WHEN the story started spreading about a week ago that the Osun State government was planning to merge some colleges of education in the state and also tinkering with idea of restructuring the courses in Osun State Polytechnic (OSPOLY), Iree, the development generated spontaneous reactions from host communities of these institutions.
Institutions listed to be merged going, by the speculation, include the Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun and the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa; while OSPOLY will be merged with the Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke.
Though the government has since denied any such merger plan, checks by Tribune Education revealed that the speculated merger may have been informed by the need to cut down the expenditure and overhead cost of the higher institutions in the state.
Besides, a source informed Tribune Education that the state government is trying to implement the recommendations of an education summit held in the early days of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s first tenure in office, which was chaired by Professor Wole Soyinka. The summit had recommended, among others, one polytechnic for the state.
Similarly, the visitation panel set up by the government, headed by Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe, recommended the implementation of Professor Soyinka’s recommendations, ascertaining that the only viable and standard tertiary institution to remain in the state should be the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree.
But the widespread rumour unsettled all the host communities of the affected institutions as they spontaneously rejected the merger plan, contending that such development, if eventually carried out, would dislocate socio-economic fabrics of their towns.
To register their discontent with the rumoured merger, some students, residents and other pressure groups took to the streets in Ila, Iree and Ilesa to protest what they termed “retrogressive policy” capable of destroying the economy and social life of their communities.
Addressing a press conference in Ila community over the development, the secretary of Ila-Orangun Action Council, Prince Yemi Adeoye, said “We will kick against such plan, bearing in mind the socio-economic importance of the college to the entire Ila town.
“Our community’s attention has been drawn to the systematic process of reducing the present 28 academic programmes in the state College of Education, Ila-Orangun, to just two, through restructuring. The strength of this incredible information that has been whirling round in the last couple of days that Osun State government has perfected a plan and arranged a framework to obliterate Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun by subsuming it into Osun State College of Education, Ilesa in the name of restructuring and rationalisation of the tertiary institutions in the state has become worrisome.
“The information has sent a shock to the stool of the’ Ojulowo Omo Oodua, the Orangun of Ila. It has also sent grief to the faces of the entire Ila-Orangun sons and daughters and all residents in Ila-Orangun.
“We want to categorically state that the information transcends a rumour. Ila people are aware that a serious plan is underway to relegate Osun State College of Education to a mere continuing education centre. God forbid! Ila people say no to that bid and describe it as sheer marginalisation.”
Adeoye further emphasised that the college, as at today, is the only viable socio-economic and educational power-point of Ila-Orangun and its environs, stressing that the “status quo should be allowed to remain. This is very important because of posterity and generation yet unborn.”
Apparently corroborating the position of Adeoye, the spokesman of Iree community, Alhaji Fasasi Adetayo Olatoke, said the citing of OSPOLY in Iree had positively enhanced the socio-economic growth of the town, contending that relocating the institution or merging it with another institution would spell doom for the community.
Olatoke, who spoke on behalf of the Asiwaju of Iree, Aderenle Afolabi, and the president of Iree Progressive Asscoiation (PAC), Alhaji Yekini Oyedele, averred that “it is our considered opinion that if and when the course rationalisation, merger or outright sale would have been concluded, there would definitely be a change in the configuration of the institution, affecting staff, students and infrastructure of Iree in many ways.”
He lamented that economic and commercial activities would be adversely affected. Social activities in the town totally brought to a halt, while indirect provision of employment through the activities of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) would be brought to an abrupt end, among others.
Olatoke continued: “The major reason for government’s intention to embark on this unholy adventure is to reduce cost of running tertiary institutions, when total cost involved is less than two per cent of the monthly allocation from the Federation Account. We believe that the state government could conveniently pay workers’ salary without stress.
“We are making a passionate appeal to Governor Aregbesola as follows: that Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, should remain in Iree and fully owned and run by the state government for the educational, social and economic development of the community and the state at large.
“That Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, should not be tampered with by means of restructuring, course rationalisation or merger with another institution; that the post-UTME abruptly suspended in the institution by the state government should be allowed to hold without further delay.”
Reacting to the development, however, the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy to Governor Aregbesola, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, said there is no plan to relocate or merge any tertiary institution in the state.
“What the government is doing is to reposition and re-energise the institutions towards meeting modern and current needs of the society in terms of human capital developments. Host communities such as Ila will soon find the college in their city a more result-oriented institution with greater capacity to contribute to the host communities with the intended reforms. There is no merger plan,” he explained.
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