The Acting Governor of Oyo State, Barr Abdulraheem Lawal has assured of the state’s commitment to advancing technical and vocational education crucial for information communication technology and vocational skills to drive growth.
Barr Lawal said Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration recognised that education must be holistic to meet global standards, hence its commitment to promoting technical education.
Speaking 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 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.
Lawal 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 achievementis 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, 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,” he said.
He assured that the state will address issues bordering on approval for appointment of principal officers of the Polytechnic as well as upgrade and improvement of infrastructure in the institution.
“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,” Barr Lawal assured.
