The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rector

  • Misbehave and be expelled, rector tells students

    Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Rector Mr Samuel Sogunro, has enjoined freshers to study hard to achieve academic excellence. The rector also urged them to abide by the school’s rules to avoid expulsion.

    Sogunro spoke at the matriculation of 3,000 freshers at the School of Agriculture Auditorium last Thursday. The ceremony was attended by top members of management, parents and guardians.

    The rector told the freshers to brace for the challenges ahead, saying the institution would not compromise its standards in favour of any student. He also advised them against joining groups not registered with the Students’ Affairs Unit of the polytechnic, adding that membership of unlawful club attracts severe sanction.

    Speaking on the modality of admission, Sogunro said the polytechnic emphasised on academic competence in its selection process.

    He said: “We have been strict in our selection process, because we are anxious about maintaining acceptable academic standard. We also want reasonable good candidates, and we try hard to produce good graduates who will be able to compete with their peers anywhere in the world.”

    The institution’s Public Relations Officer, Olanrewaju Kuye, assured that the polytechnic would provide conducive environment for the students to attain their academic pursuits.

    After the ceremony, it was all celebration outside the auditorium. Various fellowships on campus organised thanksgiving on behalf of the freshers. Prominent among them is the Redeemed Christian Fellowship (RCF), which organised a welcoming programme for the freshers.

     

     

     

  • How mentoring strengthens young entrepreneurs, by Rector

    The Rector, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Yaba, Lagos State, Dr Margaret Ladipo has stressed the role of mentoring in building young entrepreneurs and eradicating unemployment in the country.

    Dr Ladipo spoke at a press briefing to announce the 29th convocation of the college on Tuesday.

    She said: “Entrepreneurship is all about mentoring. When youths see people who have been through what they are aspiring to do and succeeding in it, they become excited and encouraged.

    It also helps to inculcate the entrepreneurship attitude in the students. Imagine if you empower about 200 graduates from each institution in this country; attach them to mentors and micro finance banks. At the end of the day, they become entrepreneurs and employ about two or four graduates. Calculate the multiplier effect to reduce unemployment in our society. When they service their loans, you go through the process all over again.”

    The convocation would hold in two days, October 28 and 29.

    In accordance with her suggestion, she said the convocation lecture, to be delivered by former Vice Chancellor, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, is themed: ‘Entrepreneurship and mentorship role in youth empowerment and sustainable development.’

    The lecture would hold at the College multi-purpose hall at 10 am, with the occasion’s chairman as Dr Frank Jacobs, Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), while the graduation ceremony follows the next day.

    It will be a combined ceremony for grandaunts of the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 academic sessions, bringing the total number of graduands to 11,957 – 5527 for the 2012/2013 sessin and 6430 for the 2013/2014 session, including full time and part time students.

    The Rector also disclosed that the essence of entrepreneurship education is to provide competent graduates who would be academically and economically endowed with requisite skills to become self employed and ultimately employers of labour.

  • Group lauds MAN Rector

    President Muhammadu Buhari has been commended on the re-appointment of Dr Joshua Okpo as the Rector of Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron.

    In a statement by the President, Akpakip-Oro Graduates’ Forum (AGF)  Mr Dominic Esifa, the group stated that Ambassador Okpo in the last four years has boosted various developmental projects through his harmonious working relationship within the institution and her host communities.

    The group also congratulated the MAN boss on his well deserved reappointment and urged him to keep up his good work.

    According to the group, the Maritime Academy has witnessed an unprecedented infrastructural and manpower development revolution under Amb. Okpo as the Rector.

    The Oro graduates enjoined all stakeholders in the institution to give the Okpo-led administration more support to enable him complete his transformational policies.

    On the  controversy surrounding the tenure elongation of the MAN Rector, the group condemned  the recent attack on Okpo by some faceless groups and urged  them to rather sheathe their swords and seek ways of enabling a peaceful environment to ensure that the only Federal Government presence the Oro community can boast the development of the community.

    While stressing that Okpo is proactive and capable of delivering the Federal Government’s blueprint of reconstructing and transforming the institution the group said he should not be distracted.

    The group equally gave a positive appraisal of the Academy’s lofty strides that have made the cadets churned out by the Academy be a toast for national and international maritime sector employers.

