The Rector of the Yaba College of Technology, Dr Engr Ibraheem Abdul has presented 20 reasons for the transformation of the college into a University while advocating that its new name should reflect and maintain the institution’s acronym as YabaTech.
He gave the justifications in his address at the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND’s one day Public Hearing, on the conversion of the College to Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies, Yaba in Abuja.
According to him, “we are submitting a memorandum asking the national assembly to champion the transformation of the college into a University and fast tracking its legislative process and the endorsement to maintain the acronym of Yabatech by naming it as Yaba Technical and Vocational Universities, a specialised institution”.
The institution, he said, “is great in terms of infrastructure and personnel. We have over 2,000 staff, over 150 of them are PhD holders, and we have infrastructure that are available to support the university structure of the college. This in effect will enable the National Assembly to champion this historic transformation”.
On the justifications, Dr. Abdul hinged on the historical significance of college, founded in 1947, with the distinction of being Nigeria’s first tertiary institution.
Its transformation into a university is not just symbolic but recognizes over seven decades of national service in which the University status will honor Nigeria’s education history and reaffirms the country’s commitment to preserving and upgrading its foundational institutions.
The Rector identified the college as a National TVET Leader that has consistently been at the forefront of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Nigeria.
The College, he said, produces industry-ready graduates and has been a model for other polytechnics. Transitioning it to a University of Technology offers a scalable and mature platform to deliver advanced technical degrees without compromising TVET ideas.
Speaking on the institution’s preparedness, Dr. Abdul disclosed that with over a hundred accredited programmes, qualified academic staff, and robust quality assurance mechanisms, the college will not just be starting from the scratch.
The institution has the laboratories, workshops, and classrooms to support university-level teaching and research, requiring only targeted upgrading and not wholesale construction; he added.
The Rector, on bridging the skills gap, elucidated that the Nigerian labor market suffers from a significant mismatch between what industries need and what institutions produce and upgrading YabaTech will enable it to offer university-level education in emerging fields like AI, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing thereby addressing critical skills shortages.
“As a university, YabaTech will be better positioned to establish research institutes, expand its innovation hubs, and incubators and engage in applied research with industry, generate patents, and contribute directly to Nigeria’s technological development,” Dr. Abdul said.
The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who sponsored the Bill transforming Yaba College of Technology into a University of Technology and Vocational Studies, in his presentation at the public hearing said the College is the Premier institution in Nigeria and its conversion will be of no financial implication.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Muntari Muhammad Dandutse expressed his appreciation to all the critical stakeholders present for being able to turn out in large number, submission of memoranda with a promise not to disappoint them on all decision reached at the meeting.
The critical stakeholders at the public hearing with a firm and unanimous voice approved the transformation of all the six institutions put up by the Senate Committee and urged the national assembly to fast track the legislative process of the transformation.
