This is contained in a statement signed by Akintunde and made available to newsmen by the institution’s Public Relations Officer(PRO), Mrs Oluseto Olatuyi, in Ondo.

The provost commended the efforts of the institution’s founding fathers, his predecessors, staff and students for their valuable contributions to its growth and development.

“We are grateful to God that the primary purpose of establishing the college is being fulfilled.

“This is a foremost College of Education which has been at the forefront, in the training of teachers for this country and the West African sub-region.

“So, since 1964 that the college was established with just few hundreds of students, probably not even up to two hundred for a start, the institution has gone so far, that as of today, we have over 18,000 students.

“This shows that the college has transformed tremendously,’’ he said.

Akintunde also lauded the founding fathers of the college for their vision in establishing the institution and his predecessors, for sustaining the hallmark of excellence for which the college was known.

He stated that the development had  brought glory to the college, making it to be rated as one of the leading teachers’ training colleges within and outside the country.

The provost lauded the Federal Government for its financial support to the college.

According to him, the Federal Government, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Special Interventions and others, has made huge contributions to the physical and academic development of the institution.

“We commend the Federal Government for the various capital projects being executed in the college, such as construction of perimeter fence, laying asphalt on roads and construction of student hostels.

“On internally generated revenue (IGR) drives in the institution, we also laud the staff of the college, for their initiatives which have yielded positive dividends, as income generated has assisted the institution to meet some of its financial needs,” he stated.

Speaking on his expectations as the college prepared for transition to a University of Education, the provost  expressed optimism of greater achievements and transformation, to a higher level, as “centre of excellence” in teacher education.

“We have hope that when the university takes off,  it would enjoy full autonomy that would assist it to attract international partners for exchange programmes, through which its staff and students will be exposed, to best practices as done in other parts of the world,” he said.