Provost Advocates Degree-awarding Status for Colleges of Education

Funmi Ogundare

The Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, Dr Ademola Azeez, has called on the federal government to allow education colleges to award NCE and degrees.

Azeez made the appeal recently at the college’s 2020/2021 matriculation ceremony, where a total of 727 candidates were admitted into its various programmes.

He said colleges of education should be allowed to run degree programmes to the PhD level.

“For instance, for those who want to do teacher education, they could do a three-year programme and bag NCE certificate, and for their degree programmes, they will spend two years,” explained Azeez. “As a college of education, we are not given the autonomy to award degree, but it is already being tackled by the amendment act that established colleges of education. In the act, we have proposed that we should be allowed to run dual-mode, which means we will run both NCE and degree programmes. We have what it takes as a college.”

The provost added that “we have presented our case” to the federal ministry of education.

“It is a disservice to the nation to allow colleges of education of our type established in 1967 to be affiliated to the University of Benin and nothing else,” he argued. “We have enough PhD holders here just like in the university. We also have the best facilities here. We discovered that most private universities that the federal government registered do not have such facilities that we have.”

Azeez also decried the institution’s low student enrollment rate, saying that many admission seekers will consider universities before colleges of education.

“It is when they are unable to secure such that they now think of coming into colleges of education. It has been an annual problem being faced by most colleges of education in Nigeria,” added th college provost. “The admission now is getting very competitive, and many institutions; federal and private, are springing up.”

He said many education colleges in Nigeria wee sourcing students from the same society, adding that his college is not a conventional one where courses like English, Yoruba, Islamic and Religious Studies are run.

“The same requirement needed in the universities to run science, technology and engineering is also used for colleges of education. That is what is affecting the intake,” Azeez pointed out.

He admonished the students to exhibit discipline, loyalty, honesty and good character at all times during their stay in the college.

“It is therefore advised that you combine both academic and moral excellence throughout your stay as a student in the college,” said the provost. “You should refrain from acts contrary to rules and regulations of the college in order not to jeopardise the realisation of your life ambitions.”

Webometric Ranking: Stakeholders Commend Sanwo-Olu as LASPOTECH Emerges Third Best Poly

Stakeholders in the education sector have commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his administration’s commitment to delivering quality education across the state as Lagos State Polytechnic emerged as the third-best polytechnic.

The 2021 Webometric latest ranking for polytechnics and colleges of technologies in Nigeria announced the polytechnic’s position in a recently released ranking by Cybermetrics Lab.

Cybermetrics Lab is a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Spain’s largest public research body.

Yaba College of Technology emerged as the best polytechnic in Nigeria, and the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro and Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu were rated second and third among the 50 ranked institutions in the country.

The organisation’s management stated four ranking criteria were used, including openness, impact, presence and excellence rank.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Tokunbo Wahab, expressed excitement that LASPOTECH is bouncing back to its rightful place, adding that the state government’s general reform of the education sector is beginning to yield a positive result.

Wahab recalled that the Lagos State University (LASU) was last year rated as the second-best university in Nigeria and one of the best 100 universities in the world.

“The governor had given a marching order to ensure that LASU is repositioned to become the university of the first choice in Africa in terms of quality researches and academic excellence,” stated Wahab. “My office would do its best to ensure that the vision is realised in record time.”

Wahab, who hinted at plans by the state to establish two new universities, said LASU alone could not meet the demand for university admission in Lagos, with an estimated population of over 22 million people.

The Oba of Igbogbo Kingdom, Oba Semiudeen Orimadegun Kasali, also commended the government’s efforts in transforming education to make it rank among the best in the world.

The monarch commended Sanwo-Olu for prioritising youth development and empowerment in his administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda.

He added that the proposed upgrade of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu to a university of science and technology and converting two colleges of education to a university of education were a testament to Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to quality education, research development and technological innovations.

He assured the governor of supporting the state’s traditional institutions on the proposed institutions while commending the House of Assembly’s leadership to support the executives’ reforms agenda with quality legislation.
The Permanent Secretary, Office of the Special Adviser on Education, Adeniran Kasali, said the emergence of LASPOTECH as the third-best polytechnic in the country was in line with the Sanwo-Olu administration’s third pillar of the state’s development agenda, which is education and technology.