University in Nigeria
Oyo, Oyo State
University profile
The Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo (FCE Oyo, also called FCES Oyo) is a federal institution in Oyo, Oyo State, set up to train teachers and other professionals for learners with disabilities, gifted and talented learners and others with special needs. It was established on 5 October 1977 as the Federal Advanced Teachers' College (Special) and is described as the only college of its kind in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. Its motto is "Learning and Dedicated Service" and its students are known as Spedians.
The academic structure is organised into schools, which are equivalent to faculties: the School of Secondary Education (with Arts and Social Sciences, Languages, Sciences, and Vocational and Technical Education programmes), the School of ECPAE, the School of Education, the School of General Studies Education and the School of Special Education. The Arts and Social Sciences school alone has ten departments: Cultural and Creative Arts, Christian Religious Studies, Economics, Geography, History, Islamic Religious Studies, Music, Social Studies, Political Science and Theatre Arts. The college trains teachers across a wide range of subjects and also for special needs areas including physical disability, hearing impairment, visual impairment, learning disability, cognitive disability and giftedness and talent.
Programmes are run in several modes: full-time NCE (Regular), NCE Part-Time, NCE Sandwich, a full-time degree programme in affiliation with the University of Ibadan (approved by the National Universities Commission), a Lagos State University (LASU) sandwich degree programme taught at the Oyo centre, the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PDE) and Pre-NCE.
The college has the largest concentration of students with disabilities in any Nigerian higher institution and the largest concentration of specialised teaching facilities for training teachers of children with special needs in Nigeria. Its academic staff in the School of Special Education include 24 PhD holders. Support units include a Directorate of Sign Language Interpreting, a Career Services Centre, a Centre for Educational Technology, an ICT centre, teaching practice and SIWES units, health and safety services, a student union government, clubs and societies, campus journalism and religious activities.
Enrolment in 2024/2025 was 4,108 students across the three NCE levels. The college is overseen by a Governing Council, with the National Alumni Association represented on it, and is headed by a Provost. It is a federal college of education under the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and benefits from TETFund interventions.
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View scholarships for Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo →Applicants need at least five O-Level credits, including English Language and Mathematics, plus three other subjects relevant to the course of study, obtained in not more than two sittings, together with a JAMB result. Accepted O-Level examinations are SSC or GCE (WAEC), NECO, NABTEB (for Vocational and Technical Education courses, Adult and Non-Formal Education, English Language, Integrated Science and Physics only) and JABAIS/NBAIS (for Arabic Language and Islamic Studies only).
Candidates must write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and choose the college as first choice, or change institution before applying. The college cut-off mark is set each year by the College Admission Committee after the annual JAMB policy meeting, and only candidates who meet it are admitted. Admission is also subject to quotas for education courses, federal guidelines and college screening.
Graduation requires completion of the prescribed credit units, successful teaching practice and a pass in all core courses, plus clearance of fees and return of library materials. Students below a minimum CGPA of 1.0 are placed on probation, and continued poor performance can lead to withdrawal.
Courses are B.Sc (Ed), B.A. (Ed) and B.Ed in subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Physical and Health Education, Health Education, Educational Technology, Computer Science Education, Economics, Political Science, Geography, Business Education, Accounting Education, History, Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, French, English, Yoruba, Arabic, Early Childhood and Primary Education, Guidance and Counselling and Educational Management. English and Mathematics are compulsory. Entry is five O-Level credits or TC II merit passes in not more than two sittings with two subjects at A-Level or NCE merit passes in relevant areas, or a university/polytechnic two-year diploma at merit level or better. The four-year programme is for NCE holders with merit grade or above or GCE A-Level holders with grade E or above; the five-year programme is for WASC/SSCE/TC II and NCE holders who fall short of the four-year entry requirements. The application form costs N12,000 paid online through Interswitch, and completed forms are submitted at the LASU office at the college with original and photocopied credentials.
Approved courses are Education/Christian Religious Studies, Education/Islamic Studies, Educational Management, Guidance and Counselling, Human Kinetics, Primary Education Studies, Education Mathematics, Education French, Education English Language and Special Education. Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, French and English can only be combined as minor teaching subject areas.
The college is located at P.M.B 1089, Oyo, Oyo State, in a green, spacious campus environment. Programmes run from the Oyo campus, where the LASU sandwich degree is also hosted at an on-site Oyo centre.
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