Stakeholders in the education sector have commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his administration’s commitment to delivering quality education across the state as Lagos State Polytechnic emerged as the third-best polytechnic.
The 2021 Webometric latest ranking for polytechnics and colleges of technologies in Nigeria announced the polytechnic’s position in a recently released ranking by Cybermetrics Lab.
Cybermetrics Lab is a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Spain’s largest public research body.
Yaba College of Technology emerged as the best polytechnic in Nigeria, and the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro and Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu were rated second and third among the 50 ranked institutions in the country.
The organisation’s management stated four ranking criteria were used, including openness, impact, presence and excellence rank.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Tokunbo Wahab, expressed excitement that LASPOTECH is bouncing back to its rightful place, adding that the state government’s general reform of the education sector is beginning to yield a positive result.
Wahab recalled that the Lagos State University (LASU) was last year rated as the second-best university in Nigeria and one of the best 100 universities in the world.
“The governor had given a marching order to ensure that LASU is repositioned to become the university of the first choice in Africa in terms of quality researches and academic excellence,” stated Wahab. “My office would do its best to ensure that the vision is realised in record time.”
Wahab, who hinted at plans by the state to establish two new universities, said LASU alone could not meet the demand for university admission in Lagos, with an estimated population of over 22 million people.
The Oba of Igbogbo Kingdom, Oba Semiudeen Orimadegun Kasali, also commended the government’s efforts in transforming education to make it rank among the best in the world.
The monarch commended Sanwo-Olu for prioritising youth development and empowerment in his administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda.
He added that the proposed upgrade of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu to a university of science and technology and converting two colleges of education to a university of education were a testament to Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to quality education, research development and technological innovations.
He assured the governor of supporting the state’s traditional institutions on the proposed institutions while commending the House of Assembly’s leadership to support the executives’ reforms agenda with quality legislation.
The Permanent Secretary, Office of the Special Adviser on Education, Adeniran Kasali, said the emergence of LASPOTECH as the third-best polytechnic in the country was in line with the Sanwo-Olu administration’s third pillar of the state’s development agenda, which is education and technology.
