From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Students in Ogun State have commended Governor Dapo Abiodun, over his administration’s move to revamp the hitherto comatose technical colleges across the state.
This commendation was contained in a statement jointly signed on Tuesday, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, by the Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Ogun State Joint Campus Committee and the National President of the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS), Gabriel Abiola Francis and Kehinde Thomas, respectively.
They described the move by Abiodun-led administration as a laudable step towards breathing a fresh air into the state-owned technical colleges.
The state government through the Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, had announced that work had begun on the rehabilitation of technical colleges in the state.
The Commissioner explained that rehabilitation exercise was meant to attract more students to technical education.
The two student associations, however, in the statement posited that the move would increase enrollment into technical colleges and enable the students to compete favorably with their counterparts across the country and contribute significantly to closing the skills gap nationwide.
They added that the rehabilitation of the structures would, in no small measure, contribute to the learning skills of students.
According to the statement, “the ongoing rehabilitation work and the upgrading of facilities would enhance practical learning, foster creativity, and provide a conducive environment for academic excellence”.
While praising Governor Abiodun for his administration’s various interventions in repositioning the education sector in the state, NANS and NAOSS declared that “the revamped technical colleges, apart from helping to attract more students to technical education, would also increase their employability and prepare them for entrepreneurial opportunities in various industries”.
“NAOSS and NANS want to commend the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, for his administration’s move to revamp technical colleges across the state. This move is not only right, but, timely, especially now that technical manpower and skills are in high demand.
“The students associations strongly believe that rehabilitation exercise would go a long way in boosting technical education towards producing a skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of both local and international markets.
“It is also our belief that the intervention would strengthen the link between education and industry, ensuring students are equipped with relevant skills for today’s dynamic economy.
“Apart from equipping the students with the right set skills, the revamped technical colleges would produce students that will drive industrial development of not only Ogun, but Nigeria.
“While NANS and NAOSS salute the governor for espousing another key intervention in the development of education in the state, we however, urge his administration to enhance security around campuses of tertiary institutions in Ogun to prevent abduction of students by kidnappers, who now target campuses to carry out their nefarious acts”. The student associations submitted in the statement.