Rector wants Nigerian government to upgrade polytechnics to degree awarding institutions

The Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Engr. Olusegun Aluko has advised  Nigerian government to make Polytechnics in the country a degree awarding Institutions rather than converting such to Universities.

Penpushing reports that Aluko gave the advice while addressing a press conference, ahead of the  polytechnic, combined convocation ceremony slated for Wednesday March, 30,2022,noting that the policy of converting Polytechnics to Universities would spell doom for the nation, and such would prevent the country from meeting up it’s technological challenges.

“Everybody wants a university education which affects the image of Polytechnics in Nigeria, that is why when I came on board seven years ago, I made it compulsory for skill acquisition programmes. Any country that cannot develop its technology will have problems. Technical college should be the crucible where you get people into the Polytechnic system.

“The foundation of technological education in Nigeria needed to be rejigged. Polytechnics should be allowed to award degrees not by converting them into universities. Once you convert them to University, they dump the curriculum of the polytechnic for the university which will kill the skill acquisition and technological divergence.

Make us a degree-awarding institution. The government got it wrong from the scrapping of technical colleges.”

Penpushing further reports that the rector disclosed that, the institution, has graduated 542 distinction students for its 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 combined academic sessions, explaining that the 542 were among the 10,358 graduands, while 3,257 made upper credit and 4,856 made lower credit while 1,703 would be graduating with pass.

The rector who  will be retiring  in September, 2022 explained that the polytechnic under his watch had increased the staff strength by producing 43 Ph.D holders to meet with the requirements of the National Universities Commission (NUC) when the Polytechnic is fully upgraded to University, adding that additional 34 new programmes have been approved to make the existing curriculum to 74 programmes.