College of Education Ikere Convocation Speech

1. AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE GOVERNOR OF EKITI STATE,
DR. KAYODE FAYEMI, THE 21ST CONVOCATION CEREMONY OF
THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, IKERE-EKITI HELD ON
THURSDAY,
TH
17 JANUARY, 2013
PROTOCOLS
It gives me pleasure to address this august assembly which is the 21st
Convocation ceremony of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti. This is my
first official visit to this great institution which towers above its peers, and
remains a pride of Ekiti State. An occasion of this nature is an important
milestone in the educational journey of any student as it marks the end of
one stage in the journey through life, and the beginning of the next. It is
also an important occasion for our society because the stock of educated
and qualified human resources on whom it relies for its development and
transformation is increased and strengthened by that number of
graduating young men and women. Convocation thus provides not only
an opportunity for celebration, for graduates, their friends and family, but
also an occasion for reflection and for us to reason together.
The education and human capital development agenda of this
administration is well known to all by now – particularly as it relates to
the tertiary aspect of the sector. Early in the life of this administration, we
organized a Stakeholders Summit on education. The Summit highlighted a
number of areas that require reform in order to improve the quality of
education in our State. These include: infrastructure improvement,

2. Teacher Quality, Improvement in Quality Assessment, increased grants to
schools, focus on eradication of examination malpractices etc.
Let me comment briefly on autonomy the crisis in the educational sector
is not only being experienced in Ekiti State but nationally. Despite current
efforts, it is however sad to note that our educational values in the
country have been greatly eroded and Ekiti State in the process has been
relegated from a lofty height as evident in the abysmal performance of
students in public examinations. Many factors have contributed to this:
societal ills, attitude of students, decaying infrastructure, funding and
quality of teaching.
This administration has been assisted greatly by the outcome of the
Education Summit which has provided the road map for the prodigious
reforms in that sector. Consequently, we have embarked on massive
renovation of primary and secondary schools in the State and the
provision of laptops computer to children and teachers in secondary
schools with a target of each school pupil having a laptop on his desk by
2014. Periodically, teachers are exposed to training programmes to
broaden their horizon and keep them abreast of modern teaching
techniques. These steps are borne out of the hard truth that unless we
evolve pragmatic and proactive measures, Ekiti may never re-enact the
heydays of education prowess and scholastic excellence.
Our tertiary institutions are not left out of these positive developments.
Despite the plethora of economic challenges besetting our dear State, we
have not shirked our responsibilities in the prompt release of subventions,

3. implementation of the new salary structure for tertiary institutions and
other welfare packages. The challenge is to make our tertiary educational
institutions Centres of Excellence, with high standard of teaching and a
culture of sustained learning.
With respect to the Ekiti State College of Education, many will recall that
the institution had become unknown to law and technically non-existent
before this administration came to office thus plunging the staff, students
and the resident community into a period of uncertainty. In its place was
a so-called University of Education whose provenance was driven by
political chicanery and community hatred. In line with our promise, one of
the first steps taken by this administration was the legal restoration of the
College of Education, appointment of a distinguished governing council,
and a recruitment of a first class Provost who has provided excellent
leadership and management.
I am happy to note that the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti has
continued to show commitment to the pursuit of excellence as enshrined
in the 8-Point Agenda of the administration. The College has
demonstrated a high understanding of the fact that excellence in teaching
and learning cannot be attained without the requisite infrastructure and a
highly qualified and professional workforce. Efforts are being made so
that the College can effectively train teachers to acquire the 21st century
skills to produce highly competent teachers trained using the right
personnel in a conducive environment. It is an acknowledged fact that
teachers can no longer navigate ‘new highways’ of teaching and learning
using the ‘old maps’ of content and methodology.

4. Rapid changes in all facets of human endeavour are now the norms
especially with information and communication technology. Technology
has invaded every aspect of our lives and indeed the totality of our
learners. That is why the State Government is interested in the optimal
utilization of the opportunities offered by Information and Communication
Technology in our educational system with a view to revamping our
education standard, an Industry for which we are noted in Ekiti. I like to
acknowledge the quality support we have received from the National
Communication Commission and the Federal Government through the
instrumentality of our National Assembly members, Senator Sola
Adeyeye, Deputy Chairman of Education Committee of the Senate and
Honourable Oyetunde Ojo, the Chairman of the House of Representatives
Committee on Communication Technology being honoured here today.
Teaching is a noble profession and we are determined to restore it unto
its pride of place. We see a place for the College of Education in this
reform agenda and that is why we have involved the College in many
aspects of our reform agenda.
In order to continue with the pursuit of our goals and objectives for
education, my government will continue to provide the requisite funding
to strengthen both teaching and research in the College. I am delighted
to note from information available that research is now being taken
seriously by the College academics. And I would urge them to make this
more relevant to improving the quality of teaching and learning in our
State. This administration will continue to do everything possible to
ensure that the staff are empowered and sufficiently motivated to

5. discharge their duties and responsibilities to society’s complete
satisfaction. The government is aware of the areas of continued
challenges and I like to assure that every effort would be made within the
limits of our resources to attend to these issues particularly in the areas
of pensions and gratuities and areas of the new salaries. May I warmly
congratulate the worthy graduates of today on your meritorious success,
having scaled through the hurdles and crucibles of academic rigours and
emerged triumphant. My special message for you on this memorable
occasion is that as you go into the labour market seeking greener
pastures, strive in all circumstances to retain and develop the scholastic
attributes that have been abundantly planted in your minds in the past
few years. I charge you not to rest on your oars and strive to better your
lot further in the acquisition of knowledge in order to add additional
feathers to your cap. But whatever virtuous venture you may embark on,
do not allow the society to engulf you into its complex catacombs of
corruption. You are the epistle that have been written, you are the story
that would be told. So, be good Ambassadors. I extol the resilience of the
parents and guardians of these graduating students, for the moral and
financial support given to their wards amidst unquantifiable sacrifices by
them during their transitory stay here.
I heartily congratulate the distinguished personalities who are about to be
honoured today. I understand that it is exceptional to be awarded a
Fellowship of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti because of the
extremely stringent criteria for selection. This undoubtedly speaks
volumes about the credentials of the individuals identified for the honour.

6. They are entering a Hall of Fame which is accessible to only a few and
indeed the best. The fact that this is happening in the presence of Africa’s
first Nobel Laureate in Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka makes this a
more remarkable, historic and unique occasion. I congratulate you on
your individual achievements and wish you the very best.
Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen, I like to place on record the
contributions of the Chairman and members of the Governing Council, the
Management and the entire staff of the College towards the development
of the College and Ekiti State, the Land of Honour.
Once again, I heartily congratulate all of you and I wish you every
success in your subsequent endeavours.
Thank you and God bless.