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Tag: Rector

  • Rector, students advocate TVE

    FEDERAL Polytechnic, Offa Acting Rector, Dr Ayodele Olaosebikan and Students Union President (SUG) Yusuf Olalekan, have canvassed support for Technical/Vocational Education (TVE) in Nigeria.

    The duo spoke at the inauguration of SUG’s bakery at the mini-campus of the institution in Offa, Kwara State.

    Olaosebikan noted that TVE would ensure attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the country.

    She said the bakery was in line with the ‘change’ agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to reduce unemployment and poverty in Nigeria.

    Said she: “I want to appreciate the President’s (Buhari) change initiative, which has become a great drive for technical and vocational education in Nigeria. At the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, we are imbued by this drive to produce graduates with skills and self-reliance.

    “It would interest you to know that soonest, technology will be adopted to conduct examinations for students through computer based examinations (CBE). This effort is to eradicate bottlenecks which result into loss of scripts and sometimes delayed processing of results.

    “I therefore, enjoin all students to improve their computer proficiency so as to avoid difficulties when the programme begins.

    “I want to call on the polytechnic’s alumni association and corporate organisations to join hands with the management, especially on research funding, physical development and endowment of prizes in order to encourage students. Management will continue to support innovation, research and evolve policies in line with the change mantra of the federal government that will create and maintain the enabling environment for enhanced private sector investment in the polytechnic.”

  • Rector, Students advocate TVE

    Acting Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Dr Ayodele Olaosebikan and Students Union President (SUG) Yusuf Olalekan, have canvassed support for Technical/Vocational Education (TVE) in Nigeria.

    The duo said this at the mini campus of the institution in Offa, Kwara State, at the inauguration of SUG’s bakery.

    Dr Olaosebikan noted that TVE would ensure attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the country.

    She said the bakery was in line with the ‘change’ agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to reduce unemployment and poverty in Nigeria.

    Said she: “I want to appreciate the President’s (Buhari) change initiative, which has become a great drive for technical and vocational education in Nigeria. At the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, we are imbued by this drive to produce graduates with skills and self-reliance.

    “It would interest you to know that soonest, technology will be adopted to conduct examinations for students through computer based examinations (CBE). This effort is to eradicate bottlenecks which result into loss of scripts and sometimes delayed processing of results.

    “I therefore, enjoin all students to improve their computer proficiency so as to avoid difficulties when the programme begins.

    “I want to call on the polytechnic’s alumni association and corporate organisations to join hands with the management, especially on research funding, physical development and endowment of prizes in order to encourage students. Management will continue to support innovation, research and evolve policies in line with the change mantra of the federal government that will create and maintain the enabling environment for enhanced private sector investment in the polytechnic.”

     

     

     

  • Rector, Ebonyi lawmakers bicker over employment

    Rector, Ebonyi lawmakers bicker over employment

    The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has engaged the Rector of Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana, Ven. Ogbonnaya Ibe-Enwo in a war of words over alleged lopsided employment at the institution.

    The 24-member assembly accused Ibe-Enwo of abuse of office and irregularities in a recent employment exercise, but the rector said he followed due process.

    The assembly set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the alleged irregularities, lopsidedness and non-compliance to the federal character principle in the employment by the institution.

    However, the Rector said that he was not fairly treated by the legislators because he was not allowed to state his side to hear from him, noting that he could appear before the committee  if the supervising authorities approve as a federal polytechnic.

    He said: “After the employment, we also needed to do the regularisation.  In the absence of a governing council, there is what we call Expanded Management Committee.  That committee is made up of the Rector as Chairman, the representative of the Honourable Minister of Education, representative of the Executive Secretary of NBTE, then, all the principal officers of the institution.

    “We all met and did all the due processes of regularisation. At the end of it, I got certificate of compliance by the Federal Character Commission in doing it.”

    Ibe-Enwo explained that it was not a full scale employment and that he had contacted the Governor David Umahi and explained the matter to him.

    He noted that in conducting the exercise consideration was given to all applicants from across the states of the federation including Ebonyi.

    He said that as an indigene of the state he could not have done anything against the interest of his people.

    He, however, added that he could not also do anything against the standing and supervising authorities or the federal character principles just to impress anybody.

    Meanwhile, the Hon. Nkemka Okoro-led adhoc committee said that Ibe-enwo and his management team flagrantly refused to grant any of the requests it made, including to release some documents to them.

    Okoro said the House should use other available options to force them comply as his committee had exhausted all arsenals within its mandate to no avail.

  • Rector laments suicide rate among students

    The Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Taiwo Akande, is concerned about the rate of suicide among students  which, she said is being triggered by bottled up emotion.

    Mrs. Akande, who spoke last Friday during the matriculation of 3,690 new students admitted into the polytechnic for the 2015/2016 academic session, advised them to always open up when passing through difficulties.

