OSuN: ‘We’re fully ready for takeoff of FCE, Iwo’, says Oyetola

The Governor of the state of Osun, Adegboyega Oyetola, has expressed the readiness of his administration to receive and ensure effective takeoff of the proposed Federal College of Education in the State.

Oyetola commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the consideration given to Osun as one of the beneficiaries of the proposed institution.

It will be recalled that the Federal Government in January this year approved the establishment of six federal colleges of education with immediate takeoff across the six geo-political zones in the country.

Osun is one of the beneficiaries of the colleges which is sited in Iwo, Iwo Local Government Area of the State.

Addressing the members of the Technical Team of the Federal Ministry of Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education at Government House, Osogbo on Saturday, Governor Oyetola said the state government would do everything possible to support the federal government in its plans to establish the college in the State.

Oyetola who described education as the bedrock of socioeconomic development of any society, said the establishment of the institution in Osun would complement the efforts of the state government in providing quality, qualitative and functional education.

According to him, the establishment of more colleges of education in the country would further contribute significantly to the development of vocational and technical education in Nigeria.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and those who worked for the consideration of the State as one of the beneficiaries of the institution.

Oyetola said: “I thank you very much for taking the struggle here today. I thank President Muhammadu Buhari for considering our State as one of the beneficiaries of this gesture.

“This is a rare privilege and we will continue to take it as such because we are not the only State in the Southwest. So, for something of this magnitude to come to our State, we are very grateful to Mr. President.

“This gesture would contribute significantly to the production of the middle level manpower for the State and the nation, most especially now that the teaching is a noble profession. This gesture will also go a long way to create an opportunity for training and retraining of teachers in the State.

“Our state is particularly ready for this gesture. We see the institution as a very big gift. We have all it takes to ensure the takeoff of academic activities.

“We shall continue to render our support to ensure that the college becomes the best among the six that would be established in the country. We are ready to render necessary support for the takeoff of the College which had already been sited in Iwo”, he said.

In his remarks, the Director of Tertiary Education, Mr. Ojo Joel Samuel, said members of the team were in Osun to inspect both the temporary and permanent sites of the proposed institution.

Samuel, who represented the Executive Secretary of National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Bappa Aliyu, noted that the visit was in fulfilment of government’s commitment to promoting quality and functional education in the country.

“As a government, we are doing everything possible to improve the quality of education in the country by ensuring that the people have unfettered access to education. We are also working hard to ensure the provision of competent teachers in all our colleges of education.

“So, we are here in Osun today to inspect the temporary and permanent sites for the institution as we are planning to commence the teaching and learning by October this year. So, it is an urgent need to inspect the temporary and permanent sites and forward the report to our principal,” he said.

Those in attendance were: Deputy Governor, Mr Benedict Alabi; Deputy Chief of staff to the Governor, Prince Abdullahi Binuyo; Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon. Babatunde Ibirogba; members of the State House of Assembly; members of the State Executive Council and members of the Technical Team from the Federal Ministry of Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education.