Director’s Desk

Institute of Education, Nasarawa State University, Keffi was established in October, 2014. Professor J.O.E Otuka was the first Director appointed for the Institute. The current Director is Professor Orame P.S Alaku.

The Institute is designed to provide educational consultation, liaisons and professional training through linkages between the University and other educational agencies that exist in Nasarawa State and beyond.

The Institute of Governance and Development Studies is one of the earliest academic Centres of Excellence to be approved by the Senate of Nasarawa State University under the leadership of Prof. Adamu Baikie, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor. The intention for its establishment was to expand the University’s scope of influence in society through multi -disciplinary education and capacity building. By this, students or trainees will develop knowledge and skill-sets that enables them to respond to emerging national development challenges for the common good. The birth of the Institute was therefore a paradigm shift from the traditional department- based, single-discipline approach to manpower development for the polity. This intention was eventually appropriated when Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi proposed postgraduate courses in Security & Strategic Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies. These programmes were approved by the fourth Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Mohammad Akaro Mainoma and ratified by the Senate to be domiciled at the Institute. Its academic programmes have expanded to include Forensic Investigation with specializations in Accounting and Digital Forensics, and Public Procurement.

Brief Profile

The profile of courses currently offered by the Institute include:

• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Security & Strategic Studies
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Peace & Conflict Studies
• Master of Science (MSc.) in Forensic Investigation
• Master’s in Public Procurement
• Master of Corporate Law & Governance

The Institute publishes a Journal titled Peace, Security and Strategic Studies Reports. So far, six editions have been produced. A second Journal titled Journal of Governance and Development is being assembled to expand outlets to our teeming scholars to disseminate their research findings. The Institute encourages students and their supervisors to aspire for quality publishable work in our journals and other internationally rated journals. The Institute adheres strictly to the University’s postgraduate regulations on higher education.

Prof. Suleiman Bala Mohammed, the current Vice- Chancellor has led a paradigm shift in university governance ICT driven learning for self-reliance and productive scholarship which drives the Institute to adopt technology based learning-facilitation techniques. Beyond ICT, the Institute considers community service as an aspect of productive scholarship in the sense that it affords the Institute the opportunity to apply models of interventions to pressing human problems such that the benefits which accrue give increased visibility to the University and its role in society. Within the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown period in Nigeria the Institute has collaborated with the National Broadcasting Commission on a study titled, “Performance of broadcast stations in the coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria”. The data is being analysed.

In addition, the Institute organizes three annual study tours for her doctoral students to cover designated states of the Federation, an African Country and a European Country. These visits have strengthened intellectual discourse offered enlarged opportunitiesfor training collaborations with foreign Universities that have been visited.

Through the Institute, Nasarawa State University is a registered member of the International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction (ICUDDR) and an approved Testing Center for the International Certification Addiction Practitioners. In this regard the Centre has sponsored the training of University Staff from the Health Services and Psychology Departments. Others Include University Library Staff and community based organizations registered with Keffi Foundation as an extension of the University’s community service. It is important to also note that the Institute represents the NSUK in Nasarawa State’s Health Research Committee.

The laudable achievements would not have been possible without the labor and sacrifices of the former Directors of the Institute namely, Dr Friday Wada, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi and Prof. TheophilusLagi.

We remain grateful to our teeming students whose pursuit of knowledge constitutes a pleasant challenge to the University in the sense that their varied experiences add value to the transactional learning that we promote at the Institute. We also acknowledge the generous contributions of the pioneer sets (Courses 1-3) towards the development of its permanent site.

Vision

To cultivate an academic tradition that produces knowledge-based governance systems that drive sustainable development

Mission

To create a stimulating learning environment in which a wide range academic activities produce quality human resources for national development

Philosophy

Education is the most veritable tool for human development and social transformation

Core Values

Integrity, Service, Innovation, Excellence & Cooperation [ISIEC]

Goals & Objectives

The goals of the postgraduate training at the Institute include:

1. The further development in postgraduate students of the spirit of enquiry through training in research, in an atmosphere of intellectual independence and individual creativity, combined with a strong sense of group cooperation.
2. To enable postgraduate students, understand elementary concepts and to apply them in a creative manner for problem solving to generate new knowledge.
3. To promote intellectual growth through constructive mental engagement, pedagogy and research. To promote specialization in knowledge and skills that support the extension of mental horizons, discoveries of new perspectives for growth and development

 Our specific objectives are:

1. To produce graduates who are confident and visionary agents of change
2. To produce graduates who are socially responsible, knowledgeable and highly skilled and competent managers of human, material and financial resources
3. To explore and expand the frontiers of knowledge for students through quality research to enable them to play a vital role in academics, industry and nation national development
4. To influence critical thinking for policy development and national transformation through Strategic public-private sector collaborations and partnerships
5. To explore opportunities for linkages and exchange programmes with local and international centers of learning in teaching, research, internships and fellowships.