Alumni of [Imade College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imade_College) in Owo, Ondo State, have invested upwards of ₦200 million in new classrooms, laboratories, hostels and other facilities as part of the school’s 80th‑anniversary celebrations, but they say the chronic lack of teaching staff is jeopardising the benefits of those upgrades.
The anniversary planning committee, chaired by former student Yinka Akinola, coordinated roughly ten separate construction projects that added three‑bedroom flats, public toilets and a computer laboratory to the campus. Akinola, who left the college in 1971 when enrolment was about 300, noted that the student body has now swelled dramatically, putting pressure on the newly built amenities.
**What is the main challenge facing the college?**
Akinola identified the shortage of qualified teachers as the institution’s biggest obstacle. He explained that the alumni association had to re‑allocate funds originally earmarked for further infrastructure to pay for temporary staff, spending about ₦11 million this year to employ more than 20 ad‑hoc teachers. “We have been forced to divert funds meant for infrastructure to employ temporary teachers,” he said.
The worldwide president of the Imade College Owo Old Students Association (IMACOSA), Ambassador Godson Echegile, was reported to have contributed over ₦100 million to the projects this year. IMACOSA vice‑president Felix Ajibade disclosed that the alumni have hired 29 ad‑hoc teachers at a monthly salary of ₦70,000 each to prevent the shortage from affecting academic performance. He also urged the state government to provide additional teachers, drivers and security personnel, noting that the college currently operates three vehicles but has no drivers.
**How is the government responding?**
Chairperson of the [Ondo State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM)](https://www.tescom.gov.ng), Dr Oluwadayisi Oke, acknowledged the nationwide teacher deficit and said the state is actively recruiting. She highlighted that [Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa](https://www.ondostate.gov.ng/governor) has placed education high on his agenda, improving teachers’ welfare, ensuring timely salary payments, offering training and retraining programmes, and attending to pensioners. Oke expressed confidence that better working conditions would attract more young people to the teaching profession.
The alumni continue to call on financially able former students to support the college, stressing that even modest contributions can make a tangible difference in sustaining both infrastructure and staffing needs.
**What are the immediate needs?**
- Recruitment of additional permanent teachers to reduce reliance on ad‑hoc staff.
- Hiring of drivers for the college’s three vehicles.
- Deployment of security personnel to safeguard the expanded campus both day and night.
The alumni’s appeal underscores a broader challenge in Nigeria’s education sector: while private contributions can upgrade physical facilities, sustainable staffing solutions require coordinated government action.