Upgrade NOCEN to varsity – FG urged

FORMER Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife during the fourth edition of the Nwafor Orizu Memorial Lecture, has called on the federal government to upgrade the Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe (NOCEN) to a university as a way of immortalising the late Nwafor Orizu, who was once Senate President, Acting President, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dr Ezeife, who served as chairman of the lecture, while delivering his address stated that the late Orizu achieved greatness before he passed on.
He described Prince Orizu as “a very good man to Anambra State. While I served as Governor of Anambra State, the state celebrated his 76th birthday for him. I think this is a man we haven’t celebrated enough. Very kind, very humble, very educated, helped many people attain education…”
 
He called on the federal government to make the institution a university as a way of properly immortalising the late Prince Orizu.
On her part, provost of the institution, Ifeyinwa Osegbo described Dr. Orizu as an authentic nationalist who lived and died a convinced Apostle of Nigerian unity.
Dr. Osegbo lamented that the standard of education has continued to drop since the 1970s as most adults, scholars, students and youths no longer read, or engage in serious hard work, adding that the implication is that the Nigerian populace is generally becoming half-educated or downright ignorant, except for a negligible fraction, usually versed in their restricted areas of specialisation.
Speaking during the lecture titled; Professionalisation and Vocationilisation of Teaching: The Teacher’s Burden, the guest lecturer and former provost of the institution, Fidelis Okafor described the teaching profession as a difficult task, more difficult than that of a soldier.
According to Prof. Okafor who also served as Vice Chancellor, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), teaching is no longer an all comer’s affair as one must obtain the requisite knowledge and education before being certified to teach.
First edition of the Nwafor Orizu Memorial Lecture was held at the Yar’Adua International Conference Center, Abuja in 2008.