  • Rector tasks engineers on national issues

    Federal Polytechnic, Offa Rector  Dr. Mufutau Olatinwo has called on stakeholders in the engineering and technology sectors to proffer pragmatic solutions to youth unemployment, insecurity and epileptic power supply using the emerging trends in engineering and technology.

    Olatinwo gave this charge at the fourth national conference of the School of Engineering and Technology of the Polytechnic. He also tasked tertiary institutions to groom great minds that could make positive changes and advance the nation’s technological capacities.

    “I challenge our institutions to rise up to this great task of which this conference is an avenue to fashion out tactics in moving Nigeria from developing country to a technologically advanced nation” he said.

    He continued:  “I am particularly happy that this conference with the theme ‘Application of emerging trends in engineering &technology to solving prevailing national Issues’ is coming at a time in our country when concerted efforts are actually needed to integrate engineering and technology into our national lives.

    The main and sub-themes of today’s conference are very much in accordance with the current thinking of all stakeholders in the education sector having realised that Nigeria cannot continue to produce graduates that could not blend and function optimally in an ever-increasing globalised technological environment.

  • Oro youths disagree with Emmanuel on rector’s job

    Youths of Oro ethnic nationality in Akwa Ibom State have disagreed with Governor Udom Emmanuel over his comment on President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-appointment of Mr. Joshua Okpo as the Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron.

    The youths, under the aegis of the Coalition of Oro Nation Community Youth Leaders, addressed reporters yesterday in Oron on the development.

    They criticised Emmanuel for saying President Buhari’s extension of Okpo’s tenure, instead of upgrading the institution to a university, was a wrong step.

    The group’s Acting President. Usuyak Atting said Emmanuel displayed a lack of basic knowledge about the dynamics of the institution.

    He noted that Emmanuel was pretending to show concern for Oro, whose mandate he had allegedly stolen.

    The youths’ leader said Oro had suffered eight years of hardship, pains, neglect and injustice under former Governor Godswill Akpabio.

    According to him, by re-appointing Okpo as the Rector of the academy, President has done the right thing for Oro, considering the dynamics of maritime institutions worldwide.

    Atting said: “Governor Emmanuel is not only bereft of knowledge about the dynamics and technicality of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria at Oron, he is also a busy body. He pretends to show concern about the development of an ethnic nationality that has benefitted immensely from Dr Joshua Okpo-led administration via the provision of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the host community and training of youths in various skills for self-reliance, after eight years of hardship, pains, marginalisation and gross injustice meted out to Oro people during his predecessor’s traumatised administration.

    “…It is rather unfortunate that Governor Emmanuel has forgotten in a hurry that Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, is a Federal Government-owned institution and not a secondary school in Awa Iman, Onna, or a state-owned tertiary institution.”

  • Civil societies hail Buhari over re-appointment of MAN’s rector

    President Muhammadu Buhari has been praised by a coalition of civil Societies in Akwa Ibom State over the renewal of the tenure of the Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN)Oron, Chief Joshua Okpo, for another four year term. The Group which go by the name ‘The civil societies of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom state chapter’, hail the President for the reappointment  saying it is a celebration of the uncommon performance of the Rector during his first tenure which brought about sustainable infrastructural and academic development in the institution.

    A release made available to Newsmen in Uyo yesterday states that,’ the renaissance and innovative leadership of the Rector for the past four years in the academy have been recognized’.

    The release added that, an objective survey, and on the spot facility tour earlier conducted in the academy by the civil societies revealed that, the Rector Chief Joshua Okpo, has successfully galvanized all the stakeholders in the maritime industry towards realizing the visions and the mission of the school.

    They noted that, many virgin courses have been introduced into the school curriculum in order to breast up with its contemporaries in the industry  internationally. The group noted other achievements of the Rector to  include: bridging of the gap between the host communities and the institution, introduction of timely professional and safety courses that has helped broaden the knowledge base of the trainees, advancement of the infrastructure in the academy, training and re-training of staff, as well as fulfillment of corporate social responsibility.

    It would be recall that the civil society of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom state chapter had on June 23, 2015, organized a National press briefing in Abuja on the theme: What Nigeria must know about Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron.

    Calling on the Federal Government, to amongst others; increase the  budget for the Academy in order to enable it meet contemporary demands, allow independent administration of the academy as against the purported call for supervision by the National Universities Commission(NUC) and the Federal Ministry of Education, approval of the school to partner other international maritime institutes in the training of the needed manpower for onward transfer of expertise from the experts to the trainees, granting of autonomy to the Academy to issue degrees upon completion of the programme as well as the renewal of the tenure of the Rector, Chief Joshua Okpo, in lieu of the cutting edge and innovative performance in the academy.

