Kwara set to establish University of Education, appoints ex-VC as committee chair

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has appointed former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin Prof. Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem (OFR) as chairman of the study, planning and implementation committee for the establishment of Kwara State University of Education, according to a statement on Wednesday.

The 11-person committee also comprised Deacon Pastor Afolayan J. Babatunde (Secretary); Professor (Mrs) Medinat Salman; Prof. (Mrs) Sidikat F. Adeyemi; Prof. Umar Gunu; Engineer Sa’ad Belgore; Mrs. Risikat Lawal; Femi Aina; former Special Adviser on Special Duties Alhaji Abubakar Abdul-Razaq Jiddah; and a representative each of the Ministries of Housing and Urban Development and Justice (the latter being a female).

The administration has since started preliminary efforts to birth the university of education using one of the three existing Colleges of Education as the launchpad.

Rafiu Ajakaye, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor stated this on Wednesday, ROYAL NEWS reports.

According to him, “The state is similarly pulling the strings to have Abuja adopt one of the CoEDs as a Federal College of Education, while the third one adopts dual-mode that empowers it to issue bachelor’s degree in line with the recent laws governing Colleges of Education in Nigeria.

“The 11-person committee will work out the modalities for the establishment, workings, and funding of the school. It will, among other things, develop the rationale and justification for a state-owned specialised university of education, including an assessment of the existing conventional, non-degree awarding —NCE/Diploma — colleges or university which limited facilities may fall short of the eligibility for automatic registration with the Teachers’ Registration Council.”