Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has stated that his administration has ensured that public tertiary institutions in the state charge moderate school fees to improve access to education for residents.
The governor made the remarks at the combined 8th convocation ceremony of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, where he also called on the management and governing councils of public tertiary institutions to exercise due diligence in handling Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreements.
Adeleke’s speech was delivered by his deputy, Kola Adewusi.
He said his administration has contributed to the efficient management of public higher education through funding support and close supervision of institutional management and boards.
He added that staff and student welfare have received deserved attention, while equipment for training and accreditation processes are being provided.
Highlighting other achievements, the governor said: “We have facilitated accreditation of courses offered in all tertiary institutions in the state, while new programmes have been introduced.
All studios, laboratories, and workshops have been stocked with state-of-the-art equipment, which I did to ensure that the accreditations were granted.
We have ensured that the school fees of our schools are moderate and not unnecessarily bloated.
The National Association of Nigerian Students were recently given brand-new 14-seater buses for their operations.
Just two weeks ago, about two thousand teachers were employed for both primary and secondary schools in the state.”
Adeleke commended the Rector, Mr. Kehinde Alabi, on successfully hosting his maiden convocation as the head of the polytechnic and reiterated the importance of compliance with state laws in initiating and implementing PPP projects.
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“First, the management and governing councils must be aware of and comply at all times with the establishment laws of each institution.
A breach will not be tolerated. Secondly, the management and governing councils should strictly observe the threshold approval limits in projects and PPP applications.
Key PPP projects above the threshold limit should be referred to the ministerial board and finally, the Visitor, for approval.
Additionally, loan applications beyond the threshold should be duly referred to the ministerial board and the Visitor for approval.
All PPP projects must also have due diligence conducted on the partners by the relevant agencies, with a certificate of compliance secured before implementation,” he said.
The governor urged graduating students to apply the skills they have acquired to enhance various sectors of the economy, assuring that his administration will continue to provide an enabling environment for technological advancement and industrial growth.
Earlier, Rector Alabi had addressed a press conference to outline activities for the polytechnic’s eighth convocation, which will cover graduates from the 2020/2021 to 2024/2025 academic sessions.
He emphasised that polytechnic education equips students with practical and technical skills essential for national industrial development and called for the establishment of more polytechnics across the country.