    She said some students committed suicide because they couldn’t share their emotional trouble with the right people who could help them overcome their challenges.

    The Rector urged the students to approach the counsellors or any other senior official in the polytechnic who are professionally trained to handle such problems rather than resorting to self-help.

    Urging the students to face their primary assignment in the institution, the Rector said the school would not condone vices like cybercrime, cultism and illegal sale of bed spaces.

    “The management has put in place a vigilant security network to closely monitor students and sniff out the bad eggs. Such unscrupulous elements will not be allowed to tarnish the hard earned image of this institution. Anybody caught will be made to face the full weight of the law.

    “It is most disturbing these days to discover that students sell their bed spaces at exorbitant amounts to fellow students after being allocated bed spaces in the hostel.  If detected such students would be not only be rusticated he will be prosecuted as well,” she warned.

    For those who excel in their academic pursuits, the Rector said they will be rewarded, to encourage others.

    She advised the students to be security conscious considering the prevailing insecurity in the country.

    “Be security conscious; don’t walk or read alone at night; read in group . If anybody gives you unsolicited money or gifts, ask questions, because this might be a ploy to lure you into cultism. Don’t truncate your future or give your parents everlasting sorrow by your conducts”, she said.

    The matriculation oath was administered on the students by the Polytechnic Registrar, Mrs. S.O. Adediran.

  • Rector probes student’s death

    RECTOR of the Polytechnic, Sokoto, Prof Aminu Ibrahim has set up a 12-man committee to investigate the death of a student and a demonstration that followed.

    Students of the polytechnic staged a peaceful protest ýafter Muyideen Salawu died of an alleged water-borne disease because of claims that the school’s clinic is non-functional.

    They also complained about inadequate water and power supply which they said compounded their condition on the campus and contributed to Salawu’s death.

    Salawu was said to have died in private clinic in Sokoto.

    The Rector, who gave the committee one week to submit its report, said those found wanting would be sanctioned.

    ‘’There are rules and regulations guiding the operations of the institution and we will not hesitate to sanction anyone who may be indicted.  I will surely be guided by the findings of the committee  and we will never toy with the welfare and security of the students,’’ Ibrahim promised.

    However, Ibrahim debunked claims that the National Diploma (ND) 1 student died of acute malaria.  He also said the clinic works.

    “It is untrue that the student died due water borne disease, as malaria was the cause of his death.  Our clinic is fully functioning and he was admitted in the clinic on Friday, from where he was referred to Lafiya clinic.

    ‘’All our students are covered by the NHIS at the clinic and we also do make referrals to the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto,’’ the Rector, said.

    Ibrahim further debunked the allegations of lack of water, saying that the school has solar-powered boreholes and those powered by generators.

    ‘’The issue of light is a national one and not peculiar to the polytechnic alone, but we have functional generators powered by diesel located in strategic places.

    ‘’We also have solar-powered lights to enable the students read comfortably at night,’’ he said.

    President of the Students’ Union, Mr Halliru Binji, said he did not know about the protest.

    “I am not aware about the plan to conduct the demonstration, but I had to rush to the scene and brought the situation under control,’’ he said.

    Spokesman of the State Police Command, Mr El-Mustapha Sani, who confirmed the protest, also said that there was no loss of life.

  • Rector threatens sanctions against erring lecturers

    The Rector Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic Uwana (AIFPU), Ven Ogbonnia Ibe-Enwo, has threatened to deal with any lecturer caught demanding undue financial reward or sexually assaulting the students.

    Ibe-Enwo gave the warning during institution’s 35th matriculation.

    According to him, appropriate measures have been taken to eradicate or curtail extortion, adding that  sanctions will be meted out on defaulters.

    He urged the Federal Government to review the Federal Polytechnic Act, noting that the move would revolutionalise polytechnic education and ensure the production of manpower from bachelor of technology to doctorate of technology.

    “The review will also enable us be at par with universities while allowing our core mandates to remain.

    The rector noted that the move will ensure productivity and a level playing ground for all members of the sector such that they would attain the peak of their careers.

    “We should abrogate all dichotomies militating against productivity, as obtained in the career progression between the university and polytechnic graduates,” he said.

    He said the institution matriculating 6,025 students for the 2015/16 academic session, in 30 departments spreading across six schools.

    He noted that 3, 911 students were granted admission in National Diploma (ND) programmes, while 2, 114 students were offered admission into Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes.

    He added that the institution was collaborating with the Federal University of Technology (FUTO) Owerri and the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture (Umudike) Abia, to award Bachelor of Science Degrees

    He said: “We frown at laziness and examination misconduct which negate the objectives of parents and guardians in sponsoring you.”

    He enjoined them to shun cultism and its related activities as its membership pitches is not tolerated in this institution.

