Oyo Govt set to convert LAUTECH to conventional university

Oyo State Government has begun the process of converting Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, to a conventional university.

Our correspondent reports that the process began in Ibadan on Tuesday with the approval of the State Executive Council of a bill seeking to change the name of the state-owned institution from LAUTECH to Ladoke Akintola University.

The amendment bill, when it become law, will change the nomenclature of the institution from technology based to a conventional one.

The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo, made this known during a news conference at the end of the weekly State Executive Council meeting.

Oyewo said the council agreed that the amendment bill should be sent to the State House of Assembly for consideration and passage.

According to Oyewo, amendment of the bill will allow the institution to become a conventional university where courses in Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Law, Management Studies, among others, will be studied.

He said that the new development would pave the way for the management of the institution to establish its own pension scheme with the backing of the law.

Mr Abdulramah Abdulraheem, Commissioner for Education, said that many indigenes who sought for admission would have more opportunities to be admitted in the institution to study various courses when it would be made conventional.

However, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, said that the executive council approved US$ 1.7 million for the take off of the second phase of the Start Them Early Programme (STEP) initiative.

Our correspondent reports that STEP initiative was launched in 2020 at Fashola Grammar School, Fashola village, Oyo West Loca Government Area of the state.

The programme, in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, is to advance agricbussiness development in secondary schools.

Olatunbosun said that six secondary schools across the zones in the state benefitted from the initiative during its first phase.

He explained that another six schools across the federal constituencies would benefit from the initiative during the second phase.

The commissioner added that the US$ 1.7 million approved for the programme would be released in February, July and November.