Olugbeko Emerges as Provost of FCE Ilawe-Ekiti

Dr Smart Olugbeko has been appointed as the new Provost of the Federal College of Education, Ilawe-Ekiti, established in 2023 with the dual mandate to produce NCE and degree graduates.

Olugbeko, a seasoned academic and iconic administrator, whose career in the college of education system spans over 25 years, began his academic career at the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo (now Adeyemi Federal University of Education), rising from Lecturer III to Chief Lecturer in 2016. He further distinguished himself through sabbatical and secondment appointments at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, and Federal College of Education (Technical), Ekiadolor, Edo State.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree in English and Education from Ondo State University, Ado Ekiti (now Ekiti State University) in 1992; a Master’s degree in Personnel Psychology from the University of Ibadan in 1998 and another Master’s degree in Language Education from the University of Ibadan in 2003. He obtained a PhD from the University of Staffordshire, United Kingdom and Postgraduate Certificates in Leadership in Strategic Communication from Johns Hopkins University, USA, and Bilingualism from the University of Utrecht, Netherlands.

He has authored four books and published over 60 scholarly papers in reputable national and international journals. His contributions include membership in several prestigious committees, including the Africa Research Network on Artificial Intelligence, the National Research Fund (NRF), the Revitalisation Funds Implementation Committee, the Dual Mandate Implementation Committee, the Dual Mandate Curriculum Development Committee, and the White Paper Implementation Monitoring Committee, among others.

As an administrator, Olugbeko has served as head of the Department and Dean of the School of Education at Adeyemi Federal College of Education, Ondo. His leadership style is marked by vision, inclusivity, and a commitment to institutional growth. Olugbeko’s unionism credentials are also remarkable. He served as chairman of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Adeyemi College, Ondo, and later became the national vice-president and immediate past national president of COEASU. His tenure was transformative: he championed the signing of the Federal College of Education Establishment Bill into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, birthing the Dual Mandate policy, a landmark reform in teacher education that allows colleges of education to award bachelor’s degrees and extends professorial status to lecturers in colleges of education.

He also secured revitalisation funds for colleges of education and expanded international collaborations through MoUs with the University of Kigali, Rwanda, and the Africa Forum for Innovative Teachers (AFFIT).