By Magnus Emuji/Rukevwe Adugbo
Delta State Institute of Continuing Education has been officially transferred from the State Ministry of Higher Education to the State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.
In a handing over ceremony held at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education conference hall, Asaba, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Augustine Ede Oghoro, who represented the State Commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs Rose Ezewu, said the Ministry would ensure that the purpose of establishing the institute was realised for the overall benefits of the state.
Oghoro stated that the Institute would serve as a veritable platform for young individuals especially students with the intention to further their education and who could not pass their first attempt for West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and National Examination Council (NECO) examinations to be provided with the opportunity for a second attempt.
While saying that the transfer of the Institute to his ministry would support its efforts toward effectively driving education to the grassroots, Mr Oghoro recalled that the overwhelming number of public secondary schools in the state had contributed to the increase in the enrollment figures in schools.
Oghoro assured that the start of the Institute would be carried along in the scheme of things.
In his remarks, the State Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Anthony Nwokolobia, said that the idea behind the establishment of the Institute in 1975 by the administration of late Samuel Ogbemudia of the defunct Bendel State was aimed at ensuring that students this had passed out from secondary schools but could not obtain their required credit passes would use the institute for remedial courses to prepare them for external examinations such as WAEC and NECO.
He explained that in a bid to reposition the Institution for greater services to the people, the Okowa led administration had in December 2021 approved the transfer of the Institute of Continuing Education from the Ministry of Higher Education to the State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education where according to him, the Institute was supposed to belong.
Prof. Muoboghare, however, urged the staff of the Institute to interface with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education with their challenges with a view to proffering solutions to them.
