• We’ll continue to remain technological, vocational training institute, rector says, as Yabatech matriculates 9,000 students, prepares to mark 70th anniversary
By Simeon Mpamugoh and Jet Stanley Madu
About 9,000 students of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, recently matriculated for the 2016/2017 academic session. The rector, Dr. (Mrs.) Margaret Ladipo, said that candidates were offered admission after they scaled through the mandatory Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), conducted by the Joints Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the screening by the college to further ascertain and strengthen the quality of candidates being admitted.
Yabatech that clocked 70 this year has nine schools. While 6,246 students were admitted for National Diploma (ND) programme, this year, 2,990 were given admission into the Higher National Diploma (HND), bringing the total figure to 9,236.
Ladipo noted that the matriculation ceremony was of utmost importance adding that its oath signified that one has accepted to abide by all the rules and regulations governing the conduct of students in the institution by shunning all forms of anti-social activities such as cultism, examination malpractices, sexual misbehaviour etc.
The institution, she said, has made concerted efforts to improve, in line with the Federal Government direction, its carrying capacity through the construction of more structures that would provide additional sitting space for students, pointing out that since the completion and commissioning of the projects, the institution has been able to provide additional classrooms, studios, laboratory and accommodation for the students.
She highlighted the core values of the academic community, listing them as discipline in academics, behaviour, appearance, 75 percent class attendance, entrepreneurial orientation, societies and social clubs, application of information technology in teaching and learning, religious tolerance, sports and leisure, applied research and technology innovation (ARTI), and zero tolerance for corruption, (ZTC).
Ladipo explained that the institution joined the Exam Ethics Marshals movement to promote ethics, integrity, and best practices in education, as well as eradication of exam malpractices and academic dishonesty, adding that over 20 staff and 30 students were inducted as marshals of the movement international, after rigorous training by its officials.
She expressed the readiness of the institution to commence the open and distance learning system of education which would require the approval of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) adding that the college has a full complement of about 1,500 computers, with the number growing.
She maintained that Yaba College of Technology remains a technological and vocational education and training institution hence the establishment of UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre for Research and Sustainable Development.
“We lay emphasis on competency-based education,” she said. “It is important that our students are taught to imbibe the correct skills to make them employable and relevant in the workplace.” She therefore appealed to the students to remain focused so as to make success of their stay in the institution.
She revealed that the premier institution of higher learning in Nigeria established in 1947 will be 70 years old in October 2017 and efforts have commenced for the celebration of the landmark occasion.