The Lagos State House of Assembly has tasked all the tertiary institutions in the state to ensure strict compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines stipulated by the state government.
The Chairman, House Committee on Education, Mr Oluyinka Ogundimu, stated this during an oversight tour to Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija, Epe, in Lagos on Thursday.
Ogundimu explained that the directive was important to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the schools’ premises.
The lawmaker, therefore, asked the school authorities to make provisions for sanitisers and adequate hand wash basins to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the school.
According to him, the committee has been going round schools in the state to ensure compliance to COVID-19 guidelines as directed by the Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa.
Ogundimu, however, complained that most of the schools, especially in the Epe area, did not have adequate teachers in the schools.
The lawmaker noted that the requirements for secondary school teachers are the same with primary schools teachers, adding that the narrative must change.
“You must change the focus on how you do things right. Primary schools teachers are in high demand, but we must change our focus.
“They ask for a minimum of NCE to be employed as teachers, whereas those with Masters Degree are also applying for the same job, so the quality of your graduates matters.
“We need to do something that would become a legacy. You will leave the office one day and the work of your hands will speak for you.
“You have to deliver and this requires extra efforts from you.
“The way we do things has changed because of COVID-19 and things can never be normal again and we must watch how we do things,” he said.
Earlier, the Provost of the institution, Dr Nosiru Onibon, had earlier told the committee that the institution in the past was in a deplorable state.
According to him, When I got here we had less than 1,000 students due to some issues, but now, we have 1,700 students and we were licenced to issue NCE Certificates.
“The school did not have results or certificates for the students for about five years, but we have cleared all the backlog of the certificates except for about three or four students.
“I was in Abuja to submit results for graduates of 2018/2019 at the NCE office and I was told that they are now ready, so we can go ahead to write the certificates.
“I want to appreciate TETFUND for its supports. We have been going round to get training for our staff members in spite of our resources that are limited.
“We charge just about N18,000 to N20,000 per students for a session which results to about N40 million per annum. We have about 500 staff members and our overhead cost is about N120 million per annum,” he said.
The provost said that the college was founded 20 years ago and that it was a specialised college for primary education, adding that it was the first specialised college for basic education in the country.
He added that the institution was known as Lagos State College of Primary Education, before it was named after former governor of the state, Sir Michael Otedola and became MOCPED.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that other lawmakers on the oversight tour were: Mr Bisi Yusuf (Alimosho I); Mr Setonji David (Badagry II); and Mr Olayiwola Olawale (Mushin II).
