Changing the face of tertiary education in Kwara

According to Wikipedia, tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including universities as well as trade schools and colleges.

Higher education is taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, while vocational education beyond secondary education is known as further education in the United Kingdom, or included under the category of continuing education in the United States.

Tertiary education generally culminates in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.

UNESCO stated that tertiary education focuses on learning endeavours in specialized fields. It includes academic and higher vocational education.

The World Bank’s 2019 World Development Report on the future of work argues that given the future of work and the increasing role of technology in value chains, tertiary education becomes even more relevant for workers to compete in the labor market.

In the word of Oprah Winfrey, she said: “I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” And just as success is not a honorary thing, every successful individual must have burnt the midnight candle before getting to the echelon of their careers, and Dr. Mrs Mary Ronke Arinde is no exception.

In every facet of life, she is a typical example of success. Under her watch and supervision as a teacher, countless number of her students are successful with many doing exceedingly great in their respective chosen fields. Maritally, she is a successful woman with children who have become medical Doctor and banker. On the faith side, she so piously devoted to the deep things of God; she is an ardent preacher of the gospel, and sower of the word with puritanical discipline and chastity.

Despite her academic success, she never got inebriated and discountenance the scared order of headship. Instead, she has rather chosen to make God the tripod stand of her home. In her case, one can easily assert just as Pelé said that, “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”

Today, her enviable political and academic profiles are a product of her yesterday’s vision and ambition, not just from the blues.

As a trained academic captain, Dr. Mrs Mary Ronke Arinde is the Kwara State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, piloting the affairs of higher ivy leagues of learning in the state of harmony. Going through her resume, one needs not been told that her appointment was not in error as she is a seasoned educationist and administrator with B.Ed(Educational-Planning & Administration, M.Ed(Educational Management, Ph.D(Educational Management.

Without any media profiling, Dr. Mary Arinde’s career in education spans over three decades as she started her teaching career as an NYSC tutor in Osogbo Grammar School, Osun State. Consequent upon this, she worked as an Assistant Education Officer 11, at the popular Queen Elizabeth Secondary School, llorin; Chairperson, Budget Monitoring Committee on Needs Assessment Intervention; Member of Council, Kwara State University; Vice Principal, GDSS, Alore; Vice Principal, GDSS, Oke-Erin; Vice Principal, (ACAD), Alore; Vice Principal, (ACAD), IGS, llori; HOD, Anglican Girls’ College, lludun, Oro; HOD, Barakat Community Secondary School; Director, Schools and Colleges (ACAD) Tescom; Coordinator, Kwara South APC Women Elite; Director of Administration, AbdulRasaq AbdulRahman Campaign Organisation, Kwara South Chapter, and State Director, Women Affairs of Buhari Support Group Centre, Kwara State Chapter.

Given her incurable penchant for knowledge, she is a member of many professional bodies like, Home Economics Teacher Association of Nigeria, HETAN; National Association of Educational Administration and Planning of Nigeria, NAEAP; Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN.

As an academic administrator who knows her onions in the teaching profession where she rose and held many positions of trust as a civil servant and as an academic administrator which later culminated in her appointment as a Director, Schools and Colleges at the Kwara State Teaching Service, a position she jealously held with utmost accountability and responsibility. As a prolific author, she is publisher of “Library services for promoting students academic performance in public senior secondary schools in Nigeria, which was published in International Journal of Education Management, Conflict resolution techniques and academic staff effectiveness in Kwara State College of Education, Oro, published in llorin Journal of Studies in Education”.

Upon her appointment, not many doubted that she would bring her academic erudition into play because her appointment was hailed and seen as a round peg in a round hole; and with her assumption of office, she rolled up her sleeves by declaring total overhaul in all the State-owned tertiary institutions with innovative ideas to boost.

Her academic ingenuity within a short period of time in office had actually proved the naysayers wrong, then vindicated Governor AbdulRasaq AbdulRahman who has always trusted her capacity to deliver efficiently. With strong distaste for frivolities and underperformance, the honourable Commissioner came up with White Paper Committee to assess, review the recommendations of the visitation panel that presented action points and expectations on the part of the state government.

To further ensure efficient service delivery and scholastic output, visitation panel was set up for each of the three colleges in the state – Oro, llorin, and Lafiagi – for a holistic assessment on the colleges so as to reposition and identify areas of needs.

In an attempt to encourage and get the best out of the staff in all the tertiary institutions in Kwara, Governor AbdulRasaq AbdulRahman magnanimously granted bail out funds to colleges of education-Oro and llorin, to mitigate the inability of payment of staffs’ salaries and other entitlements/emoluments; new transformer was approved for installation at the College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies; massive construction of female hostel is ongoing at the College of Nursing, Oke-Ode, and the work is at 90 per cent completion.

To make education more accessible in the state, the Ministry of Tertiary Education birthed the idea of having satellite campuses at Osi and llesa-Baruba, with impressive work that is presently ongoing; disbursement of bursary and scholarships to indigent Kwara students in all the tertiary institutions across the country was approved and disbursed, and this relief package was also extended to all the final year law students in the state.

The Governing Council for the Kwara State University was constituted for more accountability and transparency which in turn ensures the core objectives that it was founded for; funds were approved for Colleges of Nursing, llorin and Oke-Ode, for accreditation and re-accreditation of some courses that needed to be accredited as required by the professional bodies.

In the face of the scathing economic hardship which was occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy, the AbdulRasaq AbdulRahman-led government in the state rolled out free bus transport palliative for students of tertiary institutions across the state so as to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the students.

With the conception of having a state University of Education, an eleven- man committee headed by a renowned academic, Professor Shuaib Oba AbdulRaheem, former Vice Chancellor, University of llorin, and former Chairman, Federal Character, was constituted to study, plan, implement the establishment of the Kwara State University of Education.

• Dapo Ipoola, a Public Affairs analyst wrote in from Lagos