The National Universities Commission has recognised the University of Ilesa, recently established by Osun State Government and presented a letter of recognition to the governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, for the start of the university.
The letter conveying the recognition was presented to Oyetola by the NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, in Abuja,making the institution the 60th state university and 220th university in Nigeria.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ismail Omipidan, in Osogbo on Thursday, said the NUC Executive Secretary while presenting the letter lauded Oyetola for the initiative.
“The governor established the University in the right place,with the right people.i am sure the people of Ilesa will not allow it to go under,”NUC Secretary was quoted
In his remarks, Oyetola said the event has further laid credence to his commitment to upgrading the 44 years old College of Education to a University.
Oyetola who described education as the bedrock of socio-economic and political development said the establishment of the University would go a long way to address the palpable deficit in university education, particularly in the state and beyond.
According to him, the university would further help to train and equip a diverse group of youths with professional skills, entrepreneurial ability, and innovative insights, especially in agri-business, mining and health.
“The establishment of the University of Ilesa is necessitated by the massive gap between qualified candidates and available space in existing higher institutions within the state, as education remains the primary industry in Osun. The yearning is considerably insatiable, and as responsible leaders, we cannot ignore these needs.
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“The new University of Ilesa shall focus on Agriculture and Agri-business to address food insecurity; mining technology, building on the abundant gold deposit in Ijesaland; and Medical Sciences to enhance the human resource need in the health sector.
“We are very deliberate in our approach as we seek to contribute to the diversification of our economy and wean it away from over-reliance on oil. In anticipation of the takeoff, we have identified credible candidates for the Governing Council and Principal Officers, ready to be appointed and hit the ground running.
“The outgoing College of Education facilities are more than sufficient to conveniently accommodate the University in the first phase of its development. We have made adequate provisions for the students of the College of Education to complete and better their careers as the life of the College of Education comes to an end.”
Oyetola lauded NUC for the support and cooperation he received over the issue of LAUTECH between Oyo and Osun states,the situation he described as “win-win” close for the two states.
He explained that, the new proposed university had been carefully conceived as a thoroughly entreprenerial and innovative citadel of learning.
He added that,the institution would be funded through a mix of sources such as the government, community, industry and other stakeholders without exerting unnecessary pressure on the finances of the state.