  • We will assist youth to become wealth creators – Ambode

    We will assist youth to become wealth creators – Ambode

    Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Thursday said his administration would continue to add value to the quality of education in tertiary institutions owned by the state to make graduates wealth creators.

     

    Ambode, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, made the pledge at the 24th Convocation Ceremony of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu.

     

    He said the government was aware of the challenges hindering the growth of young entrepreneurs, which prompted the establishment of the Employment Trust Fund.

     

    “The fund is to assist graduates and help them generate wealth for themselves, as well as create job opportunities for others.

     

    “Your education in this institution has equipped you with the necessary foundation and skills for the challenges ahead.

     

    “You owe this institution a duty to be its good ambassadors by promoting economic development and progress of our community,” he said.

     

    Ambode urged the management and staff of the institution to ensure that the students under their care are exposed to new ideas in research.

     

    In his address, Mr Samuel Sogunro, Rector, LASPOTECH, said that the student population of the 38-year-old institution had grown from 287 at inception to the present 25, 250.

     

    Sogunro said that one of the biggest challenges of the polytechnic was underfunding, as it constrained research activities and development in the Institution.

     

    “Being a public institution, our main source of funding is the government, which owing to the prevailing hostile economic environment, has increasingly been unable to cater for most of our financial needs.

     

    “The inability of the state government to adequately fund the polytechnic has for a long time constrained research and sundry development activities on our campuses,” he said.

     

    Sogunro appreciated Gov. Ambode for his active support in reducing the challenges and burden of the institution, promising that the school management would continue to complement the government’s efforts.

     

    He urged the graduating students to continue to work hard and strive for academic, professional and personal excellence.

     

    “Your achievement now leaves you with a vital responsibility of being a change agent in the society. You are not expected to rely on government jobs; think of what you can do for Nigeria.

     

    “Put your know-how to use and set your creativity free to create jobs in the private sector,” Sogunro said.

     

    LASPOTECH graduated 8, 519 students at the convocation

  • Abia Poly’ll be self-sustaining, Ag. Rector promises

    The Acting Rector of Abia State Polytechnics, Aba, Onyekwere Okpara, has assured workers and students of his readiness to make the place self-sustaining if given the necessary cooperation.

    Okpara, who put government’s monthly subvention to the institution at N90 million, said if the subvention is consistent for the next two years, that would have given him the impetus to utilise the fund for various investments that would jerk up the  institution’s internally generated revenue, and would not have to depend on government for further funding.

    Speaking in his office when he received the Correspondent Chapel of the state Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Okpara said the city where the institution is situated and the resources around it make his vision possible.

    Okpara said the opening of a bakery for commercial purposes kickstarted his administration’s dream of making the institution self-reliant, stressing that the products of the bakery are hotcakes in the market.

    He said in the next few months, the management will soon commence the processing of water in commercial quantity which will be sold to both the public and the polytechnic community.

    Okpara who is still in acting capacity said: “The water processing plant we want to establish, even if it is sold to our immediate environment alone, we are sure of breaking even and making enough to take care of our needs.”

    With the establishment of a water producing company, the next line of action would be a micro-finance bank which aside generating funds for the institution, will also help to give loans to workers.

    He explained that the entire business venture being mapped out by his administration will be run as a full time business different from the school, “We are going to run them as a different arm of the institution with the aim of making profit.”

    The acting rector paid tribute to  Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who took over the N2 billion loan, which the last Governing Council of the institution obtained, stressing that the gesture has saved them from financial mess.

    Okpara added:  “The magnitude of attention we are receiving from Governor Ikpeazu is unprecedented, as we have never had it so good. Of course we could not have expected less from him, knowing that we are part of his primary constituency being a former university teacher.”

    He said the time has come for the institution to impact positively on the city of Aba, adding that they have plans to start the certification of artisans to make their work more proficient.

  • Unhappy ending for a ‘performing’ rector

    Unhappy ending for a ‘performing’ rector

    IT was not the kind of parting gift Dr. Philipa Idogho, former Rector of the Federal Polytechnic in Auchi, Edo State, was looking forward to. Since there were talks of her outstanding performance, she would have expected to bow out in style. But the workers gave her a shocker.  Instead of a red carpet treatment she was greeted with a protest last Thursday when she ended her eight-year tenure.

    A colourful ceremony planned to mark her exit was marred by the protest, which drew tears from many of her admirers. The protesters barricaded the Benin-Abuja highway, causing a traffic gridlock for hours.

    The workers, dressed in black, carried a mock coffin and a portrait of the former rector as they moved round the campus.

    The workers, comprising Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) Senior Staff Association of Polytechnics (SSANIP) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) defaced her picture and name on the institution’s properties.  They vented their anger on the Auchi Campus II, which she developed and named the Philipa Idogho Campus.  They removed the first letter ‘I’ and the last two letters ‘H’ and ‘O’ in Idogho inscribed on the entrance to the campus, turning it to “Dog Campus”.

