The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, on Friday, said President Bola Tinubu has approved the conversion of the Yaba College of Technology, YABATECH, to a university.
He disclosed the news to the management, staff, and students of the college during a working visit to the institution.
“The rector said some minutes ago that the staff, students, and management of the college have been praying and fasting that it be converted to a university. Somehow, you have kind of ambushed me, but I must let you know that when I discussed the issue with President Bola Tinubu, he did not waste time in approving. I am just waiting for the memo and other necessary protocols from the appropriate quarters.
“This school is a legacy, and with over 200 staff members holding doctorate degrees in various fields, it is more than ready and fit to become a university. All the credit about this should go to the president, who loves education and is concerned about giving the best to the youths who are our future leaders,” he stated.
Alausa, who went around the college to inaugurate and inspect some projects, expressed satisfaction with the maintenance culture of the management that has kept most of the facilities in good shape despite their age.
“I commend you for pursuing excellence, and we need innovation and investments in technology for development, and I can assure you that the federal government would back you up,” he added.
He stressed further that one of the reasons the Tinubu administration is focusing on technical and vocational education and adding entrepreneurship to it is to stem the Japa Syndrome.
“We are not taking the issue of artificial intelligence, robotics, coding, and others with levity. We know that if our youths are good at those things, they can be in Nigeria and be working for firms in many parts of the world, and they will be earning foreign exchange. That will help stem this Japa of a thing, where people would travel abroad to do menial jobs,” he stated.
He noted that for over three decades, Nigeria abandoned technical and vocational education and focused on producing graduates who are always after white-collar jobs, but that the focus has now changed.
“In Europe and other places, the focus has been on incorporating TVET to become a core aspect of their education system, and that is what we are doing now.
We need education that would aid manufacturing and technological innovations and that would also lead to a robust private sector, which will drive societal growth and development,” he opined.
Earlier, the rector, Dr Ibrahim Abdul, said with over 200 PhD holders in its services, YABATECH was more than qualified to become a university.
“While we are praying that we become a university, we don’t want to become just one of those universities. We want to be a university of technical and vocational education that would bring innovation and also solve societal problems and challenges and contribute greatly to the advancement of our dear country. We have the manpower, and we just need the support of the government in this regard,” he stated.
Abdul reeled out the various achievements of his administration and said the management would not relent in raising the stakes higher.
The Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof. Funso Afolabi, thanked the minister for the visit and solicited his support in getting their demands met.
The bill that would state the change in status of the college and the new name it would bear is expected to the sent to the National Assembly for passage and presidential assent.
