Federal House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and Services in a group photograph with Yaba College of Technology’s Management recently. From 5thLeft to 7th Left Engr. (Dr) Kehinde Oshifala, Deputy Rector Academics, Hon. Aminu Suleiman, Chairman of the Committee, Engr. Obafemi Omokungbe, Rector, Yabatech.
Kayode Ajiboye
The long awaited transition of Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) to a City University is at an advanced stage after all.
Beaming this ray of hope was Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and Services, Hon. Aminu Suleiman, while on an oversight visit to the College for the 2018 finance of the institution recently.
According to him, the cheery news was fallout of a decision reached at the recent Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, which approved a comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
Suleiman further stated that the plan of government on transition of Yabatech to a City University was one of the reasons for the committee’s visit.
This is coming on the heels of the federal government’s removal of the discrepancy between the holders of Higher National Diploma, and Bachelor degrees as well as conversion of the nation’s two most prominent Polytechnics, Yaba College of Technology and Kaduna Polytechnic to City University of Technology.
While paperwork on the conversion is ongoing at the Federal level, the Rector of Yabatech, Engr. Obafemi Omokungbe lamented over the shortage of personnel in the institution, stressing that: “recruitment has been crippled due to budget constraints and approval by the federal government”.
He also harped on the need for physical development of the premier higher institution in order for it to meet global standards.
Said Omokungbe: “The college has introduced new accredited programmes, a development which has necessitated physical expansion; Epe campus being our focus. Epe campus is an extension of Yaba College of Technology with low physical development”.
