Acting Governor of Oyo State, Barr. Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal, has maintained that the state government remains committed to advancing technical and vocational education, as it is aware that information communication technology and vocational skills are important to driving the state?s growth.

He noted that the Governor 'Seyi Makinde administration recognised that education must be holistic to meet global standards, hence its commitment to promoting technical education.

Lawal stated this on Friday, at the Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa, during its combined convocation ceremony covering the 2021/2022, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 academic sessions.

The Acting Governor also assured that the government would continue to support tertiary institutions through adequate funding, infrastructure upgrades and policies aimed at boosting accreditation of courses and regularisation of part-time workers, among others.

This was as he charged the graduating students of the institution to combine their academic certificates with strong character, integrity and discipline, noting that these remain germane as they go into the labour market.

According to Lawal, while academic achievement is important, it must be complemented with moral strength and creativity to ensure long-term success, stressing that true success goes beyond certificates.

He said: "Let me speak to one or two things that came out of this interaction and engagement. One, that education, indeed higher education, is sine-qua-non for the development of human beings.

"It is the only way, and without education we go nowhere. It is a course that is irreversible, nobody can turn against education. This is why Oyo State, under the leadership of His Excellency, Engr. Seyi Makinde, has put development of education on the front burner. And, this is even to the extent that in the current budget that we are running, education takes 20.88 per cent of the entire budget.

"Whereas, the UNESCO standard is just 20 per cent of the budget, for each country's budget, or state budget, or local government budget. This means that because we put education on the front burner, we have even surpassed the standard set by UNESCO.

"Both the Chairman of Council and the Rector have appealed for a few things, and I think in addition to what we have been doing as a government, the state will address such issues as touching approval for appointment of principal officers of the Polytechnic, upgrade and improvement of infrastructure here in the Polytechnic.

"I will just say again that we cannot run away from improvement of the infrastructure, because they are critical to moulding the lives of young ones that are here as students. Particularly, the focus must be on technology, ICT development, and so on and so forth.

"In those areas that have come before the government, we will make sure that we address the challenges that confront the Polytechnic.

"On support for accreditation; without proper accreditation, I think we cannot be doing what we are doing today, because the Board for Technical Education must accredit our courses. And, in order for them to be able to accredit, certain things must be in place and the government has been engaging this particular Polytechnic in the areas of accreditation.

"Whatever needs are presented to the government will be addressed so the institution will have seamless accreditation for courses, which it presents to the National Board for Technical Education.

"On the regularisation of part-time workers; that is not peculiar to this Polytechnic alone. The government is taking a holistic approach at ensuring that all part-time workers are regularised.

"As I speak, their request is on His Excellency's table, and whenever we round off and finalise, I sincerely believe that all those part-time workers' employment will be regularised so that they become permanent staff of the polytechnic. It is an assurance. So, rest assured that it is coming in due time."

Earlier in his welcome address, the Rector of Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Dr Olugbade Akinteye, appreciated the Oyo State Government for its consistent support for the institution.

Dr Akinteye, who highlighted the achievements of the institution in the last three academic years, said the school has witnessed tremendous growth and progress under the Makinde-led administration.

He said the school was, in 2024, ranked the third best Polytechnic in Nigeria by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) during the National Tertiary Admission Performance Merit Award.

Akinteye added that in the three years under view, the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) has also accredited both existing and new courses, noting that academic programmes such as Estate Management and Valuation, Marketing, Accountancy, Public Administration, and Fashion Design & Clothing Technology were not available at the Higher National Diploma (HND) level before, but are all currently available for studies.

While appealing for more support from the government in terms of practical steps to regularise appointments of existing part-time staff of the institution to bolster its workforce, he stressed that the affected personnel have dedicated themselves to working faithfully for many years.

Some of the graduands also expressed gratitude to the Polytechnic management and the government for providing them with the platform to excel academically, while pledging to live up to the Acting Governor?s counsel.

Earlier, chairman of Ace Mall, Prince Adeyinka Afonja, who received an honorary award from the institution for his supportive role over the years, equally commended Governor Makinde for being a visionary leader and providing an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

The event had in attendance the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Segun Olayiwola; Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, other top state and local government officials, traditional rulers including the Eleruwa of Eruwa, Oba Samuel Adegbola and alumni of the institution.

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