Gabriel Dike
The Rector of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Mr. Obafemi Omomkungbe has advised tertiary institutions in the country to keep a tap on current global trends in their quest to contribute to national development.
Omokungbe, an engineer, who made the appeal at the 2019 Annual Lecture of the School of Technology, said education plays a key role in the development of any nation in the areas of manpower, research, and innovations.
He observed that in the face of rapid technological changes in the 21st Century, institutions must keep abreast of contemporary global trends and adopt cutting edge technologies, innovation, and research for the growth and development of their environment.
The rector advised that education be given top priority in the allocation of budget by the government, stressing ‘’the agencies and bodies must also pay attention to the course content and curriculum to meet the needs of a developing nation.’’
According to him, YABATECH has been at the forefront in technology education in the country, noting that his administration has put in place measures to enhance academic standards including the provision of an enabling environment for quality teaching and learning.
Omokungbe described the theme of the annual lecture; ‘’Restructuring education and research systems for technological advancement in Nigeria’’ as relevant at a time the nation is yearning for improvement in every aspect of her national development.
He revealed that the college management has started arrangements for the procurement of new equipment in preparation for the forthcoming reaccreditation exercise of courses.
In his address, the Dean, School of Technology, Dr. Nwabueze Okolie said the theme is apt because a serious concern is being expressed for the seeming difficulty in finding graduates fit for the industry.
Dr. Okolie explained that the topic is borne out of the quest for a robust dynamic method of positioning the school and YABATECH in there front league of institutions making a paradigm shift from the moribund system to adopting a modern system that will ensure quality and industry-ready graduates.
He appealed to the college management to keep striving to improve its infrastructural, physical and laboratory facilities as well as human capital to bring the school and YABATECH at par with its contemporaries World-wide.
The keynote speaker and Managing Partner Belellium Consult, Dr. Laja Adesina, observed that the key to achieving high human capital development is education and urged the government to take the sector seriously.
Adesina suggested the government to declare a state of emergency in the education sector, restructure the system starting from primary school to university and called for proper funding of the sector.
The guest speaker and former Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Agricultural, Abeokuta (FUNNAB), Prof Olusola Oyewole, acknowledged that Nigeria needs some strategic technological development in order to prepare for the future.
‘’For this to be, our educational and research systems need to be empowered to contribute to these developments. There is an urgent need to restructure our educational and research systems to be able to meet the vision ahead,’’ Oyewole noted.