The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Michael Otedola College of Primary Education

  • MOCPED to celebrate Silver Jubilee, says provost

    Come December, the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education(MOCPED), Noforija-Epe, will roll out the drums in celebration of its Silver Jubilee, its Provost Dr Nosiru Onibon has announced.

    He broke the news at the matriculation for the National Certificate of Education (NCE) students. Onibon said: “I wish to announce that plans are underway to celebrate the anniversary in grand style.’’

    Onibon recalled that the institution, established by the Lagos State government in December 1994, has fulfilled its mission statement, which is: ‘’to  be a great and dynamic institution of higher learning for capacity building in primary and basic education.’’

    Its mandate, according to him, is being carried out through training of qualified teachers, cutting-edge research, and passion for professional excellence.

    Onibon said the matriculation would be his second to superintend, first in acting capacity, and now as the substantive provost.

    The provost noted that over 600 new students were offered admission into five of the six colleges – Arts, Social Sciences, Languages, Primary Education, Sciences and Vocational Studies, as well as Education, which he described as the ‘mother of all schools’, where every student must take a course.

    He thanked the academic board, admission committee and the unions for their cooperation despite  challenges in the institution.

    With the matriculation, Onibon noted that the students would be entitled to some rights and privileges, adding that they were expected to comply with the school’s rules and regulation.

    He said: “To all our students, who are matriculating, as you may be aware, the college’s slogan is: ‘We are MOCPED, we are great.’ In view of my sincere desire to re-write the history of this great institution, you have a big-role to play through projecting the good image of the college positively. You are, therefore, expected to be good ambassadors throughout your stay and beyond.  You must collectively work on this.

    He continued: “As you take this solemn oath, I enjoin you to be of good conduct and obey constituted authority. You are admonished to desist from all manner of misconduct and youthful exuberance to avoid being sanctioned, as stipulated in the college regulations.”

    He admonished the new students to have a copy of the reviewed Students’ Handbook.

    He praised Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for funding the institution, and, most importantly, reducing tuition, a gesture Onibon noted, has further improved enrolment.

    He noted that the college stands out among its contemporaries with respect to improved infrastructure and information and communication technology (ICT).

    According to him, management is committed to further improving instructional materials.

  • PEN dedicates poetry festival to memory of Adesanmi

    PEN International, Nigerian Centre, otherwise called PEN Nigeria, has dedicated a special Poetry Festival in memory of Canadian-based Nigerian scholar Prof Pius Adesanmi involved in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash last Sunday few minutes after take-off in Addis Ababa.

    The author of Naija No Dey Carry Last (2015), a volume of satirical essays, is a poet, essayist, satirist, literary critic. With the theme, “What Poetry Is, What Poetry Is Not”, the festival, is part of its activities marking this year’s World Poetry Day on Thursday, March 21.

    It will hold at Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija, Epe. “It would be another golden opportunity for members of the creative community to showcase their creativity and their products, including publications.  Authors who wish to donate books and other publications or materials for distribution to participants, particularly students, at the event are enjoined contact the President or any other member of the Executive Council,” the President, PEN Nigeria, Folu Agoi, stated.

    The festival has as guest poet, Reginald Chiedu (RC) Ofodile, who is lawyer, actor, compere, and internationally acclaimed novelist, playwright, poet, and essayist. Other guests include Tunji Sotimirin, Kayode Steve Adaramoye, Busola Kolade, and Ralph Akintan-Ralph.

    Its highlights include: poetry performances by individuals and groups, poetic presentations by members of the community (pupils and staff – teaching and non-teaching), poetry recitation in indigenous language (mother tongue poetry), presentations by seasoned poets and authors lecture and interactive session on the event’s theme.

  • College of Education gets full accreditation

    The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), the regulatory body for colleges of education in Nigeria, has granted full accreditation  to all the programmes run by Michael Otedola College of Primary Education(MOCPED) Noforija, Epe in Lagos State.

    The institution’s Acting Provost, Dr Nosiru Olajide Onibon, disclosed this in  its Accreditation report at the 35th Management Regular meeting.

    Onibon said the accreditation was courtesy of hard work, commitment, dedication and cooperation of stakeholders during the exercise.

    He enjoined members of staff and students to consolidate on this by ensuring good service delivery, maintaining a high level of integrity and abstaining from corrupt practices.

    The accreditation was undertaken in June.

  • Lecturers demand management’s commitment

    Lecturers demand management’s commitment

    Lecturers from the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCOPED), Noforija in Epe, Lagos State, have vowed to continue their indefinite strike ‎until the management pays half of the outstanding debts it owes them.

    The Union Chairman, Mr Michael Adefuye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos that the payment would stand as a commitment from the management to the lecturers before the strike could be called off.

    Adefuye said following the declaration of the strike on April 18, the Special Adviser (SA) to Gov. Akinwumi Ambode on Education, had on April 21 invited the union executive for a meeting.

    He said the ‎governor’s aide had appealed to the union leaders to call off the strike as the government had increased the college’s monthly subvention effective from May 2016.

    According to him, the special adviser assured them that when the subvention is increased the management will start paying the outstanding debt monthly until it has cleared all.

    But the chairman insisted that the management must pay half of the outstanding debt, as a commitment before suspending its strike.

    According to him, the union insisted so because the current provost has just three years more to spend with the college.

    He noted that the outstanding debt was 42 months of unremitted pensions to the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) and must be cleared before the end of the tenure of the present administration.

    “From our calculation, if we agree to the monthly payment of the debt as proposed by the SA, the present management will not finish paying the debt before the expiration of the present provost.

    “That is why we are insisting that half of the debt, which is 21 months be paid, so that the remaining 21 months can be paid before the tenure of the provost lapses,’’ he said.

    He said that the executive would call a congress next week to table the outcome of the meeting with the special adviser.

    ‎NAN reports that the lecturers, under the auspices of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), MOCPED, Noforija, Epe Chapter, had on April 18, declared an indefinite strike and staged a peaceful protest.

    The union said it declared the strike as a result of the non-implementation of its demands by the college authorities.

    It was demanding for the payment of 42 months’ of un-remitted pensions to the Pension Funds Administrator (PFA) ‎after the state government increased its monthly subvention in 2013.

    It also accused the management of collapsing the degree programmes with Ekiti State University (EKSU), while others such as Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) and Federal College of Education, Akoka, affiliates were flourishing.

    ‎According to the union, the present administration lacks transparency in the financial administration of the college’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), TETFUND and subvention, among other complains and demands‎.