Hope Rises For Alvan Varsity Status…..As Imo Senator’s Bill Scales Second Reading

by Orji Sampson
the effort to turn Alvan Ikoku College of Education Owerri, Imo State into a University may soon materialize following the success being made by the Senator representing Imo East Senatorial District (Owerri zone), Sen Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu (Samdaddy) towards the exercise.
Senator Samdaddy recently presented a bill for an Act to establish Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education Owerri (Establishment etc) Bill, 2017 (SB 398) which passed through the second reading on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday March 8, 2017 and was subsequently referred to the Senate Committee on Tetfund and Tertiary Education.
In his prayer, the Owerri Zone Senator who was the immediate House member for Ikeduru LGA at the Imo State House of Assembly insisted that education remains the bedrock of every modern society maintaining that the existence of a second and robust educational system in a country like Nigerian is predicated on the availability of qualified and well trained teachers to impact the required knowledge on the students.
He recalled that in 2015, the Federal Executive Council approved the upgrading of four colleges at Kano, Owerri, Ondo and Zaria to Federal Universities of Education informing that the Institutions are known to be the oldest post grade II Teachers Training Colleges.
Samdaddy argued that the idea of upgrading the Colleges of autonomous Teachers Education Degree awarding Institutions goes as far as the 1980’s when stakeholders and prominent educationists like Emeritus Prof Segun Adesina proposed their upgrading to universities of.
It would be recalled that few months after being sworn-in as the President of the country, Muhammadu Buhari rescinded the upgrading of