A lift for College of Dental Therapy, Enugu from Diploma to Degree awarding Institution

It was a giant leap for College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu as the long time Bill put forward by the school to move from awarding Diploma to degree awarding college was passed into law by President Mohammadu Buhari. The College no doubt is posed to meet up with the task ahead as the management of the school recently held a two-day retreat to review performance and trends as well as agree on plans to improve institutional performance, Omolara Akintoye reports

Since its inception over 60 years ago, the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu was established to provide for the training
of Dental Technologists and therapists and has also served as the only training school for these categories of health workers. The College which has played host to cream of students from all parts of Africa ever since it got accreditation by the National board of Technical Education (NBTE) for
the award of Higher National Diploma, until this month when President Mohammadu Buhari pass the bill into law for the school so start awarding
degrees. At a two-day strategic management retreat held this week at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, it was an opportunity for the management of the school to review performance and trends as well as discuss and agree on action plans to improve institutional performance.

The retreat according to the Rector, Federal College of Dental Technology, Dr. John Emaimo is that is offers opportunity for the management to stand
back and clarify where to go as leaders. “Indeed by being detached from our work-day environment, this retreat provides the space and support to let us rethink about our activities and recharge our batteries. Retreats provide new insight and a refresher in the latest global trends and developments”, he said. According to him, an intense interaction with other stakeholders from other institutions forms another important element.

Speaking further, Emaimo pointed out that beginning from the next academic session in 2018, new intakes will now bag degree in their different courses rather than Higher National Diploma. “This will be a boost for the institution as most major courses such as Dental Technology, Dental
Therapy, Bio-Medical Engineering, Dental Nursing, among others, sad to say, are not studied in Nigerian Universities, but rather, in the College, our students will no longer encounter certificate discrepancies in the labour market. Come the next academic session, our students will now be able to compete favorably with their counterparts in the labour market”, he said.