The allusion that teachers’ rewards are in heaven should not be taken literally, for in reality, diligent teachers offer services that can hardly be rewarded adequately on this earth. These are the people that mould and shape the future of the society through knowledge impartation right from the elementary to tertiary levels. And when such people traversed all cadres of teaching to become the overseer of an institution building the nation’s capacity in technology, they deserve not just recognition but commendation and abundant rewards, not only in heaven but here on earth.
Prof. Adebiyi Daramola, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Akure stands tall among his peers, not just for his position as the manager of Technology University but also for his zeal and passion towards building local technology capacity for the country. Little wonder he was recently appointed, and unanimously so, by all Vice Chancellors in the country to head the Committee of Vice Chancellors.
From the academic line, Daramola has been so much concerned about the future of technology in the country, hence, his insistence on the development of science and technology education. According to him many undergraduates in the country today remain unemployable because they exposure to science and technology. And to address this, believes the only option is for the country’s education curricula to be fashioned in a manner to make mathematics compulsory for all courses at all levels. This, he said, would boost students’ interests in science and technology from their tender ages.
Daramola has also expressed concern over poor funding of technology education Daramola, urging governments to ensure proper at all levels of the academic cadre, adding that “they should also help in the establishment of monotechnics and polytechnics or universities of technology that would expose students to skills acquisition. “Over the years, Nigerian education policies have recognised the importance of science-based courses in the nation’s education curricular and thus pursued the policy of giving more attention to science-oriented courses during admissions into the nation’s tertiary institutions.” He is of the firm belief that the empahasis on science and technology would facilitate the actualisation of the country’s desire to join the comity of developed economies by the year 2020.
Born on March 2, 1958, Prof. Daramola had his secondary education at Anglican Grammar School, Ile-ife and Saint Charles College, Osogbo before proceeding to the Polytechnic, Ibadan in 1975. He had his first degree from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) and the Master’s and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees from the University of Ibadan.
Prof. Adebiyi Daramola started his working career as a Teaching/Tutorial Assistant in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan in 1982. He later joined the services of the Federal University of Technology, Akure as Assistant Lecturer in 1986 and rose through the ranks to become a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension in 1999. Daramola has served the University in various capacities; as Head of Department, Chairman and member of various committees.
He has over 50 publications in both National and International reputable journals. He is a Consultant to World Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria, Agricultural Consultant to International Finance Corporation/Accord Associate, Evaluation Consultant to UK – Department for International Development and Consultant to African Development Bank, among others. Prof. Daramola is also the editor of AfJARE, the African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics (Oct 2010 – Sep 2013) and a member of the Executive Committee of the African Association of Agricultural Economists where he serves alongside the Nigerian’s Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akin Adesina. The FUTA Vice Chancellor is a member of many academic and professional organizations, including American Association of Agricultural Economists, International Association of Agricultural Economists and Nigerian Association of Agricultural Economists etc.
The position of Nigeria in technology today, no doubt, calls for special attention on technology education, especially from the elementary leve,l to build a generation of tech savvy Nigerians. With the likes of Prof. Daramola taking up the advocacy for science and technology education, we may begin to witness improvement in the nearest future. But the key action will be the government’s readiness to review the education curricular and fashioned it in a way that every Nigerian student will be thinking scientifically as advised by the Prof. That will definitely spark up innovations and competition among Nigerian students and then the country can move from being a technology consuming nation to technology manufacturer.