Osun State governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the location of one of the newly established Federal Colleges of Education in Iwo, Osun State.
Welcoming the technical team on the take-off of the institution to the state, Oyetola expressed his administration’s readiness to receive and ensure effective take-off of the proposed Federal College of Education in the state.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government in January approved the establishment of six federal colleges of education with immediate take-off across the six geo-political zones.
Osun was one of the beneficiaries of the colleges, sited in Iwo, Iwo Local Government Area of the state.
Addressing members of the Technical Team of the Federal Ministry of Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education at Government House, Osogbo, on Saturday, Oyetola said the state government would do everything possible to support the Federal Government in its plans to establish the college in the state.
Oyetola, who described education as the bedrock of socio-economic development, said the establishment of the institution in Osun State would complement efforts in providing quality, qualitative and functional education.
According to him, the establishment of more colleges of education would further contribute significantly to the development of vocational and technical education in Nigeria.
He commended Buhari, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, and those who made it possible for the state to be considered one of the beneficiaries.
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Oyetola said: “I thank you very much for taking the struggle here today. I thank President Muhammadu Buhari for considering our state as one of the beneficiaries of this gesture.
“This is a rare privilege and we will continue to take it as such because we are not the only state in the Southwest. So, for something of this magnitude to come to our state, we are very grateful to Mr. President.
“This gesture would contribute significantly to the production of the middle level manpower for the state and the nation, most especially now that the teaching is a noble profession. This gesture will also go a long way to create an opportunity for training and retraining of teachers in the state.
“Our state is particularly ready for this gesture. We see the institution as a very big gift. We have all it takes to ensure the take-off of academic activities.
“We shall continue to render our support to ensure that the college becomes the best among the six that would be established in the country. We are ready to render necessary support for the takeoff of the college which had already been sited in Iwo,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director of Tertiary Education, Ojo Joel Samuel, said the team was in Osun to inspect the temporary and permanent sites of the proposed institution.
Samuel, who represented the Executive Secretary of National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Bappa Aliyu, said the visit was in fulfilment of government’s commitment to promoting quality and functional education in the country.