About 16,000 applicants are jostling for 295 spaces available at the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies (CPES) established by the Petroleum Development Technology Fund (PTDF).

The Executive Secretary of PTDF, Ahmed Aminu, disclosed this when he led members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) on a tour of the institution in Kaduna.

He explained that out of more than 2,000 candidates who applied for the PhD programme, the institution can only accommodate 45, while out of 14,000 prospective candidates who applied for the Master’s degree, only 250 will be accommodated next month, September, when the college is expected to welcome pioneer entrants.

He said: “We already received over 2,000 applications for the PhD students, but we are selecting only 45 at the pilot stage. For the Master’s, we have received about 14,000 applications, but we can accommodate only about 250 candidates.”

Aminu noted that the building of the institution is in line with the PTDF mandate to build human and institutional capacity for Nigeria’s oil, gas, and energy sector.

Since its establishment in 1973 through Act No. 25 and amendment in 1999, the PTDF boss disclosed that about 15,000 Nigerians have been trained by the Fund.

Aminu explained that the petroleum and energy college was established to train senior technical, managerial, and executive personnel for Nigeria’s energy sector.

He informed that the college has been licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as a private postgraduate institution that will offer 19 academic programmes across six departments and three faculties.

According to him, the PTDF has signed strategic partnerships with three UK universities, including the University of Strathclyde, Robert Gordon University, and the University of Portsmouth, to run its courses.

Aminu argued that the scholars who have been trained abroad are recording positive impacts in the oil and gas industry as well as in academics.

He further disclosed that the partnership is aimed at supporting the delivery of a split-site postgraduate model, where students will primarily study at CPESK in Kaduna, with short academic stays at the partner universities in the United Kingdom.

“The PTDF has also partnered with NNPC Limited, through the NNPC Academy, to deliver continuing professional development, career progression training, talent management, and technical and vocational training,” he stated.

He hinted that the college has concluded screening of the first PhD intakes, who are expected to resume next month.

The courses on offer are domiciled in the Faculty of Computing and Telecommunication Technology, the Faculty of Earth and Applied Sciences, and the Faculty of Energy Law and Management Sciences.

The President of PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, who led the delegation, urged the management of the college to offer courses that will curb oil theft, proffer solutions to environmental degradation, and provide pathways to reviving the comatose refineries.

He stated: “Though the infrastructure is excellent and can compare with any specialised training institutions around the world, what is most important will be its contribution to solving challenges that are confronting us in the oil and gas sector as a country. Our wish as PENGASSAN is to see that the PhD students who will resume here next month are focused on solution research. They should research areas that are affecting the Industry.”

While calling for collaboration between the government as well as the private sector, Osifo lauded the Federal Government for its untiring efforts in training and retraining oil experts to enhance production, safety, and productivity of workers. (The Guardian)