    The workers had grounded academic activities two weeks to the end of her tenure over nonpayment of December and January salaries. Students were chased out of lectures halls which were then locked.

    Other reasons adduced for the strike included non-remittance of  workers’ cooperative contributions amounting to over N400 million, unpaid project supervision and invigilation allowances for 2014/2015 academic session for evening students and promotion without financial benefits.

    A statement signed by ASUP Chairman, Isah Abdulazeez, SSANIP chairman, Comrade Godwin Ikhide and NASU Chairman Hassan Ikhanaede urged the Federal Government to probe Idogho’s tenure.

    Reacting, the former rector, who is an alumna of the institution, said the unpaid salary arrears were not caused by the polytechnic management under her watch but errors from implementing the Treasury Salary Account (TSA) from source.

    “The polytechnic is on a platform where payments are made directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) into individual accounts and last December we had a short fall of the salary and these salaries have already been uploaded. We only interact with the issue of salary online where somebody reviews and another person approves.

    “When we did approval it was showing insufficient fund and so in January this year we wrote to the Office of the Accountant-General and the Minister of Finance to complain.

    “Already that issue is being looked into and while that issue was going on, we called the unions and we told them what was happening.  At a stage the bursar and the national leadership of SSANIP met at the budget office to actually see what was happening with our salaries and they saw it and they equally realised too that it was not an issue of Auchi Polytechnic alone.

    “For January we were paid and they got their salaries through December system and that is what we have been using for quite some time now. So it ought not to be an issue because they all know it is not within the control of the polytechnic,” she said.

    Two women groups, the Girls Power Initiative (GPI) and International Reproductive Rights Research Action Group (IRRRAG), condemned the workers’action describing it as unfortunate and barbaric.

    GPI Coordinator, Mrs. Grace Osakue said singing of dirges for Dr Idogho was evil and uncalled for.

    “Dialogue is a better way of doing such things. They took it personal against her. The issue of financial challenge is not particular to the institution alone. It is a national challenge.

    “The woman did not employ herself. You will recall that there was protest all over Nigeria last week over increase in electricity tariff. Yet, nobody got coffin for Fashola,” she said.

    IRRRAG Coordinator, Mrs. Jane Osagie, said the workers’ approach was barbaric and unacceptable.

    She said: “No matter what happened, I am not saying that the workers do not have rights to protest unpaid salaries. But it is indeed painful for such things to have been done against a woman who attracted so much development to the institution. That was too much. It was absolutely wrong for anybody to wish her dead.”

    A final year student of Mass Communication, who declined to be named, said the workers sent students away from the campus last Friday as a result of the protest.

    The workers met with management of the institution on Tuesday at the end of which they suspended the strike for 21 days.

    ASUP Chairman, Abdulazeez, said the time was to enable the management looked into their grievances.

    Meanwhile, the students lamented the loss two weeks break caused them.

    A final year student, Adegbulehin Deborah, said the strike would delay their graduation.

    “The students suffered the strike action. We may not be able to go to service on time like our colleagues in other institutions,” she lamented.

    Isemede Joy, a recent graduate who came for her clearance said the strike forced her stay longer.

    “I have been here since last week Friday and I have not been able to finish a clearance that is not suppose to take two days.  It is frustrating,” she said.

  • Shun cultism, malpractices, Rector urges undergraduates

    Shun cultism, malpractices, Rector urges undergraduates

    The Lagos State Polytechnic has again restated its zero tolerance for cultism on campus as expulsion awaits any student found wanting in this regard. The Rector of the institution, Samuel Oluyinka Sogunro, gave the warning recently while addressing new undergraduate students during their matriculation ceremony.

    Cautioning the fresh students to shun secret cults, the Rector, who tasked the matriculating students to be law abiding, said, “I will also strongly advise you to desist from joining unregistered and secret associations wherever they are because the penalty for this is nothing but expulsion    from    the Polytechnic.”

    He said that there was an immediate need for attitude change among young people because of the increasing involvement of students in social vices in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. He asked the students to take their academics seriously in order to become better citizens who would contribute to the development of the country.

    Sogunro, who was recently appointed as the new helmsman of the institution told the students that he is also a fresher as the event was the first of its kind since his assumption of office.

    “I am also a fresher like you all. This is because this is the first matriculation I am also presiding over as Rector. So, I enjoin you all to be prepared for a lot of new things as we journey together. We must strive hard as a team to give the Polytechnic a new lease of life,” he said.

    In separate chats with The Nation, Maryam Odunuga and Kudirat Sanni, 200 level students of the Mass Communication department, said they are optimistic that the school will break new grounds during the new academic year.

    They re-echoed the Rector and appealed to fellow students to shun all forms of vices and concentrate on getting the best out of the opportunities available to them as undergraduates of the Polytechnic.