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By Olugbenga Salami
Senate, yesterday, passed six bills seeking the establishment of some federal tertiary educational institutions in different parts of the country.
The bills were passed following the consideration of the reports of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, presented by its Chairman, Senator Barau Jibrin, APC-Kano North.
The proposed institutions which bills were passed include four polytechnics, one college of education and one university of technology.
The polytechnics are to be located in Mpu, Enugu State; Kwale in Delta State, Kaltungo in Gombe State and Adikpo in Benue State.
According to the bills passed, City University of Technology is to be situated at Auchi in Edo while the College of Education is be sited in Omuo-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
Senator Jibrin, while making the presentation, said that the country was far short of the number of tertiary institutions it needed to meet its educational goals and aspirations.
He said: “In fact we have not attained 20 per cent of our requirements, so these institutions need to be established.
“We are talking about getting our country developed and industrialised, goals that cannot be realised without having federal polytechnics and universities to train our youths to have the necessary manpower to drive the process”.
After presentation of the reports, the senators dissolved into a Committee of the Whole and considered the bills clause by clause before they were read for the third time and passed.
Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, commended Barau and other members of the committee for their hard-work towards bringing the bills to a final legislative conclusion.
Ekweremadu expressed optimism that the institutions, when established wouled expand educational opportunities for the nation’s youth, who were eager to receive higher education.
“I pray that the government takes steps to ensure these schools are established as soon as possible, and the necessary infrastructure provided for their early take-off”, he said.
