Upgrade EACOED to degree-awarding institution, lawmaker urges Makinde

Representative of Atiba Constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly, Asimiyu Alarape, has appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde to commence the process of upgrading the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education (EACOED) to a degree-awarding institution.

Alarape, who is a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, made the appeal, during the plenary. The Guardian recalled that the Oyo State Executive Council had on March 17, 2021 announced its plan to upgrade the College to a degree awarding institution.

Alarape, who is Minority Leader of the House, said considering the facilities on ground at the college the upgrade of EACOED was long overdue.

He explained that some states in the country, including Sokoto, Ekiti, Delta, Edo, Ogun, Rivers and Lagos had upgraded their Colleges of Education to degree- awarding institutions, adding that doing so was different from establishing a new university and would save cost.

He also argued that to end discrimination against Oyo State students seeking admission in other institutions across the country, there was the need for the state government to commence the upgrading without further delay.

“I appeal to Makinde to commence the process of upgrading the EACOED to a degree-awarding institution. The announcement to that effect was made about 10 months ago and since then, nothing has been done.

“If the college is upgraded, it will help in optimising the scarce resources government usually earmark for tertiary education in the state.

“Our people in Oyo Town will be delighted once the college is upgraded, because not many degree-awarding institutions can compete with EACOED in terms of facilities,” he said.