By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
The Federal Polytechnic Offa in Kwara State will soon become a degree awarding institution, the Rector, Dr. Lateef Olatunji, has said.
Olatunji, who made this known at a press conference to herald the 11th Convocation ceremony of the institution in Offa, Kwara State, said a bill to convert the Polytechnic to a degree awarding institution is already placed before the Senate for approval.
The Rector said that Senator Lola Ashiru, representing Kwara South senatorial district in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, submitted the bill that had passed the second reading, seeking to give a nod to the polytechnic to award Bachelors degrees in technology in the nearest future.
The Rector said that already, there had been collaborations between the institution and the Federal University of Technology, FUT, Minna, Niger State, on one part and the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, on the other.
He added that some students of the polytechnic are now in 300 level at FUT, Minna, pursuing the B.Tech programnes in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Food and Science Technology.
At the Federal University Oye Ekiti, Dr. Olatunji said that a top-up programmes for graduates with pass or third class degrees to avail them opportunities to advance in their higher degree quests is available.
Meanwhile at the convocation ceremony, the Rector told the gathering that the institution is collaborating with the Nigeria Building and Rural Research Institute, NBRRI, while the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology is equally partnering with the School of Environment, Departments of Architecture and Technology, Civil Engineering Technology, and Building Technology.
Dr. Olatunji also hinted that the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, is in collaboration with the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, FIIRO, Oshodi, Lagos, for a joint conduct of research works.
Meanwhile, the polytechnic, he said, is having a total of 55 PhD teaching staff, a feat no other polytechnic, both public and private, has achieved, while the school is ranked eighth best by the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, and other supervising governments.
The Rector, who is winding up his five-year tenure in office, boasted of landmark achievements in the areas of physical developments, accreditation and re-acceeditations of all the polytechnic programmes, and research works, including making potatoes for bread and other confectionaries.
Other areas of achievements by him, he said, are links and access roads on the campuses of the institution, building of laboratories, lecture theatres, courtesy of TETFUND as well as having befitting structures that made increasing acceeditations of all its programnes possible.
Meanwhile, a total number of 12,161 graduands of the polytechnic, who graduated in the 2018/2019 as well as 2019/2020 academic sessions were awarded the National Diploma, ND, and the Higher National Diploma, HND, of the institution.
In his address as the Visitor to the institution, President Muhammadu Buhari urged the graduating students not to wait anymore for white collar jobs, but create businesses and be employers of labour.
The President, whose address was read by the Director of Polytechnic Education and Allied Institutions, Mr. Adeoye Adeleye, said that government, through the Bank of Industry, BoI, and other intervention agencies is giving soft loans to budding entrepreneurs.
He pleaded with other levels of governments and other Nigerians to join in the funding of education in Nigeria, pointing out that the sector was no longer feasible for government alone to shoulder the overall cost of running public institutions.
He charged polytechnic and other technology graduates to assure Nigerians at relevant occassions of the advantages of the newly approved fith generation (5G) network services.
President Buhari urged them to showcase new discoveries or inventions that can add values to the standard of living the people, not only in Nigeria, but across the globe.
