Why Ogun Govt Renamed TASCE After Awujale - Education Commissioner

Ogun State Government says the renaming of the Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu-Ijebu after the Awujale of Ijebuland Oba Sikiru Adetona was to address and resolve the confusion that often accompanied the University and the College of Education bearing Tai Solarin.

The renaming of the State College of Education in Omu-Ijebu has been generating reactions from some quarters who condemned the decision by the Prince Dapo Abiodun

But making the clarification, the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Arigbabu, said it was imperative for government to take steps to resolve the 

age -long confusion in nomenclature by showing that two institutions are different entities named after two eminent sons of the State.

According to the Commissioner "On Tuesday, November 22, 2022, Governor Dapo Abiodun officially unveiled the new name of Tai Solarin College of Education as Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology.

The Education Commissioner also disclosed that the 8th legislative house of the State Assembly had with bill number HB. No 033/OG/2018- The Tai-Solarin College of Education, Omu (Amendment),Law, 2018, passed a bill that changed the name of the Tai Solarin College of Education to Ogun State College of Education on Wednesday 24th April 2019. 

Going into the history of the College, Prof. Arigbabu stated that the erstwhile Ogun State College of Education was established by the state government to produced highly qualified middle level manpower to meet the needs in the education sector in line with the Ashby Commission report of 1960.

Following the death of the education icon, Dr Tai Solarin in 1994, Prof. Arigbabu stated further, the College was renamed Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE) to honour the distinguished educationist. The College later metamorphosed into Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) following an official pronouncement of the then Governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, on 29 January, 2005.

He said the pronouncement was later given the required legal backing via the Tai Solarin University of Education Law, 2005. 

The Education Commissioner noted that the original intention at the commencement of the University was to have it subsume the erstwhile College hence the law that established TASUED made provision for this as part IX sections 65 to 69 of the law are very clear on this, stressing that section 69, subsections I and 2 put a legal seal termed “transfer to the University of land, properties and obligations of the College”:

Section 69 subsection 1, he explained, "All properties vested in the College immediately before the appointed day shall as from the appointed day vest in the University by virtue of this Law and without further assurance, and as from the appointed day the University shall have all rights and be subject to all liabilities which the College had or to which it was subject immediately before the appointed day".

"Subject to the provisions of this Law, every Deed, Agreement or other instrument or any arrangement whatsoever, to which the College, either by itself or through any other authority or person was a party Immediately before the appointed day shall, as from the appointed day, have effects as if the University had been a party to the same", he explained.

Arigbabu noted that with the take over of the College, the University by right actually 'inherited' the name ‘Tai Solarin’.

sequel to the refusal of the National Commission for Colleges of Education to allow the cohabitation of the College of Education with the University, a situation whereby the Provost, who was supposed to be the Chief Executive Officer of the then College was under the direction of a Vice Chancellor, the College was disarticulated from the University. 

He said with the re-establishment of the College the name should have been changed, but the old name was however retained for some strategic reasons, which made the State to end up with two institutions with the name ‘Tai Solarin’.

"While a number of people have welcomed this development there were few that expressed reservations about the renaming. This group probably thought the name of our late sage, Dr Tai Solarin, was replaced with that of Kabiyesi", the Commissioner concluded.