Institute of Continuing Education Law

INSTITUTE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION LAW

1. Citation. This law may be cited as the Institute of Continuing Education Law

2. Interpretations. In this law: “Academic Staff” means the teaching staff of the Institute; “Appropriate Authority” means the Ministry of Education Delta State or anybody for the time being charged with the responsibility for education in the State. “Board” means the Academic Board established under Section 9 (1) of this Law; “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Council; “Council” means the Governing Council of the institute established under Section 5 of this Law; “Director” means the Director of the Institute; ‘Governor” means the Governor in the Delta State of Nigeria. “Government” means the Government of the Delta State of Nigeria; “Institute” means the Institute of Continuing Education established under section 3(1) of this Law; “Member” means a member of the Council or of the Board as the case may be; “State” means the Delta State of Nigeria; “Zone” means a group of the Institute’s branches in at least 3 local government areas; “Branch” means a study centre of the Institute; “Sub-branches” means other study centres other than the centers at the local government headquarters; “School” means an academic unit in the Institute.

3. Establishment of the Institute. (1) There shall be established in the State an Institution of learning to be known as the Institute of Continuing Education. (2) The Institute shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to sue and to be sued in its corporate name and to acquire, hold and dispose of land.

4. Objectives of the Institute. The objectives of the Institute shall be - (a) to offer courses of instruction and training leading to the Junior Secondary School and Senior School Certificate Examinations approved by Government; (b) To serve as a resource centre and to offer courses of instruction and training in further education; (c) To arrange and organise conferences; seminars, study groups and such like activities; (d) To conduct and promote research in all facets of education; (e) To perform such other functions as may from time to time be approved by Council.

5. Establishment and constitution of the Governing Council. (1) There shall be established for the Institute a policy-making body to be the Governing Council of the Institute which shall consist of the following members, that is to say - (i) a Chairman to be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the appropriate authority (ii) the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Delta State University. (iii) the Director of the Institute; (iv) one representative of the Senate of the Delta. State University. (v) one representative of the Ministry of Education; (vi) one representative of the Academic Board to be elected from amongst the members of the Board of the Institute by the Academic Board: (vii) Five representatives of various interests appointed by the Governor; (2) The tenure of office of a member of Council who is not ex-officio member shall be three years subject to the pleasure of the Governor but without prejudice to members being eligible for reappointment. (3) The tenure of office of the representative of the Academic Board in Council shall be three years. (4) The Council shall be responsible to the appropriate authority.

6. Functions of the Council. The Council shall be the policy-making body in relation to matters and affairs of the Institute and in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing it shall have power but subject to this Law: (i) to control all property and finance of the Institute. (ii) to establish schools, zones, branches, sub-branches and departments of the institute; (iii) to determine what posts and offices shall be tenable at the Institute and to make appointments thereto and determine the conditions of service of the staff of the Institute (including promotion and acting appointments) and to exercise disciplinary control over such staff (including the power of reprimand, removal, suspension and dismissal); (iv) to appoint such committees whether or not from amongst its own members and to delegate to such committees any of its powers and duties as it may think fit; (v) to determine the fees payable by a student undergoing courses of instruction at the Institute; (vi) to provide for the discipline and welfare of the students of the Institute; (vii) to accept gifts, legacies and donations for and on behalf of the institute; (viii) to enter into any arrangements, promises and negotiations in connection with the taking over by and affiliation to the Institute of such other educational institutions as the Council may consider appropriate; (ix) to exercise on behalf of the Institute the several powers conferred on it under this Law.

7. Meetings of Council. (1) The Council shall meet as and when necessary for the performance of its functions under this Law so however that the Council shall hold not less-than three meetings in any academic year. (2) Any four members of the Council may by notice in writing signed by them require the Chairman to convene a special meeting of the Council and on receipt of such notice the Chairman shall summon the meeting accordingly. (3) Normally the Secretary shall summon the meeting of Council on the directive of the Chairman.

8. Procedure at meetings of the Council. (1) the quorum of the Council shall be one-third of the members of the Council. (2) The Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Council at which he is present and in his absence the other members present shall, subject to subsection (1) of this section, nominate one of their members to preside thereat provided that the meeting has been duly summoned in accordance with Section 7(3) of this Law. (3) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section the Council may regulate its own proceedings and may for that purpose make standing orders. (4) Where the Council desires to obtain the services or advice of any person not being a member of the Council in respect of a matter or question it may co-opt not more than two persons for the purpose and the persons so co-opted shall take part in the deliberations of the Council at the meeting in respect of which they are co-opted except that they shall not vote on any such matter or question.

