The Management of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Aba (formerly Abia Poly) said it had outlawed the sale of handouts in the institution to stop the exploitation of students.
The Rector, Dr Christopher Okoro, who disclosed this when the new Executive of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Abia State, paid him a courtesy visit in his office, also said that the management had also abolished the issuance of statement of results to make things easy for students, reports Vanguard.
“Students are no longer compelled to buy textbooks. Those things were things of the past. Sale of handouts is outlawed,” the Rector thundered.
“We have digitalised the processes to ensure things are done the right way. We have abolished the issuance of Statement of Results.”
Explaining why the action became imperative, he queried: “How will a student finish up after five years and you give the person paper and call it Statement of Results? And then the person will carry it, probably pay for the clearance, and come back after years for certificates and you still collect money again from the same person, and start looking for the files again? I said no!
“Upon graduation, students should be given certificates. And these certificates have QR codes. So, they are verifiable anywhere. Once an employer scans this QR code, it directs to the Registrar and Rector. The holder’s name will appear. We will reply whether or not the person is our product.”
The Rector also said that the management had made it easy for students to obtain their results without passing through the lecturers to avoid exploitation.
“Once exam is over, all results must be uploaded six weeks after examination. Four weeks for those of them in finals, and six weeks for the rest. So, students don’t need to go and meet the lecturer.”
The Rector further said that the welfare of staff “is treated as priority”, revealing that 36 months of salary arrears accumulated by previous administrations had been cleared.
“We are not just student-centred, we are also staff-centred. Our staff members have been taken care of. All their arrears of salaries have been cleared.
“We came on board having 36 months’ salary but the Governor has supported us to clear these areas as we no longer owe anybody on the campus.
“Not just that, he has also ensured that staff members who were not promoted since 2008-2012 have been promoted up to 2022. And then we have started the second phase of promotion that will take us to 2025. It therefore means that His Excellency has paid the debt he did not owe,” he said.
The Rector further said that the institution which was deregistered by the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, about three years ago, had gained full accreditation for all its 33 programmes with additional 17 new programmes.
“All the programmes here have been accredited. NBTE also granted approval for 17 new programmes,” Dr Okoro said.
He identified some of the new programmes as Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security Machatronics Engineering, Fashion Design Technology, among others.
“We have Leather Technology as a new programme. We have Fashion Design Technology as a new programme. Aba is known for fashion and design. So there is no way we can have Aba and not have fashion and leather.
“This Polytechnic is the first in the whole Southern Nigeria to have Leather Technology as a Department. This institution is also the first Polytechnic in Nigeria to have Artificial Intelligence as a department. We know the times and we will work ahead of others,” Okoro said.
Attributing the institution’s success stories to “massive support from Gov. Alex Otti, the Rector said Otti’s leadership “is a leadership that thinks not just for the now but for the future.”
He thanked the governor for awarding the construction of internal roads on the campus including its permanent site at Osisioma.
“He approved the construction of two hostels of 5,000 capacity each for male and female students at the Osisioma campus. The Governor has also given approval for the construction of standard auditorium and iconic administrative block building at the Osisioma campus,” he said.
According to him, “All these things are geared towards ensuring that academic activities commence at the Osisioma campus in 2025-2026 academic session.”
The Rector congratulated members of the new Correspondents Chapel executive for their emergence, and thanked them for the visit.
Describing journalists as integral part of society and important stakeholders for democracy to thrive, the Rector pledged to collaborate with the media for mutual benefits.
“We are looking for partnership. Our arms are very open, especially for positive collaborations – the type we know we are going to get with your chapter,” the Rector said.
He expressed confidence that the new leadership of the Chapel would succeed considering the antecedents of its membership.
“From what we’ve known you for, we know that you are going to drive this association to greater heights. And we have men and women of substance on this team. The sky won’t just be your starting point; the sky will be a point of reference for you,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the new Chairman of the Correspondents Chapel, Deacon Steve Oko, said the visit was to elucidate on the activities of the chapel, and explore ways of symbiotic relationship between it and the institution.
Describing the Rector as a phenomenal agent of change, Deacon Oko commended him “for transforming the institution from obscurity to stardom” in less than two years.
He, therefore, urged him to sustain the tempo and to maintain a harmonious working relationship with other members of the management team as well as the staff of the institution.
Tasking the institution with quality research works that proffer solutions to problems of humanity and society, Deacon Oko assured of the chapel’s preparedness to project the activities of the institution to the media space.
He urged the Rector to always patronise professional journalists and to beware of quacks masquerading as newsmen.
Members of the management team of the institution and some veteran journalists in Abia were present during the visit.
