MAPOLY to award degree

BY Fasilat Oluwuyi

MOSHOOD Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta (MAPOLY)  is set to award the  Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree across various departments.

The Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Joseph Odemuyiwa, made this known during an interview with Campuslife.

Last week, Odemuyiwa said the institution was set to award degrees. He, however, said the polytechnic hadx been asked to also put up more courses for its degree programmes across departments.

“We have asked the school to put up courses for the programmes across departments. We  held an emergency meeting with them last week that they should call an emergency academic board meeting to consider that and possibly begin the next academic session.”

Odemuyiwa noted that the award of degrees would not  be in affiliation with any university, adding that the polytechnic law permitted it to award degrees.

“Our target will be Higher National Diploma and  National Diploma graduates; then we want to look at other polytechnic graduates across the nation,’’ he said.

When asked if the students would get the Bachelor of Technology certificate, Odemuyiwa said they would not get the certificate because they were not admitted for the programme.

“The present HND students will not get the certificate, they can’t transmit into that because they were not admitted for Bachelor of Technology, they were admitted for the Higher National Diploma Programme.”

Odemuyiwa  added: “It is not that we are cancelling the Higher National Diploma programme. The school is going to have both Higher National Diploma and National Diploma separate as well as  that of the degree.

“It is not going to be in affiliation with any university. The law of the polytechnic permits it to award degree. By the law that established the polytechnic, it should be a degree awarding institution on its own.

“Moshood Abiola Polytechnic will not operate outside the law that established it, it will operate within the law.”

Odemuyiwa further stated: “We are processing the next academic session as COVID-19 has disrupted the whole system. Machinery has  been set in motion to start the programme.”

Corroborating Odemuyiwa, the Head, Public Relations and Protocol, Mr. Yemi Ajibola, said: “MAPOLY has its  blue print to award Bachelor of Technology Certificate. We have our blueprint to award B.Tech, not only in Engineering.

“Other departments like Accounting, Computer Education, Mass Communication plus other courses in science where we think we have strong opportunities.”

He aid the polytechnic would have started awarding  degrees a long time but was halted by the crisis that rocked the institution.

Ajibola said: “Any moment from now, when the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) comes to the polytechnic, award of degree certificate is part of what NBTE will look at.

“In Mass Communication, in Architecture and others where we have comparative advantage. I know MAPOLY is ready to award B-Tech.

“With the government coming up with the award of B.Tech for students, I think it is making the journey faster than we thought.

“ Students should jump at the opportunity to just be more studious and understand it’s an opportunity and they should guard it jealously. With that, degree certificate discrimination will not be there any longer. TheHND/BSC dichotomy will be taken away.”

He however called on the NBTE to increase the polytechnic’s capacity to admit more students to avoid  limiting  students from getting the opportunity.’’