9. Establishment of the Academic Board. (1) There shall be established for the purpose of the academic matters of the Institute a Board to be known as the Academic Board which shall consist of the following members - (i) The Director who shall be Chairman; (ii) The Assistant Directors; (iii) Heads of the Departments of the Institute and; (iv) The Dean of the Faculty of Education, Delta State University. (2) The Academic Board shall, subject to the approval of the Council, be responsible for the implementation of policy with respect to all academic matters at the Institute and shall in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing determine - (i) the entrance requirement to be satisfied by a person who may be offered admission as student of the Institute. (ii) The standard of performance to be attained by a student of the Institute in an examination conducted by the Institute. (iii) The duration of a course of studies conducted by the Institute; (iv) The curricula for a course of studies to be conducted by the Institute; (v) The award of scholarships to a deserving student of the Institute; (vi) Such other related matters as may from time to time be referred to the Board by the Council. (3) The proceedings at a meeting of the Board shall be regulated in the same manner as the proceedings at a meeting of the Council as provided for in section 7 of this Law, subject to such modifications and adaptations as may be considered necessary by the Board. (4) The tenure of office of a Head of Department shall be two years.

10. Borrowing powers. The Council, with the prior approval of the Governor, may borrow money upon such terms and conditions as the Governor may approve to enable the Council to discharge its functions and meet its obligations under this Law and in particular for the purpose of any capital projects required for the Institute.

11. Resources of the Institute. The resources of the Institute shall include - (a) Fees charged by and payable to the Institute for courses of instructions received at the Institute; (b) such sums of money as may from time to time accrue to the Institute by way of grants, loans, subventions, endowments or otherwise; (c) donations, gifts and legacies from any sources whatsoever whether on account of specific projects or generally for the purpose of the Institute; (d) any other resources whether in money or money’s worth which may from time to time be vested in the Institute.

12. Principal Officers of the Institute. (1) The Principal officers of the Institute shall consist of: (i) the Director; (ii) the Secretary; (iii) the Chief Accountant; and (iv) the Librarian. (2) The Director shall be the Chief Academic and Administrative Officer of the Institute and shall be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Council through appropriate authority (3) The Secretary who shall be appointed by Council shall be responsible to the Director for all administrative matters of the Institute and shall also be the Secretary to Council and the Academic Board. (4) The Chief Accountant who shall be appointed by Council shall be the Chief Financial Officer of the Institute and shall be responsible to the Director for all financial matters affecting the Institute. (5) The Librarian who shall be appointed by the Council shall be responsible to the Director for the library service of the Institute. (6) Subject to the provisions of this Law, appointments of a principal officer except the Director of the Institute who shall be appointed in accordance with section 12 (1) of this Law, shall be made by Council.

13. Appointment of other staff. (1) There shall be established in the Institute for the purpose of making appointments other than those in respect of the principal officers of the Institute (which shall be made by the Council by virtue of Section 12 of this Law) a body to be known as the Appointments and Promotions Committee consisting of the following: (a) the Director who shall be Chairman; (b) two members of the Council to be nominated by the Council; (c) three members of the Academic Board to be nominated by the Board; (d) such other external experts not more than two in number as may from time to time be co-opted by the Committee. (2) The Committee shall be responsible for making recommendations to the Council for appointments and discipline of all senior staff including academic, administrative and technical staff of the Institute: Except that a member of the senior staff who is aggrieved by the decision of the Committee may appeal to the Council through the Director. (3) There shall be established in the Institute for the purpose of making appointment of junior staff of the Institute a body to be known as the junior staff selection Committee consisting of the following members: (a) the Secretary of the Institute who shall be Chairman; (b) the Assistant Director; (c) the Chief Accountant; (d) the Librarian; (e) an Administrative Officer to serve as secretary and; (f) the Head of the Department in to which the appointment is to be made; The junior staff selection committee may appoint initially or promote, or exercise disciplinary control over such staff (including the power to suspend, report in writing to the Director for approval in respect of any action taken by the Committee in exercise of its powers under this section ; Except that a member of junior staff who is aggrieved by the decision of the committee may appeal to the Council through the Director.

14. Procedure for removal of a member, principal officer, member of academic staff, or senior member of administrative staff of the Institute. (1) If it appears to the Council that there are reasons for believing that any member of the Council, including the Chairman, other than an ex-officio member should be removed from office on grounds of misconduct or of inability to perform the functions of his office, the Council shall, after consultation with the interest represented by such member require the person to whom it relates to make such representation as he may desire with a view to exonerating himself and recommend to the Governor accordingly. (2) If the Governor is satisfied after considering the member’s representations and after making such other inquiries as appear to him necessary and in particular after considering any observations on the matter, of the Chairman and of the interest represented by the member, that the member ought to be removed from office, the Governor may, by an instrument in writing signed by him, remove the member from office. (3) The Secretary shall as soon as practicable after the instrument referred to in subsection (2) of this section has been duly signed by the Governor send a copy of the instrument to the member to whom it relates. (4) If it appears to the Council that there is reason for believing that a principal officer or a member of the academic staff or a senior member of the administrative staff of the Institute should be removed from office on ground of misconduct or inability to perform the functions of his office, the Council shall: (a) give notice in writing to the officer concerned drawing his attention to the alleged misconduct or other default; (b) set up an investigating committee to investigate and report to the Council on the conduct of the officer concerned so however that: (i) if the officer is a principal officer of the institute as defined in subsection (1) of section 12 of this Law, members of the investigating committees shall be selected from amongst the members of the Council and of the Academic Board; (ii) if the officer is a member of the academic staff, the committee shall consist of such persons including selected members of the Academic Board as the Council may appoint. (5) The Council shall give the officer whose conduct is the subject-matter of the investigation by a committee a reasonable opportunity of appearing before the committee and of making such representations as he may think necessary with respect to an allegation made against him. (6) If the Council after considering the report of the investigation committee is satisfied that the officer whose conduct is the subject -matter of the investigation ought to be removed from the office, the Council may by an instrument in writing signed by the Chairman remove the officer, and a copy of the instrument shall be as soon as practicable sent to the officer to whom it relates. (7) The foregoing provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to a general power to exercise disciplinary control over an officer of the Institute as conferred upon the Council or any other body established under or by virtue or this Law.

