Follow Us on Google
By Damiete Braide
Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, Dr. Wahab Ademola Azeez, has commended the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari for the support given to education in spite of the economic crisis the country is going through.
Azeez aslo acknowledged the remarkable impact Buhari made on tertiary education, especially through TETFund intervention efforts.
The provost acknowledged this while briefing newsmen about his first term achievements and the takeoff of his second term as the helmsman of the college.
According to him, “The Education Roadmap and the Next Level Agenda initiatives of (Buhari’s) administration brought succour and reforms to the sector. These are evidenced in the encouraging level of funding, generous interventions by relevant ministries, departments and agencies to institutions, including the FCE (T), Akoka, which resulted in improved physical facilities.
Azeez thanked former President Buhari, who approved his second term on May 26, 2023, to May 26, 2027, after the recommendation by the Governing Council, led by Alhaji Adamu Muazu, to the former Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.
“The Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, is considered as primus inter pares, having pioneered the establishment of technical teacher education programme in Nigeria in 1967. The main thrust since interception is that of providing technical and vocational education to students and empowering them with relevant entrepreneurial skills, for overall development of the nation.”
Highlighting some of the achievements during his first tenure, he said: “We have enjoyed relative peace and stability of academic sessions over the years. This is because we have been able to manage our challenges and crises amicably through dialogue and peaceful negotiations.
“The college administration has continued to give adequate attention to protection of lives and properties on campus. We have made significant efforts at strengthening the security architecture already put in place, which has given us great reward in our fight against cultism.
“Provision of social amenities to enhance quality of life has significantly been addressed by the current leadership of the college through massive illumination of the college environment with solar-powered light to supplement the irregular public power supply by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria. Procurement of more generating sets to increase productivity and efficiency of staff. The supply of water within the college has also improved by the increased number of boreholes sunk to meet the demand for water supply.”
Azeez disclosed that students’ hostels have regularly been renovated to make their stay comfortable and safe on campus. On his plans for technical vocational training and skills acquisition, he said, “Our dear country is in need of intervention in technical vocational areas of training. We are determined to put this country on progressive and accelerated speed as far as technical vocational education is concerned.
“We need to build the infrastructural base and train the personnel in order to be able to save the country a large sum of capital flight .
“We need to de-emphasise theoretical education and focus on practical, technology, technical and vocational education, which are on the front burner of our growth and development. As an administrator, I want to lead the college towards that direction.
“Our graduates would henceforth be job creators and entrepreneurs, as against job seekers. We shall put fabrication of teaching and learning equipment and tools and improvisation of materials on our priority list in order to reduce the cost on procurement of these items.
“We shall use the existing human capital and facilities of the college to generate more income to augment the support of government and other funding agencies.
“We shall work towards generating our own power energy that can serve the academic community in order to increase our productivity in all ramifications. We shall invest and produce our own alternative power energy by partnering with experts in renewable and solar energy power and infrastructure. These include wind energy, solar energy, biomass energy, biofuels, etc.
“We shall encourage our scholars and researchers to go for training in these energy areas for the ultimate benefit of the college and country.”
The provost pledged to serve the college and country, give his best in order to produce good graduates that contribute their quota to the development of the country, stating, “We have what it takes to continue to give purposeful leadership to the academic community.”
