A Delta-born educationist and human rights advocate, Comrade (Chief) Mulade Sheriff has congratulated Delta state governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, for this historical achievement and for making Delta to be the leading state with highest number of universities in Nigeria.
We are proud of your educational strides to give every Deltan and others the opportunity to acquire quality education.
Chief Mulade, a Peace Ambassador who is also the President of the Riverine Communities Development Forum of Nigeria, made this commendation in Asaba, the state capital.
He expressed joy and happiness over this laudable achievement and equally appealed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to kindly consider the transfer of the School of Marine Technology, Burutu to the Higher Education Ministry to enable it be managed by professional academics for the betterment of students, Deltans and to give sense of belonging to the riverine dwellers in the state.
The rights activist re-emphasised that the School of Marine Technology, Burutu, had been attached to the Ministry of Transport, since its establishment, indicating that it was meant to train youths in crash programmes only, instead of a full fledged Degree and Diploma awarding institution, such as those in universities and polytechnics respectively.
According to Mulade, in tertiary education, a professional certificate is quite different from an academic certificate.
He therefore, on behalf of riverine communities in Delta state, appealed to, and requested Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to transfer the School of Marine Technology, Burutu, to the Ministry of Higher Education so that academic experts could run and manage it towards achieving set goals.
He also appealed to the state governor. Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, to consider the riverine communities in his educational pursuits.
It will interest you to note that there is no single higher institution in the coastal communities/Riverine LGA’s of the State.
Therefore, I want to strongly appeal to the state government to consider setting up campuses of the state universities particularly, Delta State University, Abraka, now that Anwai campus has been converted to a university and any of the other university campuses in the riverine communities, to give them sense of belonging.