The school of Health Technology Offa, as it used to be called came into being in 1976 sequel to the directive by the then Federal Military Government of Late General Muritala Ramat Mohammed of blessed memory through the promulgation of a decree, instructing each state Government to establish at least one school of Health Technology in their respective states. This was aimed at meeting the manpower challenges being faced in the Health sector especially in the rural Areas.
In compliance with the directive therefore, the Military administration of George Inih after an in-depth deliberation and assessment, resolved, to establish Kwara State School of Health Technology in Offa, which was then the Head Quarters of the Oyun Local Government Area to help in the training of its indigenes as health workers in the area of primary, medium and secondary Health Services.
Hitherto, citizens of the State interested in pursuing career in this sector used to travel to other states like, Lagos, Anambra, Kano and Oyo among others to study.
The College of Health Technology Offa in spite of its ups and downs within its 38 years of existence has contributed immensely to the development of health sector in the state.
The College which at inception took off, with 8 departments and 120 students has now grown to 10 departments with student’s population of about 4,000. It has since graduated over 30,000 qualified health workers.
Also the National Board for Technical Education has approved the accreditation of four programmes for Kwara State College of Health Technology, Offa.
The Provost of the College, Alhaji Sheu Ajide stated this at the Honorable Commissioner’s office saying that the approval is with effect from 2014/2015 session.
Alhaji Ajide said the approved programmes include National Diploma in Public Community Health, Higher National Diploma in Public Community Health Nursing, and National Diploma in Health Information Management and National diploma in Environmental Health Technology.
Responding to the Provost, the Honourable Commissioner of Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Alhaji Aliyu Wahab Opakunkle appreciated the Chairman, Members of the Governing Council and the entire Management of the College for the success achieved for these programmes to run on National Diploma & Higher National Diploma levels. The honourable commissioner urged the Council and Management not to rest on their oars so as to ensure immediate accreditation of other courses lined up for resource inspection.
The Commissioner said, it is only through the accreditation of the courses run by the College that their products could be sellable and could also achieve their maximum in academic progress. He concluded that with NBTE accreditation, the College could also be able to benefit from TETFUND intervention just like other colleges of Technology in the Country. The Commissioner used this medium to thank His Excellency the Executive governor of Kwara state for his usual support to Tertiary Institutions in the state.
It is on record that before the tenure of Dr. Bukola Saraki in the State, the productivity and fortunes of the College nosedived to the lowest ebb due to neglect by the preceding administrations in terms of subvention and provision of infrastructural facilities culminating into low students enrolment and low morale of staff. Happily with the advent of Governor Saraki’s administration and up to date the situation changed for the better. As summarized by the provost thus "The College suffered set back and neglect before the coming of former Governor Bukola Saraki. But immediately Bukola came on Board, the College witnessed a lot of positive changes in terms of projects execution by the State Government".
The coming on board of the present administration is an harbinger of good fortunes to the college starting with the increase in the College’s monthly allocation from N50,OOO.OO monthly to N 1million as well as prompt payment of staff salaries and promotion as at when due.
Considering the sensitivity of the services the students render after graduation, the authority of the College, has placed high premium on excellent academic performance through quality teaching and provision of infrastructure needed for easy teaching and learning.
The creation of Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Technology which now over sees the College has again impacted positively on the development of the college since 2012 , particularly in the areas of infrastructure, more classrooms have been provided, new library complex was built, and a large auditorium and additional hostel facilities were equally constructed.
All these efforts have added to the rating of the institution as one of the best amongst its equal.
Alhaji Aliyu Wahab Opakunle, the State Commissioner for Tertiary Education Science and Technology, confirmed that Governor Ahmed Abdul Fatah has a keen interest in the development of the college and reiterated that the State Government would provide good health care delivery services through training and retraining of Academic Staff of the College.
The support and backing given by the Kwara State Government to the college is a source of delight to the Management which has given them confidence to approach the National Board for Technical
Education (NBTE) in Kaduna, the body in charge of accrediting Polytechnics and Technology courses for its consent in upgrading the school to a Health Polytechnic.
The accreditation if eventually granted by the NBTE will be a significant landmark achievement for Kwara State as it will facilitate additional external special funding from Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and other donor agencies.
While appreciating the commitment of the state Government towards the College, the Provost however pleaded with Kwara State Government that much still needed to be done especially in the provision of infrastructure like good internal road network in campus, hostel accommodation facility, increased subvention, training and retraining of staff in order to meet the requirements of NBTE accreditation standards whenever they visit the College to assess its programmes.
Nma is Press Secretary, Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Ilorin.