The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has granted the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka Lagos, a waiver in technical courses.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos, the institution’s Provost, Dr. Wahab Azeez, stated that such a waiver would attract more prospective students to the college.

Azeez was speaking against the backdrop of the college’s low enrolment rate.

He explained that the goal was to create opportunities for high school diploma holders to enroll in college and pursue a career in technical education.

“Enrollment has not been encouraging and we are not silent on it.

“So, what we did was to approach JAMB to give us a wave in certain technical and vocational courses.

“We are hopeful that our request will get positive response from JAMB and it will throw opportunity for more students to register for technical or vocational courses in our college.

“Technical and vocational education is where the money is.

“Students who finish from the college may not necessarily look for a paid job because of the training they have acquired,’’ he expressed.

According to him, one of the measures to improve the college’s reputation was to contact the Ministry of Education in order to gain direct access to Technical Secondary Schools.

According to Azeez, the college teaches related vocational disciplines that serve as a basis for students interested in pursuing a career in the industry.

“Five technical schools are here in Lagos, including our FCE, Technical, which prompted our visit to the Lagos Commissioner for Education.

“The focus is more on technical teaching, where our seasoned lecturers take them through oral, practical rudiments of vocational education and inculcate in them, self reliance,’’ he said

Infrastructure development, research, academics, welfare, administration, and social activities, according to Azeez, will continue to be prioritized in order to provide a suitable learning environment for students and staff.

According to him, work on buildings for lectures, programs, and the staffroom is proceeding as part of efforts to modernize and improve the institution.

He stated that the science complex was being built under his administration and that it would be equipped with current laboratory materials for the teaching of sciences and computer studies.

“Also, part of the ongoing constructions in the college is a technical workshop.’’

He noted that the administration has also taken steps to address difficulties with security water projects.

The provost expressed hope that the continuing amendment bill to the Act that established the college, which is currently being debated in the National Assembly, will result in the college’s upgrade to a Federal University of Technical Education.

Source: The Nations.