‘Convert FCE Okene to education varsity’

By Oyibo Salihu Lokoja

Kogi state Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello has appealed to the federal government to convert Federal College of Education, Okene to a Federal University of Education in order to boost educational development in the country. Bello, who made the appeal during the 15th combined convocation ceremony of the college in Okene , Kogi state, said the institution “has what it takes in terms of staff and infrastructure to assume the status of university of education”. He noted that the college, in the last four decades, had contributed immensely to the training of qualifi ed teachers for basic education, stressing that the institution was long overdue for upgrade to a university status.

Th e governor, who reiterated the importance of education to nation development, pointedout that the sector top the fi ve thematic areas of his agenda. In his address, the Chairman of the governing council of the institution Engr. Sa’ad Abubakar , said within the eight years of the provost, Dr Iyela Ajayi’s administration, the college had enjoyed peace , harmony and uninterrupted academic calendar.

“I am highly impressed by the academic excellence demonstrated by students as exemplifi ed by the result posted by the graduates of the college’s degree programme. Earlier, Ajayi in his address appealed to federal government to improve on the level of funding, saying even the internal generated revenue of the college could hardly do anything. Th e Provost, whose tenure would end next month, also suggested to the federal government to make master degree as the minimum teaching qualifi cation in colleges of education.

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