Oyo Govt Understudies Lagos Policy on Tertiary Education

Funmi Ogundare 

The Oyo State Government has commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration for initiating exceptional reforms and policies particularly for tertiary education which has repositioned Lagos state to become a model for impactful, inclusive and innovative education for other states in the country.

Speaking during a working visit to the Lagos State Ministry of Tertiary Education, the Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Olusanjo Joel Adeniyi, explained that the visit was to understudy the state government’s policies on tertiary education and other areas for a possible collaboration that can fast-track the growth of education in Oyo state 

He said his team would also focus on measures to build conversations around leveraging on Information Communication Technology (ICT) competency of Lagos State to improve the teaching and learning process in his state, adding that the visit would be of great benefit  as most of the policy reforms introduced by the Lagos state government to drive its policies are in tandem with the globally accepted standard model.

According to him, “while a whole ministry is dedicated to handling tertiary education matters in Lagos State, Oyo has only a department in the State Ministry of Education that handles such in the state public service. We have a lot to learn from Lagos State to drive the ongoing reforms of the education sector by the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration.”

He also commended the Lagos state government for the creation of two additional universities within the same year, while a separate ministry was dedicated to managing its tertiary education.

In his remarks, the Lagos State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule stressed the need for continued collaborations and partnerships among governments of Western Nigeria to strengthen and achieve the goals of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN).

The Commissioner, who welcomed the delegation, noted that there is a need for more collaboration among governments of western Nigeria, especially on education and economic integration to continue to give the region a leading edge in sustainable development.

He described the visits to Lagos by the representatives of the Oyo State and other state governments as a recognition of the exemplary records of the Sanwo-Olu administration, saying that it would continue to create an enabling environment to encourage more collaborations for mutually benefitting regional development.

“The extent to which a group or an individual goes is the function of the level of education that the individual or group has acquired. All of us must collaborate and share our ideas to ensure that education continues to grow in our region.”

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tertiary Education, Mr. Adeniran Kasali explained that the growth in education space occasioned by various initiatives introduced by the governor has led to the creation of two separate ministries to handle basic/secondary and tertiary education in the state.

The delegation was also at the Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Ikorodu, as part of its working/learning visit to the State.