The Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka Lagos, has said it spends nothing less than N186 million yearly on electricity supply to the campus.
The school also disclosed that it is now being charged about N600,000 monthly to dispose of refuse by the public waste collector serving the college.
The provost of the college, Dr Wahab Ademola Azeez gave this hint at a news conference to commemorate the commencement of his second term in office as a rector, saying the amount is huge and ‘killing’ for an institution as the college that is providing social services.
Explaining the details, he said the school is paying between five and six million Naira monthly as electricity bill to Eko Electricity Distribution Company while it is also buying about 10,000 litres of diesel which cost around N9 to N10 million monthly to run a generator to augment the power supply from the national grid.
He said the huge cost among numerous other expenses to keep the college afloat is really draining the school purse.
He, however, explained that the college is not only at the moment, on the path of generating its own power supply using solar and wind systems but also into research to recycle the waste items being generated so as to cut down appreciably the expenses being incurred on both services.
He said with the support and cooperation of the management team and other stakeholders, his administration in the last four years was able to stabilise the academic calendar and bring some positive changes to the college.
He said aside from the academic excellence and societal-driven research activities, the college has been peaceful and has also been able to execute so many infrastructural projects that have made teaching and learning more engaging and effective for both the students and the teachers.
He noted that all the courses being run in the college have received full accreditation from NCCE even as the college has also introduced more market-driven programmes and strengthened partnerships with the private sector by establishing the Centre for Vocational, Technical and Entrepreneurship Development (CeVTED) and Centre for Endowment, Development, Advancement and Alumni Relationship (CEDAA R).
The rector, however, pointed out that despite the positive development in the last four years, the college is faced with problems of inadequate funding, shortage of personnel and learning equipment, as well as land constraints for expansion, among others.
He urged government, corporate organisations and alumni to come to the aid of the college to enable it to do more.
He said his plans for the next four years is to be more committed to the production of more technical and vocational graduates that would create job and solve societal problems.
He said no country can grow economically without developing its technical and vocational education in line with global best practices.
Caption
From left, Bursar, Federal College of Education(Technical) Akoka, Amaka Nwoji; Deputy Provost, Abiodun Lamidi; Provost, Wahab Azeez; Provost’s wife, Sherifat Azeez; Registrar, Afolabi Dada and Librarian, Catherine Olaotan at the college’s news conference, last week.
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