The conversion of Yaba College of Technology to the Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies is being delayed because the Federal Government is yet to release the official gazette that would convey the change, the institution’s Rector, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, has disclosed.
Abdul stated this on Friday while answering questions on the sidelines of a press briefing to herald the 38th convocation ceremonies of the college.
“We are pretty much on course to becoming a University. The bill has been passed by the National Assembly and it has been signed into law by President Bola Tinubu. At our end, we are adequately prepared. What remains now is for the official gazette to be released by the Federal Government. When that is done, the institutional evaluation will be conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education and then the National Universities Commission would come and accredit our courses,” he said.
“Indeed, this historic conversion reflects the growing recognition by the President and the larger society of the importance of technology-driven and Vocational education in addressing Nigeria’s human-capital and industrial development needs.”
As part of the convocation ceremonies, Abdul said the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, and Mrs Itunu Omotayo would be conferred with the Fellowship of the College.
Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Kadri Hamzat, will deliver the convocation lecture titled “From silos to synergy: Reimagining Nigeria’s tertiary education system for national transformation.” The event will be chaired by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad.
Giving a breakdown of the graduating students, the Rector said a total of 10,886 would be involved. Out of the figure, 361 are graduating with distinction, 3,160 earned upper credit pass, 5,696 are graduating with lower credit pass, and 1,669 have pass grade.
Abdul added that the college has continued to promote entrepreneurship as an essential component of its education philosophy, noting that the citing of the Folawiyo Entrepreneurship Centre in the college was a testament to that.