•Crisis to end soon.
OYO state government has assured the public, particularly students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso that the lingering imbroglio rocking the citadel of learning will soon be resolved.
The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Adeniyi Olowofela, who made the disclosure today during a Ministerial Press Briefing, held at the Film Theatre, Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism, hinted that the Governing Council has had a series of meetings with the Unions of the institution to resolve the current imbroglio, saying that the unions have consented to the forensic auditing recommended by the visitation panel to the institution.
He stressed that the forensic audit is for all the tertiary institutions in the state to know the state of their finances, emphasising that the tertiary institution’s fees will be reviewed as the present fees being paid are highly subsidized by the government.
“Tertiary institutions’ fees are being subsidized by the state government. For instance, A 300-level student at the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education as at now is paying N8,000.00 and the highest fee being paid in LAUTECH is less than N70,000.00. We all know what the economy is saying and we are aware what is being paid in other government institutions and private ones. We are subsidizing fees paid in institutions in the state and we are committed to quality education for all. We want to assure our stakeholders in the education sector that the LAUTECH and other crisis in the sector will be resolved in due course,” the commissioner disclosed.
Olowofela, while confirming that the recently inaugurated Governing Council is already finding a lasting solution to the crisis in the institution, disclosed further that Oyo state has expended over N22bn on the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) since 2011.
The Commissioner explained that N10.5bn has been spent on LAUTECH as an institution, N8.317bn expended on LAUTECH teaching hospital Ogbomoso while N3.17bn has been spent on LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo from 2011 to 2017.
He continued, “it is a wrong insinuation to say that we are care free about the LAUTECH crisis. We are not happy with the situation in the school but there is good news already. The unions have agreed to the forensic audit recommended by the visitation panel and the crisis is coming to an end with lasting solutions. The governing council is meeting the unions and stakeholders of the institution on a regular basis”.
