Gov. Abiodun sets up visitation panel on TASCE

Worried by the worsening standard at the Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu-Ijebu, the Governor of Ogun State , Prince Dapo Abiodun, has set up a Visitation Panel to conduct a holistic review of the current status of the institution and recommend the way forward to restore TASCE’s lost glory.

The Panel will be led by foremost academic, Prof Kamal Balogun from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye. The panel would among other things, “assess the current status of the institution with a view to ascertaining the attainment or otherwise of the objectives and law that established TASCE and to identify the challenges militating against the attainment of these objectives”, a statement issued in Abeokuta on Tuesday by Governor Abiodun’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kunle Somorin, said.

Governor Dapo Abiodun decried the poor state of affairs and infrastructure at the College and called for stakeholders’ intervention on issues of content, quality and staffing at the College of Education. Ogun State, the statement added, is a front-runner in education and cannot afford to endure mediocrity and the State Government would do everything humanly possible to reverse the slide to decadence observable form the way TASCE is currently operating.

On the Panel are leading Agricultural Economist and Farm Management scholar, Prof. John Olusegun Yetongo Aihonsu and Mr Julius Adeyemi, who is the current President of TASCE Alumni Association. The other panelists include Mr. Joseph O. Onabanjo, former director in the ministry of education, retired permanent secretary and current teacher at Crawford University, Igbesa; Dr Dapo Odukoya, a lawyer and former lecturer at the Tai Solarin University; as well as Barrister Adewale Ojuri, a former member of the State House of Assembly.

Mr. Samuel Adeetan, the Director of Planning, Statistics and Research at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology will serve as the Secretary to the Visitation Panel. The 9-point terms of reference of the Panel are: Assess the current status of the institution with a view to ascertaining the attainment or otherwise of the objectives for the establishment as well as observance of the law that established it;identify challenges militating against the attainment of the objectives for establishment of the institution.

Review the relationship between various organs and critical stakeholder of the institution and the quality of leadership being provided; examine the financial management of the institution and determine whether the funds from various sources have been prudently applied; determine actual staff on nominal roll, their existence, relevance of qualifications and suggest ways to reduce personnel cost as appropriate;assess the staff/student ratio in line with NCCE guidelines; determine the viability and sustainability of the institutions on a long term basis; identify any other issue(s) related to the objectives of the assignment;make recommendation for consideration of the Government.