Government Technical College, Awe, Oyo State, is the oldest in South-West.
But that is where the commendation stops.
The school is in a state of decay today to the extent that it is urgently begging for attention.
This is an institution that has produced professionals in craftsmanship for the country.
Pitiably, it has been neglected by the authorities.
According to the Federal Ministry of Education, technical education is that aspect of education which leads to the acquisition of practical and applied skills, as well as basic scientific knowledge.
Technical education, it added, provides opportunities for the mastery of skills and knowledge in selected occupations, as well as for the development of personality for useful living.
Today, there are a total of 132 technical colleges in the country.
Nineteen belong to the Federal, 110 to state governments while the remaining three are privately owned.
In Oyo State, there are six technical colleges, located at Awe,
Ogbomoso, Ibadan, Igbo-ora, Iseyin, and Saki towns.
This Technical College at Awe, near Oyo town, in Afijio local government area is the oldest, and one of the four
technical institutions established by the former Western regional government, hitherto known as Trade Centres.
The three others were located at Owo (Ondo), Osogbo (Osun) and Ijebu-Ode (Ogun).
A change in nomenclature (that is from Trade Centre to Technical College) came as a result of the Federal Ministry of Education circular of 1978.
Established in October 1962, the Technical College, Awe, which started with four departments, now has 10, namely- Agricultural
Mechanics, Brick /Blocklaying and Concreting, Carpentry and Joinery,
Electrical Installation, Fabrication and Welding, Mechanical
Engineering Crafts Practice, Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Painting and Decorating, Vehicle Body Building, and Catering Craft Practice.
But a first time visitor to the college could hardly believe that it has attained over 50 years of existence, due to the deplorable state.
At the inception, multi-million naira state of the art equipment were procured for the school.
Between early 1980s and 1990s, products of the college were second to none in craftsmanship, as they were adjudged the best, both in the public and private sector across the country.
Facilities, personnel were adequate, while admission into the college was keenly contested, as it was the pride of parents to send their children to the college.
The institution was fully residential, as both the students and staff live on campus.
Academic standard was high, as the environment was conducive for both teaching and learning.
Employers of labour rushed for students to serve their industrial training in their various organisations after graduation.
After service, students were promised automatic employment by both the public and organised private sectors, for their brilliance and dexterity.
But by late 90s, the story changed, as the college
lost its enviable status due to lack of proper attention by the owner state governments.
The first major problem was the scrapping of boarding system when the authority knew quite well that the institution is not fenced.
This paved the way for stealing and vandalization of equipment and facilities by marauders.
Some of the departments are dilapidated, while hostels and staff quarters have become debris and overgrown with thick weed, thus constituting veritable abode for dangerous reptiles like snakes.
Worried about the neglect, traditional chiefs, elders and indigenes of Awe, Akinmoorin, Ilora, Fiditi and Jobele in the local government area, recently called on the present administration to, as a matter of utmost concern, resuscitate the institution from its state of disrepair.
The Asiwaju of Afijio, and the Otun of Awe, High Chief
Adebowale Omotoso, said technical colleges play vital roles in the country, as they train and produce technician for industry, impart vital technical skills in the youths, help towards the goal of self employment and job creation, as well as champion struggle towards technological advancement and acquisition.
“With revitalization of the college, it can serve as Faculty of
Engineering and Technology, as an annexe of LAUTECH in Ogbomoso. Besides, the college has potential for the proposed technical varsity”.
Other elders in the area also called on the government to immediately come to the aid of the institution to resuscitate it.