    The societies expressed satisfaction that some of the prayers of the press briefing organized by the group has been granted especially, the renewal of the tenure of the Rector by the President, While calling on the Federal Government to do well in granting the remaining prayers of the group.

    They congratulated the President for listening to the yearnings of the

    civil societies and that of the entire Nigerians and pledged their

    unalloyed loyalty to his administration.

    The group used the medium to appreciate the contributions of NIMASA and other stakeholders in the maritime industry for their roles towards the success of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, and support to the Joshua Okpo administration.

  • Poly rector hailed on appointment

    Members of the staff of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede (NEKEDE POLY) in Imo State have praised the Rector, Dr Celestina Njoku, on the appointment of Mr. C. Chukwuma, a lecturer in the faculty, as the Deputy Rector for Academics.

    They spoke at a reception organised in honour of Chukwuma at the 5,000-capacity auditorium of the institution.

    The Director, Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Unit (APQU), Dr Obasi Oko, described the appointment as a round peg in a round hole, praising the rector for considering a staff of the faculty for the position.

    Congratulating Chukwuma, Dr. Obasi advised him to remain focused and dedicated to administrative work.

    Responding, the Deputy Rector for Administration, Mr Desmond Oparaku, who spoke on behalf of Dr Njoku, said the management would always reward exceptional members of staff, stressing that the appointment was as a result of Chukwuma’s hard work and dedication to service.

    Chukwuma thanked the rector for finding him worthy of the position, urging for cooperation of staff with the management.

  • AUCHI POLY to maintain its position, says rector

    the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic in Auchi (AUCHI POLY), Edo State, Dr Philipa Idogho, has said the institution would maintain its first position in the Webometrics ranking for polytechnics. She spoke at the opening ceremony of the Students’ Week at the school auditorium.

    She said: “By latest Webometrics rating, AUCHI POLY maintains the first position in Nigeria, West Africa and the second best in Africa. We will continue to maintain this position by improving quality and research.”

    She said the ongoing projects in the school were being recognised by the international community. The feat, she said, made her to be given two awards by an Accra-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the African Youth Network.

    Dr Idogho advised students to improve their performance and take entrepreneurial course seriously, saying it was the best way to create wealth and boost the economy.

    She said: “The employment situation in the country requires that you take seriously your entrepreneurial studies. This would enable to develop your ability to be employers of labour, create wealth and drive the economy.”

    The Vice President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Ese Onyewenu, urged students to make the campus violent-free and carry themselves in a dignified manner that would represent the school positively.

  • Rector renews call for Fed Govt to take over Abia Poly

    The Acting Rector, Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Prof Uche Eleazar Ikonne, has renewed the call by the management of the institution for Federal Government to take over ownership of the institution.

    Ikonne, who spoke when he led the polytechnic management to the palace of Eze Eberechi Dick, Chairman Abia State Traditional Rulers’ Council, and the home of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, noted that the acquisition of the institution by the Federal Government would lessen “the huge financial burden on the state government”.

    He said the state was struggling to fund four tertiary state institutions, namely: Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State College of Education Technical, Arochukwu, Abia State School Health Technology, Aba and Abia State University, Uturu.

    Ikonne regretted that the state was among the few states yet to given a federal recognition.

    The rector, who visited the monarch to felicitate with him on his appointment as the Chancellor of the University of Abuja, urged him to use his new position to lobby for the polytechnic to be run by the Federal Government.

    He was optimistic that Eze Dick would use his wealth of experience  to move the university forward.

    At Abaribe’s home, Ikonne also made the same request of the senator, urging him to use his office to get better fortunes for the polytechnic.

    Both of them thanked the group for their visit and promised to assist the polytechnic.

    Abaribe, who expressed his happiness over the award given to him, also advised the polytechnic to improve on its academic standards and products.

    He said he had been aware of the challenges facing the school before their visit, promising to assist them towards being taken over by the Federal Government.

  • I’m rewriting Maritime Academy’s history, says Rector

    I’m rewriting Maritime Academy’s history, says Rector

    What have you done to reposition the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, (MAN), Oron?

     

    It was known as Nautical College of Nigeria, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, located in the Coastal Town of Oron, Akwa Ibom State. It was set up by the Federal Military Government in 1977 to provide the much needed manpower for the maritime industry in Nigeria.

