“We’ve Made Tremendous Progress Since Our Upgrade” – Dr. Christiana Fwenji Zumyil, Acting VC, FUE Pankshin

Following its official upgrade to a university months ago, the Federal University of Education (FUE), Pankshin has continued to make significant strides in consolidating its new status. From accreditation milestones to infrastructural development, the institution is steadily positioning itself as a centre of excellence in teacher education.

Dr. (Mrs.) Christiana Fwenji Zumyil, Acting Vice Chancellor of FUE Pankshin, has been at the forefront of this progress. In this exclusive interview with News on the Plateau, she reflects on the journey so far, the efforts toward a smooth transition, and the commitment of staff and students in building a future-ready university.

Q: Are you happy with what has been done so far in the institution, particularly regarding the accreditation of courses?

Yes, I am. Accreditation is a key part of any higher institution’s life cycle—it usually happens every five years to ensure courses meet national standards. Here at our institution, we run both degree and NCE programmes.

Before the recent upgrade to a university, our degree programmes were affiliated with the University of Jos. We had 23 degree courses, and I’m glad to say all of them received full accreditation—no interim status, no red flags. The same success was recorded for our NCE programmes.

During the last accreditation in December 2023, all 30 of our NCE courses were also granted full accreditation. That’s a huge credit to our staff and confirms that we are indeed meeting the standards expected of us.

Q: This is a transitional period for the institution. Could you shed more light on the process so far, especially regarding resource verification and preparations?

Absolutely. The dream to upgrade this institution—established in 1974—to a University of Education has been long-standing. It became a reality during my tenure as Acting Provost, and now we are in the critical transition phase.

By God’s grace, we’ve finalized our academic brief and master plan. What remains is the resource verification by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Once that’s completed, we’ll receive the license to operate independently as a university. That means we’ll begin admitting students directly, no longer through the University of Jos. Our establishing Act also empowers us to run NCE, degree, and postgraduate programmes—including up to PhD level.

Q: The students have passed a vote of confidence in your leadership, and some staff have expressed the same. How do you feel about that, and what has been the secret behind this support?

To that, I give all glory to God. Since I assumed office nearly two years ago, the environment has been peaceful and conducive for teaching and learning.

I operate an open-door policy—staff and students alike know they can walk into my office with their concerns, and I act based on fairness and merit. My relationship with students is strong.

I engage frequently with their leadership—SUG, NAPSS, and others. When they bring issues, I respond promptly.

Sometimes, I even leave my office to personally follow up.For the staff, I ensure inclusiveness. We work together in unity. Being an indigene of Pankshin, I have a personal interest in the success of this institution.

When I came in, I discovered many students had graduated for three to four years without receiving results or going for NYSC. That was unacceptable.

One of the problems was poor electricity supply, which affected result computation. We’ve since installed solar power in all seven schools. As we speak, we’re running on solar because there’s no electricity.

Thanks to these efforts, results are now up to date. Graduates have received their statements of results and are proceeding for NYSC. Even NCE results have been released.

The only pending ones are for 400-level degree students and NCE III, who are still writing their final exams. No more backlog!

Q: We noticed some construction works around the school. Is the entire land of the institution fenced and protected, especially considering the security situation in Nigeria?

Security is a major concern for us. Unfortunately, we’ve had incidents—two kidnappings in particular: one involving the Registrar’s residence and another at the home of the Director of Works.

Our campus is large and was too open. Though fencing the entire perimeter at once is difficult, we’ve made progress—we’ve completed about six kilometers out of a total 13.

We’re committed to completing the fencing to prevent land encroachment and improve safety. In addition, we’ve brought in the Special Task Force (STF), and thankfully, 15 soldiers now patrol the campus regularly.

This has greatly improved the security situation. But ultimately, security is in God’s hands.

Q: You’ve addressed power and security. Are there other major challenges? And what is your call to the federal government during this transitional period?

Yes, the infrastructure remains a significant challenge. What we have was originally built for an NCE institution, not a university. We need more lecture halls, offices, and especially hostels.

The student hostels are in terrible shape—they haven’t been renovated since 1974.We’re fortunate that we’ve been allowed to access the 2025 intervention fund for renovations, and our top priority is to upgrade the hostels.

Right now, around 90% of students live off-campus because the hostels can’t accommodate them.

Although the federal government encourages private investors to build hostels through the build-operate-transfer model, our rural location and low rent make it unattractive.

Here, rent for a self-contained room with toilet and kitchen is about N40,000, unlike places like Kaduna where it can go up to N230,000. Investors don’t see a quick return on investment here.

So we appeal to the federal government to assist us in building more hostels and facilities. We want more students to live on campus, where they’ll be safer and better supported academically.

This is essential for our growth and the future of the Federal University of Education.

As the institution stands at the threshold of a new academic identity, the leadership of Dr. Christiana Fwenji Zumyil is clearly shaping more than a name change.

With strategic groundwork in place and visible progress on infrastructure, security, and accreditation, the Federal University of Education, Pankshin is charting a path that could redefine teacher training in Nigeria’s North Central region—and beyond.