15. Discipline of students. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, power to exercise disciplinary control over a student of the Institute shall be vested in the Academic Board. (2) Where it appears to the Director that any student of the Institute has been guilty of any misconduct, the Director may, without prejudice to any other disciplinary power exercisable by him under any other enactment, direct – (a) that the student shall not, during such period as may be specified in the direction, participate in such activities of the Institute, or make use of such facilities of the Institute as may be specified in the direction; or (b) that the activities of the student shall, during such period as may be specified in the direction be restricted in such a manner as may be specified; or (c) that the student be rusticated for such period as may be specified in the direction; or (d) that the student be expelled from the Institute; or (e) in the case where the student has damaged or caused damage to be done to a property of the Institute, that the student replace the property damaged either, in cash or in kind. (3) Where a direction is given under paragraphs (c) or (d) of the last preceding subsection in respect of a student, the student may within a period of one week of the date of the direction appeal to the Academic Board which shall, after causing such inquiry to be made into the matter as it may consider just, either confirm, or modify or set aside the direction in such manner as it thinks fit and the decision of the Board shall be final. (4) The fact that an appeal from a direction is made in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section shall not affect the operation of the direction while the appeal is pending. (5) The Director of the Board may delegate his or its power under this section as the case may be to a selected committee which shall submit its recommendations to the Director or to the Board for ratification with or without modifications. (6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the power of the Director or of the Board to restrict or terminate the activities of a student of the Institute otherwise than on grounds of misconduct. (7) It is hereby declared that any of the sanctions specified in subsection (2) of this section may be applied in relation to a student either alone or in combination with such other sanction as may be considered appropriate. (8) The Board or the Director may make rules with respect to the conduct of students in a hostel that may be maintained or operated by or for the Institute.

16. Exclusion of discrimination. No person shall be required to satisfy requirements as to any of the following matters, that is to say, race (including ethnic grouping), sex, nationality or religious or political persuasion as a condition for becoming or continuing to be a student of the Institute or the holder of a certificate or other distinction awarded by the Institute and no student shall be subjected to a disadvantage or accorded an advantage in relation to the Institute by reference to any of the aforementioned matters.

17. Transfer of property of the Continuing Education Centre. There shall be transferred to and vested in the Institute as from the date of commencement of this Law all property both movable and immovable and all rights and liabilities of the institution or learning known as the Institute of Continuing Education Asaba, (together with its zones throughout the State).

18. Application of the Public Officers Protection Law. The provisions of the Public Officers? Protection Law, shall apply in, relation to every member of the douncil, Board and to every, officer and employee of the Institute in respect of any thing done or caused to be done by him in good faith in the course of his duty under or by virtue ofthis Law. [Cap. P23.]

19. Zones, branches of Academic Departments. The zones, branches and Academic Departments of the institute shall consist of such zones, branches and Departments as are listed in the first, second and third schedules hereto and such other new zones, branches and Departments as may from time to time be added thereto.

20. Accounts and annual reports. (1) The Institute may incur expenditure necessary for or incidental to the carrying out of its functions under this Law. (2) The Institute shall keep proper accounts in a form which shall conform with satisfactory commercial standards of its receipts, payments, credits and liabilities and shall submit the same from time to time with vouchers to the Auditor-General to be audited. (3) The Institute shall, before the end of such financial year prepare and submit through the appropriate authority, to the Governor for approval, estimate of its revenue and expenditure in respect of the financial year next following. (4) The Institute shall at the end of each financial year submit through the appropriate authority to the Governor a report dealing with the activities of the Institute during that financial year. Schedule 1 INSTITUTE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION LAW ZONES

4. Agbor. Schedule 2 INSTITUTE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION LAW BRANCHES IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTERS

11. Ogwashi-Uku Schedule 3 INSTITUTE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION LAW ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS

1. Department of Arts and Social Sciences

2. Department of Science and Computer Studies

3. Department of Accountancy and Banking Studies

4. Department of Vocational and Proficiency Studies.