As our future leaders, I will like you to know that education preserves the ultimate values and culture of any society. It is to the nation what mind is to the body. It is the most significant tool and asset in nation-building and development. It is the best legacy any nation can give her citizens.”
These were some of the words by Arc Olusegun Aluko, Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro at the 20th matriculation ceremony of the polytechnic recently held at the school’s convocation pavilion.
According to Aluko, nine percent of the applicants for admission into full-time National Diploma (ND), Higher National Diploma (HND) and part-time ND programmes of the polytechnic were admitted “due to the approved carrying capacity of the institution,” totalling three thousand, two hundred and fourteen students.
In a speech laced with dos and don’ts, impact projects, students welfare package and grievance procedures, he admonished the matriculating students on the need to face their studies and not get involved in “cultism, molestation, criminal gang culture, academic misconduct,” all of which he said are outlawed in the institution.
Commenting on strengthening the academic base of the polytechnic which he claimed has “a student population of over 8000 in more than 60 NBTE-accredited academic programmes (ND and HND) spread over the Schools of Applied Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Studies and Management Studies,” the rector declared that the management of the polytechnic had concluded plans for the establishment of new programmes in the next academic session, which include Mass Communication, Agricultural Science, Transport Management, and Art and Design.
In the same vein, Aluko stated that “for this session, courses such as Agricultural Engineering, Taxation, Insurance, Library and Information have taken off with new students at the ND level.”