Our History
September 3, 2022 2022-09-09 3:21Our History
WE ARE BOUND WITH HISTORY
AOCOED
Hence, by 1958, a Grade III Teacher Training College in the name of Lagos Day Training College, with a population of about ninety students was established. Within the first decade of its existence, it became a Government Teacher Training College and was charged with the responsibility of producing Grade II teachers. The great need for teachers in Lagos State schools caused the then Military Government of the State in 1973 to elevate the College from Government Teachers’ College for training of middle level manpower teachers for the award of the N.C.E. (Primary) certificate. The College was then affiliated to the then College of Education of the University of Lagos, which assisted in working out the curriculum, screening of teaching staff and advising of building of laboratories for the teaching of courses in the sciences. The Institute of Education of the University of Lagos supervised the final year teaching practice, moderated the years’ examinations, and awarded certificates to the graduates. The first set of students completed their N.C.E. (Primary) Courses in 1976. However, this arrangement was to last for a short while.
The early 1970s saw the formulation of educational policies and propositions which positively changed the fortune of the College and have resulted in giving her opportunities to undergo significant transformation both in focus and structure over the past six decades. The transformation has since taken the College through an inward mobility from Grade III Teachers’ College to Grade II and later to one that trains teachers for the award of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). This upward mobility can be attributed to the ever increasing demands for teachers, population explosion among those seeking admission into the College programmes and the corresponding increase in the high quality of human resources needed for training students in Lagos State. As more secondary schools and teacher training colleges were established in the state, the training of NCE teachers for primary schools became redundant and the State Government decided that the academic orientation of the College be changed to NCE (Secondary) in 1976/77 session. Thereafter, the first set of students for NCE (Secondary) was admitted into the College and consequently in June 1979, the NCE (Primary) was completely phased out.
In 1980, the civilian administration in the state promulgated a law granting autonomy to the College, thereby enabling it to have a Governing Council and have its name changed from Advanced Teachers’ College to Lagos State College of Education (LACOED).Hence, the Lagos State College of Education was established under law No. 23 of 1980 (D14) published in the Lagos State Official Gazette No. 64 Volume 1 of 19th October, 1980. This however has been superseded by another edict contained in Lagos State of Nigeria Official Gazette Extraordinary No. 13 Volume 19 of 11th July, 1986. In this enabling law, the aims of the College were spelt out as: To provide courses of instruction leading to National Certificate in Education (NCE) and other distinctions in education and such related studies as may be prescribed; To provide special training courses in education or related subjects whether leading to college distinction or not, for such persons as may be prescribed, taking into account at all times the requirements of both the Federal and State Ministry of Education; To provide an adequate supply of well-qualified non-graduate teachers in accordance with the requirements of both the Federal and State Ministry of Education; To conduct research with particular reference to research in the field of Education; To arrange conferences, seminars, courses, study groups and like activities for the purpose of improving instructions and learning in the Lagos State Schools system; To develop and propagate a professional code and inculcate in its students the ethics of the education profession; and To perform such other functions as may be conferred on it by Statute. The implication of these objectives is that the College is expected to do more than just produce teachers for the school system. For the purposes just mentioned, the College since its inception in 1973 was housed in a very small area at Onitolo in the heart of Surulere, Lagos. In response to the problem of grossly inadequate land space in relation to the demands for the development of modern infrastructural facilities and increasing population of students at its Surulere site, the State Government, in 1981, moved the College to the more spacious permanent site at Oto/Ijanikin, Kilometer 30 Lagos Badagry Expressway. In 1980, a College Masterplan was approved and construction work on the site for the first phase of the new structural development commenced. The foundation stone for construction was laid on 29th July, 1986 by the then Governor of Lagos State, Group Captain Gbolahan Mudashiru.
A remarkable turning point in the history of the College was when the Military Administrator of Lagos State, Colonel Mohammed Buba Marwa, officially renamed the College after late Otunba Adeniran Ogunsanya, an illustrious son of the state who contributed immensely to the provision of quality education in Lagos State. The College became known as Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Oto/Ijanikin, Lagos State in 1996. The College currently serves as an affiliate College of the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, by awarding first degrees in programmes in Education. Precisely in 1999, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the College and the then Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti, now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti after an approval by the University Senate.
MOCPED
Generally, the Lagos State College of Primary Education was established for pre-service and in- service training and certification of graduates for all levels of Basic School system. Specifically, the College is to prepare and produce pre-service subject specialist for lower, middle and upper basic (formerly primary and junior secondary) education levels. This is in contrast to the generalist subject teachers produced by conventional Colleges of Education.
The College began formal activities on December 1, 1994 at the Government Guest House, Epe with the appointment of the first Council, Provost, and three other Principal Officers by the Provisional Governing Council. The College was renamed Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED) in April 2007 in honour of a former governor of the state, Sir Michael Agbolade Otedola, under whose administration the institution was established. And Dr. Nosiru Olajide Onibon (Associate Professor) is the current Provost of the institution. The inaugural Provost of the College was then Dr. (later Prof.) Tunde Samuel, followed by Mr. K.O. Ekemode, Mr. W. Amisu (as College Administrator), Prof. A.O.A. Oguntoye, Dr O.O. Oshodi (in Acting Capacity), Dr. (later Prof.) Olu Akeusola, Dr. S.A. Popoola (in Acting Capacity) and Associate Prof. Nosiru Olajide Onibon, who is the incumbent Provost.