The Provost of the Federal College of Horticulture, Dadin-Kowa in Gombe State, Professor Fatima BJ Sawa has said that the College requires urgent funding if it must cope with the increasing demands of its programmes from the public.
Speaking during the matriculation of 574 students of the College for the 2016/2017 academic session Wednesday, Professor Sawa said despite consciously working hard to improve on the infrastructure and human resources through budget and partnership with donor agencies, the school is still faced with the problem of funding.
According to her, “the perennial problem of poor funding is still here with us but we will continue to source for funds and other resources to sustain the growth and development of the College”.
She stated that despite the numerous challenges facing the College, it is expanding its programmes to cope with increasing demands adding that it is expected that by the next academic session, the College, with the approval of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), will commence its new programmes (ND Animal Health, HND Pest Management, HND Crop Production, ND Fisheries Technology and ND Landscape Technology, among others.
She called on the students to work hard and avoid bad company as their success depends on the depth of the knowledge base and the practical demonstration of their skills.
Out of the 1,098 candidates that applied for admission into the school, only 711 were qualified by the standards set by the National Board for Technical Education as well as internal screening requirements of the College. Out of this number, 574 were admitted and registered into the various College programmes.
