a college of education, here are the top five you should be considering, arguably best colleges Of education In The Southeast. We ranked this in descending order of significance.

Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri

Established in 1963, Alvan Ikoku College of Education is the oldest college of education in the East and arguably the oldest college of education when the whole southern regions are counted as one. The college was established just three years after independence as an Advanced Teachers Training College with technical assistance from UNESCO.

The college became a full-fledged college of education in 1973 three years after surviving the civil war. This time, it was owned by the East-Central State. When, in 1976, the state was broken into Old Imo and Old Anambra States, it became an Imo College of Education.

In 2007, the government of Yar’adua took over the school and it became a federal college of education. In 2015, Goodluck Jonathan upgraded the college of education into a university but the government of Buhari reversed its status back to a college.

The school has 6 faculties and boast of over 13 thousand students and a faculty of staff in the higher single hundreds.

Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education offers degree programmes in affiliation with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze

The Federal College of Education is the only college of education owned by the federal government in the state. Located in Umunze, Orumba South Local Government, the school is centrally placed to serve not just Anambra but Abia, Enugu, and Imo States with which the local government area shares borders.

It was established by the government of General Babangida in 1986 but didn’t take off till 1989 when it took over the structures of the famed All Saints Secondary School owned by the Anglican Church. With about 8000 students today the school is sizable for a college.

See how we ranked the best polytechnics in the east

The school has six faculties plus a seventh for Pre-NCE and offers NCE, degrees, and post-graduate diplomas in education. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, owns the degree certificates they issue their students.

Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu

The Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu was established in 1981 by the Second Republic Governor of Old Anambra State, Dr. Jim Nwobodo. The school began operations in a temporary site near the then Anambra Tv in Independence Layout. The college later moved to its present site, 64 KM from Enugu City, taking over the structures of Federal Government-owned Teacher Training College, (TTC), Eha-Amufu.

In April 1993, the government of General Babangida took over the college for the Federal Government by a decree that adopted the Act of Anambra State 1981 Legislation founding the tertiary institution. Federal funding would always dwarf state funding, thus FCET, Eha-Amufu has now grown to heights that state colleges of educations founded before it would be honoured to be in.

The college offers NCE programmes in 40 courses and degree programmes on behalf of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in twelve departments, serving about 7000 students.

Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe

Nwafor Orizu College of Education, NOCEN,  refers to itself “your gateway to quality and functional learning for today’s world.” You may believe them or you may not, but it is hard to argue with the “functional” aspect of their claim. When a school is built to teach you to teach others, it’s functional.

Owned by Anambra State Government and founded in 1976, this is one of the oldest state-owned colleges of education in Nigeria; located in Nsugbe which is just 27 KM from the commercial city of Onitsha, the school is one of the better-run state colleges of education in Nigeria.

Named after Nigeria’s then senate president (1960 to 1966), Nwafor Orizu, the college has five schools (faculties) including the special School of Early Child Care Education. The college is in the process of building a sixth for digital and entrepreneurial studies. With an estimated 4000 students, it is a modest school which is a plus in the teacher-to-students relationship aspect.

Five Private Universities of note in the southeast

WIth Nsugbe, you can get a National Certificate in Education, NCE, or a degree that is run in affiliation with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Enugu State College Of Education (Technical), ESCET

Enugu State College Of Education (Technical), ESCET, is located in Abakaliki Road, opposite the popular Enugu Mall. It took over the campus vacated by the Institute of Management Technology, IMT, Enugu when IMT moved to their new site in Independence Layout (it is such that the bus stop in from of ESCET main gate is still referred to as IMT bus stop).

Located in what can be termed Southeast centre of learning, ESCET

Fun fact: ESCET located in Enugu State is in affiliation with Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka located in Anambra State while Nwafor Orizu College of Education located in Anambra State is in affiliation with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, located in Enugu State (as it should be).

ESCET would have been ranked higher if they run an accessible website.

Connect with us on Pinterest