The ICT Centre of the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education Otto/Ijanikin, Lagos (AOCOED) is emerging as one of the best nationwide and, arguably, a model which other institutions can copy. In this piece, ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA focuses on some of the achievements of the 54-year-old institution last year, particularly the ICT facility – courtesy of its Moderator Governor Babatunde Fashola.
The Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education Otto/Ijanikin (AOCOED), Lagos ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Centre is, arguably, one of the outstanding among colleges of education nationwide.
Though the structure was completed in 2012, it wasn’t until mid-last year that the facility became operational after it was fully stocked with the state-of-the-art facilities to cater for workers and students’ needs.
With the centre in full swing, teaching and learning has been enjoying tremendous boost, with lecturers leapfrogging into world-class technology driven experts and daring groundbreaking research, said the Director of the Centre, Mr Victor Akinola.
He told The Nation that the management is preparing the 55-year-old institution to be fully technology-based via two platforms – AOCOED white board expansion programme (WBEP), which involves installation of 10 additional interactive white boards (IWB) in lecture halls and resource centres, and construction of multi-million microteaching laboratory/launching of optical mark recognition (OMR) and computer-based testing (CBT) for the 2013/2014 NCE degree and the Post-UTME.
“A major interest in the conceptualisation of AOCOED ICT dispensaries beyond registration and result processing, is the deployment of facilities in learning management system which is bound to create/ expand teaching and learning platform between managed learning environment (MLE) and an eventual virtual learning environment (VLE). Great effort is also expressed on the expansion of college database and prompt access to information.”
Others, Akinola stressed, include enhancing effectiveness through application of online resources, facilitating prompt feedback and speedy reinforcement, as well as improving personalised support. But on the long run, the ongoing revolution hopes to breed a new generation of lecturers well-versed in e-teaching.
“The ICT Centre has mapped out programmes for improving teachers’ confidence and skill level by providing appropriate staff development opportunities and drawing a range of technology to support learning, teaching, and attainment of research. Lecturers are expected to shoot up their teaching encounter to ensure that ICT is embedded in their daily practices on instructional delivery,” Akinola further explained.
Located behind the institution’s health centre, the ICT facility serves as a confluence, coordinating other facets of the college. Its units include: data processing, result management, students’ matters (online registration, resulting printing etc), staff resource, computer aided assessment (CAA), training &development, and tutorial web/video conferencing.
The college’s Information and Public Relations Officer, Mr. Adebowale Odunayo, said students register their courses and are further encouraged to print them online. He said tutorial web is available for students’ academic interaction, consultation, support studies assignments and projects.
Other pecks for students, Odunayo added, involved online exhibition, electronic conferences, basic computer literacy training and development of instructional packages.
But besides, the management continues to consolidate on all its programmes following their accreditation by its regulatory body – National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE). Ahead of the NCCE visit in March, last year, Governor Fashola gave N250 million for the management to upgrade its facilities. The governor was not disappointed as the college and all its programmes passed the litmus test.
By August, another accreditation team, this time from the National Universities Commission (NUC) visited to appraise the college’s facilities in preparation for the latter’s proposed degree programmes.
The teacher institution still oils its collaboration with her foreign partner institutions – London School of Finance and Business; Manchester Metropolitan University; Leicester international College, and Havering College, all in the United Kingdom, where it engages in various exchange programmes. Besides these British institutions, AOCOED also has collaboration with Edith Cowan University, Perth Western Australian and the University of Georgia, Athens, United States (US).
In October 2012 and February, last year, the Provost of the college Mr Wasiu Bashorun Olalekan, and the Registrar Mr Bola Disu visited these institutions to further explore cooperation geared towards quality education delivery.
The college’s Directorate of Degree programmes (DDP) broke new grounds with the introduction of the Professional Diploma in Education, which it runs with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). The first matriculation was held in May 2012 comprising 47 pioneer students.
The college is also not looking the other way in staff development. In February, last year, 30 teaching and non-teaching staff attended the Advanced Digital Application programme for tertiary Institutions. The programme, which was bankrolled by the National Communications Commission (NCC) was organised by the Digital Bridge Institute.
In February, last year, The School of Vocational and Technical Education annex building was handed over to the management by Ibalaz Nigeria Ltd, its construction firm. The structure, which comprises office and lecture halls, among others, is fully operational. Also same month, construction kicked off at the new School of Arts & Social Sciences Complex and 1500-seater multipurpose lecture theatre. The projects have reached advanced stages.
As part of its community relations, the Bashorun administration in August presented computer sets, a printer and photocopier to the Ijanikin Police division.
It is seeking partners in the construction of students’ hostel on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) to ameliorate accommodation challenges.
‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ goes a popular saying. Little wonder the ambience of the institution is spic and span courtesy of a compulsory environmental sanitation introduced by the management and which every worker and student must participate on every last Thursday of the month.
The college’s contingent to the 2lastyear’s National Mathematics Competition for Colleges of Education also made the institution proud when it emerged third at the fourth edition of the contest, which AOCOED also hosted.
What is more? The teacher-producing institution is on the march to becoming a world-class which was the dream of Mr Bashorun when he mounted the saddle in August 2011. “Our pursuit is to transform into a world-class teacher institution where workers and students will feel challenged to dedicate their service for the betterment of humankind. It is also our objective to advance the frontiers of knowledge among pre-service and in-service teachers as well as other stakeholders through teaching, research, all round skill development and creation of lifelong learning opportunities that are relevant and responsive to local and global needs,” he said.
“We also have a vision to be a leading teacher education institution characterised by an inclusive and enabling value-driven professional culture recognised globally for academic excellence,” Bashorun added.
On his plans for the year, Bashorun said: “Our plan for this year and subsequent years is to further build on our past achievements and extend our horizon beyond the constraint of the one-third of the college land mass being occupied by the college. We plan to reclaim the swampy portion of the college land to attain the dream of being a first class degree awarding educational institution that can compete favourably with other institutions of higher learning, both home and abroad.”
