YABATECH to Graduate 9,021, Plans 70th Anniversary Celebration

Funmi Ogundare

The outgoing Rector of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr. Margaret Ladipo has disclosed that the institution is addressing the disparity between HND and BSc by equipping its students with the requisite skills to become employers of labour, just as the institution is set to roll out the drums to mark its 70th anniversary and hold its 2017 convocation ceremony for the award of diplomas and certificates for a total of 9,021 graduands.

Ladipo, who made this known recently while briefing journalists in Lagos, said through the National Vocational Qualification Framework ((NVQF) developed by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), its students would be equipped with technical and professional skills for the development and sustenance of the economy.

“Degree awarding programmes can be pronounced anytime, but for us to remove the disparity, it is about hands-on-skills. We have been exposing our students to cutting-edge technology so that they will become employers of labour. We are trying to close the skills gap between the classroom and the industry. Our HND graduates must also be relevant.”

On activities to mark the convocation ceremony, which kicked-off with a Jumat service on October 13, and an inter-denominational service on October 15, she said the major highlight of the programme for the award of diplomas and certificates for graduands of the 2015/2016 academic session is slated for October 19, adding that the convocation lecture would hold at the Multipurpose Hall on October 18.

“The topic for the lecture is ‘Repositioning Science and Technological Education in Nigeria for Global Relevance’, to be delivered by a lecturer at the University of Lagos, Dr. Emeka Eusebius Epuh.”
Ladipo said since the world has become a global village and technological changes are occurring at a rapid rate driven by international competition and business survival, science and technological education delivery must also become dynamic to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world.

“The convocation lecture will address comprehensively the need to reposition science and technology in order to meet the emerging challenges. We really need to emphasise more on skills development rather than paper qualification.”

On the 70th anniversary, Ladipo said the story of YABATECH is brighter and it is testimonial that life’s meaning is not its length but its quality. “These past 70 years, we have concentrated only on the things that are truly important, investing in human capital and it is the time to roll out the drums.

“Over the years it has been a long tortuous journey through rough winds and swelling tides. It is not in vain that other institutions look with reverence in the direction of the college as a patriarch.”