The Management of the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna, has expressed delight in the educational developments recorded in Osun State in recent years under the Administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
The Commandant of the Institute, Air Vice Marshall Musbau Olumide Olatunji, during a courtesy call on Governor Oyetola in his office, expressed confidence that another academic Institution in the State will thrive, given the track record of excellence of the incumbent governor.
This is as the Air Force Institute of Technology proposed the establishment of the School of Basic and Remedial Studies in the State.
According to the Commandant, the School will be a feeder to the Institute, to provide pre-entry training for prospective students who do not meet the Institution’s cut-off mark.
“We are here today to present the plan of the Air Force Institute of Technology to have a location in the State.
“The School was established as far back as when the Air Force was established as a training facility for the technical manpower development for the Air Force, but it was upgraded to a degree- awarding Institution through an Act signed by the President in December 2017. It is the only Institute in sub-Saharan Africa that runs the kind of programme we run in aviation.
“Admission to the Institute is highly competitive but we do not have the capacity to admit the volume of interested candidates. Admission to the Institute is through JAMB central admission and processing system, and there is strict adherence with the already established cut-off points.
“It was on this basis that the decision was reached that it is time to establish a School of Basic and Remedial Studies, which will be a feeder to the Institute in Kaduna. Candidates who enroll in the school will have an added advantage because they will be well-groomed either for direct entry or to go through JAMB again.
“We are therefore soliciting the assistance of the State with respect to the siting of the School of Basic and Remedial Studies and its take-off. We are hoping that the support will not only be geared towards the School of Basic and Remedial Studies alone, but will serve as a foundation for an Osun Campus of the Air Force Institute of Technology.
“We have come a few times to see the Osogbo Machine Tools Section, and that is part of the attractions for us. We also want to acknowledge and appreciate the passion of His Excellency with respect to the reforms in education in the State. This is also one of the attractions and assurances that if we bring an education Institution here, it will thrive”, Olatunji said.
In his response, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola appreciated the Management of the Air Force Institute of Technology for finding Osun worthy of consideration to host the School of Basic and Remedial Studies.
Oyetola, who lauded the initiative of the Institute’s management to establish a School of Basic and Remedial Studies, assured them that the State government would support the initiative in the best possible ways to ensure its take-off in good time.