President Bola Tinubu has approved the conversion of Yaba College of Technology, YABATECH, into a university.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, made this announcement on Friday, February 14, 2025, during a working visit to the management, staff, and students of the college.
While inspecting some projects of the institution, he expressed satisfaction with the maintenance culture of the management that has kept most of the facilities in good shape despite their age.
Alausa mentioned that the Tinubu administration is focusing on technical and vocational education and adding entrepreneurship to it is to combat the Japa Syndrome.
According to the minister, the country abandoned technical and vocational education and focused on producing graduates who are always seeking white-collar jobs. He stated that the focus has now changed.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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 stated.
Source: www.mynigeria.com
