The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Rahmon Bello, has urged engineers to support the development of Africa through engineering education.

He said this during the fifth Africa Regional Conference on Engineering Education organized by the university and Africa Engineering Education Association alongside five other universities.

According to Bello, there is the need to promote engineering education for the development of Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

He said, “We are not unaware of the key role that engineers play in the development of a nation. Therefore, ARCEE has continued to support initiatives aimed at technological development through positive engagement with faculty of engineering and indeed, other relevant stakeholders in the development of engineering education.

“The challenges facing engineering education are numerous. The solutions to our challenges will be identified and appropriate mechanisms will be put in place for effective dissemination of the outcomes to the policy makers and other engineering stakeholders.”

He also urged the newly inaugurated African Engineering Deans’ Council not to compromise engineering standards.

He added, “The regional conference is to provide a forum for engineering educators, professional organizations and industry in general and African region in particular to discuss common problems in engineering education.”

The Chairman, ARCEE 2013 Organizing Committee, Prof. Funso Falade, explained that engineers played a vital role in the development of any nation.

He said, “We all know that without engineering, there cannot be any state of art technology and therefore no meaningful development can take place. Any nation that fails to give engineering its dues will remain permanently under developed.

Funso, who teaches engineering at UNILAG, said the conference enabled engineering educators to discuss common problems in engineering education.