FG Begins Reform of YABATECH to Varsity Status

Funmi Ogundare

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) is set to implement the white paper on the transition of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) to a university according to the decision recently reached during its meeting in Abuja, which approved a comprehensive reform of the country’s tertiary education system.

The decision came at a time when the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu declared an end to the discrepancy between the holders of Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees; as well as conversion of the country’s two most prominent polytechnics, Yaba College of Technology and Kaduna Polytechnic to universities of technology.

The Federal House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and Services led by its Chairman, Honorable Aminu Suleiman, who confirmed this during an oversight visit to the college for the 2018 finance of the institution, said the visit was also in line with the transition of YABATECH to City University.

While paperwork on the conversion is ongoing at the federal level, the Rector of the college, Mr. Obafemi Omokungbe decried the shortage of personnel in the institution, saying that “recruitment has been crippled due to budget constraints and approval by the federal government.”

He said there is need for physical development of the premier institution to meet global standards.

“The college has introduced new accredited programmes, which has called for physical expansion; Epe Campus being our focus. Epe Campus is an extension of Yaba College of Technology with low physical development”, he stressed.