Aregbesola commends Osun Poly on vocational, entrepreneurial education

O SUN State governor and Visitor to the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, has expressed his delight at the various projects executed by the institution in recent times.

While commending the rector, Dr Jacob Olusola Agboola, the governor also charged other tertiary institutions in the country to take a leaf from the state polytechnic by making vocational skills acquisition and entrepreneurship programme core curriculum in their studies so as to alleviate poverty in Nigeria.

Aregbesola, represented by his deputy, Chief Titi-Laoye Tomori, made the commendation at the polytechnic’s fifth convocation ceremony held recently.

While delivering the convocation lecture earlier, entitled ‘Vocational and Entrepreneurial Education: A Veritable Tool for Job Creation and Self Reliance’, the chief executive officer of Niji Group Nigeria Limited, Mr Kolawole Adeniji, said entrepreneurial studies, especially through agriculture, is the only panacea to poverty and unemployment in Nigeria.

Adeniji said “in this dwindling economy, creativity, entrepreneurship and skills acquisition are what the Nigerian institutions should encourage their teeming youths to pursue.”

According to him, vocational and technical education as practical-oriented education provides variety of opportunities for the youth to develop their potential. This he noted would eventually lead to the much-needed technological growth in all facets of the nation’s economy.

His views were corroborated by the chairman of the convocation lecture, Professor Olu Obafemi from the University of Ilorin, who also charged Nigerian government to make agricultural and entrepreneurship education in Nigeria a compulsory course of study at all levels of education.

This, he said, would put a lasting solution to the economic challenges and unemployment in the country.

The grand finale of the convocation programme was not only the celebration of academic success in graduating about 14,000 students of the institution between 2012 and 2015 (both full time and part time at National and Higher National Diploma levels), but  also the celebration of excellence and feats recorded by the institution in recent times.

The rector, who received accolades from the state government and entire polytechnic community, reeled out his success stories in the last four years.

He disclosed that since the last convocation exercise, the polytechnic had been able to achieve enviable landmarks in academics, infrastructure and staff development.

These, according to him, include the accreditation to mount three new National Diploma courses: Arts and Design, Welding and Fabrication and Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Technology.

He said that the mounting of these core vocational courses had been complementing the vocational skills acquisition initiative of the state government, and that students of the institution have continuously excelled in various external and professional examinations like the Institutes of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and Chartered Institute of Management and Marketing.

The rector also disclosed that the polytechnic’s collaboration with Virginia State University (VSU), United States of America, in the areas of agricultural education technology, research, staff and students exchange programmes has started yielding fruits, while its collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Winrock International in agricultural education and technology particularly, is impacting on the polytechnic’s immediate community by extending the outcome of agricultural research to farmers under a programme known as ‘Farmer to Farmer (F2F)’.

Dr Agboola also disclosed that about 20 members of the polytechnic staff obtained doctoral degrees in various fields recently.

The chairman of the governing council, Mrs Olu Maduka, stressed that the polytechnic would not relent in giving quality entrepreneurship and vocational education to students, to become employers of labour.

Kebbi govt suspends provost of College of Agriculture, Zuru

The Kebbi state government has ordered the immediate suspension of the Acting Provost of the College of Agriculture, Zuru, Alhaji Bala Abubakar.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Dakingari, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi on Sunday.

It said the directive was issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Babale Yauri.

It said that the action became necessary due to the recent unfortunate happening in the institution which was contrary to the due process and the rules and regulations governing the institution.

“Governor Atiku Bagudu had issued the suspension order and directed the acting provost to hand over the affairs of the college to the next Senior Head of Department,” he said.