    This premier Maritime Academy has over the years, not been able to achieve its full potentials and core objectives due to a combination of inadequate funding, policy summersault of the government and other numerous challenges. These daunting challenges have, over the years deprived the academy of its pride of place in the comity of other similar institutions, not only within the West African sub-region, but also in the entire global maritime arena.

    However, things have in the past three and the half years taken a dramatic turn for good in the academy, as the new wind of change is currently blowing across the nooks and crannies of the institution, courtesy my administration.

     

    How have you been able to bring about the change?

     

    The rationale behind the rapid developmental strides in the academy and the wind of is the teamwork spirit between the management, staff and the governing Council. I see myself as a bridge builder. I am currently turning around the fortunes of the institution to the admiration and fulfilment of its founding fathers.

    My result-oriented leadership in the Academy has calmed frayed nerves, sanitised the academy and put it on the path of sustainable growth and development. Apart from giving the institution a facelift, the Academy has also earned a global attention in recent times.

    For instance, the new Management under my careful watch has vigorously, been upgrading the Academy’s syllabus to conform to the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and other globally acceptable training standards.

    In keeping to this guideline, the Academy recently organised a critique workshop to produce an acceptable document for the purpose of training Nigerians in various Maritime-related fields of study, and in line with the global best practices.

     

    What machinery have you put in place to upgrade the Academy to international best standards?

    It is the commitment of my administration to upgrade the academy to international best standards, meets the expectation of all relevant stakeholders in the maritime industry and ensures Nigeria remains in the white list of IMO.

    The management in collaboration with Chief Adiotomre’s led Governing Council had engaged in fruitful collaborative discussions and Memorandum of Understanding with renowned maritime institution in UK, Sweden, Turkey and South Africa to explore possible areas of interest in the training of cadets for global competitiveness and exchange of programmes.

    Cadets who graduated from Maritime Academy of Nigeria, (MAN) Oron are now working in the United Kingdom as Captains, Engineers, Lecturers/Trainers, Consultants, and are also providing excellent maritime services to ship owners.

     

    A lot has been said about the conversion of the academy to a degree-awarding institution. What is your stake on this?

    What is more critical in the transformation of MAN Oron is to ensure that the core mandate of the Academy which is to train Marine Engineers and seafarers is that the Academy needs a tripod model of training low level manpower, (Certificate Courses) middle level manpower, (ND programmes) and Higher level manpower (Higher National Diploma and other degree programmes). The most needed qualification in the maritime industry according to International Maritime Organisation, Marine Coastal Guard, Standard of Training Certification and Watch Keeping (STCW) guidelines is the Certificate of Competence (CoC), before other degrees or qualifications could be considered.

    It must be clearly emphasized here that MAN, Oron is not a conventional institution, but a very specialised, regimented and highly technical institution, with clear-cut mandate to train and nurture seafarers in line with STCW Convention on the 2010 (MANILA) amendments.

    What makes MAN Oron different from other conventional institutions is that cadets require Certificate of Competence (C0C) to go to sea before considering the pursuit of degree, since Certificate of Competence has international acceptance, renewable every six months.

    Seafarers who hold degrees without Certificate of Competence are not always valued in the maritime and allied industries as those with CoC.

    International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Convention, which Nigeria is a member state, makes it mandatory for Certificate of Competence to be accepted beyond the shores of Nigeria, as long as the holder is from a member State of the IMO; but degree would assist the holder in other aspects of Maritime Education and training.

    However, for Nigeria to maintain its position in the IMO white list, the much envisaged degree-awarding status for MAN Oron should not follow the NUC model as agitated by few uniformed persons on the dynamics and nitty-gritty of maritime education, but an acceptable global model that combines Certificate, National Diploma, High National Diploma and other degree programmes.

     

     

    Can you highlight some of your significant milestones and challenges?

    My administration has recorded milestones in infrastructural development. There has been a sustained 24-hour power and water supply, with increased security for safety of lives and protection of the Academy’s property, hostel facilities for male and female cadets; staff accommodation, Youth Corps Members’ Lodge, completion of inherited projects, construction of presidential jetty, fire bay, boat maintenance yard, the procurement, installation and fully operational state-of-the-art simulators for practical training of cadets and staff, ICT equipment, which put the Academy in the class of internationally recognised maritime training institutions.