Kunle Adelabu
-Advanced Technical Colleges to cater for trainings coming soon – LASG
The Ikorodu Division Human Resources Development Board (IDHRDB) has urged the Lagos State Government to create another Polytechnic to replace the defunct Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), to address the lack of admission of thousands of students who ordinary would have been admitted if there is a polytechnic in place.
IDRDHB, which is arm of the Ikorodu Division Resource Development Group (IDRDG), emphasized the need for another Polytechnic to accommodate large chunk of students who were not admitted because the existing Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) can only admit 2,000 compared with former LASPOTECH which admitted over 50, 000 students.
The Board also urged the government to make parents collaborators in the educational development of their children and wards.
Bashorun Babatunde Rotinwa, former Chairman, Lagos State Local Government Service Commission and Chairman, IDRHDB, made the appeal at a meeting with the Commissioner for Basic Education, Mr. Jamiu Alli-Balogun, Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr Tolani Sule Akibu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Basic Education, Mr Abayomi Abolaji, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tertiary Education, Mr Waheed Kasali and others at the ministry’s board room last week.
Also part of the team was Sen. Adeseye Ogunlewe, former Minister for Works and Chairman, IDRDG, Prof. Kunle Ade Wahab, former Head of Due Process Unit (Presidency), Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe, former Head of Service, Lagos State, Mr Fatai O. Lasisi, former Special Adviser (Taxation) to Gov. Ambode, Dr Mobolaji A. Olukoya, Member, Lagos State Health Commission, Alhaji Sikuru Amure, a retired Principal, Mr Nurudeen Oduyemi, Mrs Kafilat Hassan, former Chairman, ICAN Ikorodu and Comr. Adesegun Ogunpeyin.
“We thank the State Government on transmutation of Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) to Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH). However, we are worried that the only Polytechnic in Lagos State (primus inter par) which has been existing for the past forty – five (45) years, suddenly disappeared without any replacement”, Bashorun Rotinwa said.
“While we have information at our disposal that the total intake of part-time and full-time students is 65,000, while the new university intake is less than 2,000, hence, we are worried about the fate of over 40,000 students who are eager to enrol into tertiary institution. We propose that the Polytechnic be integrated with university or a new polytechnic is established by upgrading one of the Technical Colleges to a full polytechnic”.
While commending government’s free education system that reduces parents’ funding of their child’s education in public schools, the Board also requested of the government to engage parents and encourage them in getting more involve in their children’s education.
“From one of the reports we got from our meetings, we observed that Parents Teacher Association in schools has been proscribed in Lagos State”, Rotinwa claimed.
“However, the Board is of the opinion that parents have a pivotal role in the upbringing and education of their children/wards, with collaboration with the State Government. Therefore, the Board is planning to engage Parents/Teacher Forum with a view to mobilise and encourage them to effectively support the education of their children in collaboration with the State Government.
“This is the practice all over the world and it is our view that Nigeria should not be an exception.
“We support free education programme of the State and at the same time, parents should not be excluded to play their roles in educating their children. We are, therefore, seeking approval in this aspect”, he solicited.
Bashorun Rotinwa also informed the Commissioner that the IDRDG has upgraded its library to an e – facility, and has also established an ICT Hub as part of its educational development initiatives.
“The Board is glad to inform you that IDRDG, through one of its subsidiaries, Ikorodu Town Hall Management Board (ITHMB), has upgraded Musediq Alogba Library and converted one of its halls to ICT Centre after procuring the necessary requirements of two hundred and twenty (220) laptops and fifty – two (52) desktop computer systems in order to get accredited for Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) Computer-based Test (CBT) examinations and Distance Learning Programmes”, he said.
He listed and solicited support for initiatives of the IDRDG/IDRDGB which includes and not limited to Workshop for Teachers and Competition on Mathematics for Students, Facts Finding Visitations to Schools, Career Guidance Talk and Ready for Work Training, Biennial Education Stakeholders’ Summit, Workshop on Small & Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) for Entrepreneurial Training, Prof. Anthony Afolabi Adegbola Memorial Lecture and Establishment of Education Endowment Trust Foundation.
Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr Tolani Sule Akibu, in his response to the call for another polytechnic, said that an ad-hoc committee set up by the former Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, to look into the educational needs of the state, recommended that there is need for more universities since there was only one in the state before.
He also added that the committee observed that more students in the state preferred university education to that of the polytechnic since the Bachelor Degree (Bsc) is higher than the Higher National Diploma (HND).
The Commissioner, thereafter, clarified that the focus for the creation of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) will be mainly on the training of scientists and technologists, while Lagos State University (LASU) will be on general university education and the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) will deal with the training of teachers.
He revealed that the state government is on the verge of creating an advance technical colleges which would replace polytechnic, adding that the advance technical college would be mainly on pure technical training.
In his own response, Mr Jamiu Alli – Balogun, the Commissioner for Basic Education, speaking on the Parents Teachers Association, informed members of the Group/Board that teachers were only removed from the association and that the old structure was renamed School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) to see to the day -to -day administration and management of government schools by the government policy and regulations (monitoring mechanism).
He also commended the Board on the ICT/CBT Centre, stating that IT is the direction at the which the world is going and that most examinations would now be done via CBT. According to him, this was proposed to reduce the cost of printing out of papers. He pledged to link the Group with an international firms in United State of America (USA), regarding assistance on the ICT Centre.
Mr Alli – Balogun also stated that the government is working towards establishing another Technical College which would expose graduates on how that they can build and manage their careers and ways they can access loans from the Lagos State Government and other private enterprises.
He also said that more guidance counsellor specialists are now being employed into schools to provide support for students.
The IDRDG Chairman, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, speaking earlier, introduced the Group, its activities and achievements to the Commissioners and members of their team.
The former Minister for Works and Chieftain of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) also listed projects that the Group is embarking upon, emphasising how the Group is supporting and developing education in Ikorodu Division, by providing facilities and interacting more with the students.
Ogunlewe, whose tenure achieved the compilation of the Ikorodu Hall of Fame in recognition and celebration of the achievements of sons and daughters of the division who have distinguished themselves in their chosen careers and have also contributed immensely to the socio – economic development of the Division, into a compendium and presented copies to the Commissioners.
