Kunle Adelabu
The Minister of Interior and former Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has stated that Polytechnics are designed to provide the country with technical and vocational skills needed for development and called for the redefining of the objectives of Polytechnics.
Aregbesola, who himself is a product of Polytechnic system, was the guest speaker at the 27th Convocation Lecture of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) held at the 500 Seater School of Agriculture Auditorium, Ikorodu main campus, on Tuesday, March 9, 2020.
The former governor charged that Nigeria should lead other Africa countries in using technical and vocational knowledge to solve myriad of challenges facing citizens and bring about development.
“The time to begin is now. The challenge we should be addressing is how do we now use modern (technical) education to rise to the challenge of modern life in a way that stimulates other African nations and usher in an era of unprecedented development in the country? This is our historic mission and we must not fail.
“’Technical education is the basis of development and wealth creation in any society. No aspect of modern life can be undertaken without technical education. It will surprise many to know that a lot of the household products we use in this country are imported from China, India and Indonesia cottage industries owned and run by entrepreneurs with technical education. This is what technical education should drive here”.
He charged Polytechnic managements across the country to embark on redefining mission of the Polytechnic system so that graduates with technical and vocational skills can be produced to develop the country.
“The time has come to rethink seriously the polytechnic system in Nigeria. In doing this, there must first be mission redefinition. According to the Federal Polytechnics Act of 1979, the polytechnics were established:
“To provide full or part-time courses of instruction/training in technology, applied science, commerce and management, and
“In such other fields of applied learning relevant to the need of the development of Nigeria in areas of industrial and agricultural production and distribution and for research in the development and adaptation of techniques as the Council may from time to time determine;
“To arrange conferences, seminars and study groups relating to the fields of learning specified in paragraph (a) above; and
“To perform such other functions as in the opinion of the Council to promote the objectives of the polytechnic.
“How many polytechnics can really claim to be operating strictly within this mission statement, especially of a (i) above? Commercial and non-technical courses compete favourably with technical and vocational courses. As a perceptive observer wittily puts it, ‘while universities are gravitating towards the technical, the polytechnics are gravitating towards the theoretical”, he stated.
“Overwhelmingly, graduates, including those of the universities, are acquiring bland certificates that do not equip the holders with life sustaining skills, even as they roam the streets looking for jobs and being turned down by employers who consider them as unemployable”.
Aregbesola, who stated that the claim of discrimination by Polytechnic graduates is self-inflicted, added that employers of labour are after well trained and productive individuals that will add value to their enterprise.
He stated that Polytechnics failed in giving their students good training which made them not to be competitive with their University counterparts in the labour market.
“What the polytechnics should do is to prepare their students for a competitive job market with indisputable and unignorable job skills. Employers would find them irresistible”, he advised.
The guest lecturer also stated that there are many challenges facing the country in the areas of agriculture, health, environment and others which those with technical and vocational skills should be addressing.
“The technical education being provided by polytechnics should address primarily the challenge of improved agricultural production. Real farmers must emerge who know how to farm competitively and derive maximum yield on a given investment per hectare of land within the parameters of best global practices”.
The former governor, who stated that health practitioners trained by the then Yaba Technical Institute before the advent of the University College Hospital in Ibadan were competing favorably with doctors and pharmacists, also charged Polytechnics to start training healthcare givers.
“The polytechnics should be training healthcare givers on basic health challenges and they should be as good and competent as doctors and pharmacists, on non-complicated matters requiring referrals.
“Our environment is ugly and we are in constant danger of building collapse because the technical knowledge of building is missing. Certified technical knowledge should be a prerequisite for any person aspiring to be a builder. This is the rule in some of our neighbouring countries where it is compulsory to receive technical education before being certified as competent to engage in any aspect of construction.
“Roofing has been a major issue for us in the past century. There should be knowledge and technical ability on affordable houses, using purely locally sourced construction and roofing materials”, he said while charging graduates of technical education to start thinking in the direction of solving these challenges.
According to him, Polytechnics must start offering landscaping as a vocational course in the environmental sciences to address the environmental challenges facing the country.
“It is perplexing that we continue to import wood products. We need technical knowhow and widespread application on wood preservation”
“It is most regrettable that the indigenous technology for producing dyes for the textile industry is almost lost as we now import colours, even for making adire. Polytechnic graduates should be able to revive the indigenous dye industry and supply all the colours for our textile industry” he stated.
The guest lecturer, who also stated that Nigeria is a huge cemetery for vehicles of all sort, charged Polytechnics to look in the area of recycling used and abandoned cars, trucks, tractors and industrial machinery which littered every part of the country.
“But more importantly, we should be able to produce and source parts for them and maintain them for optimal use. There are countries in Africa where Peugeot cars of the 1970s vintage still ply the roads because they are well maintained. The tractors are virtually made to last forever, if we can get replacement parts and maintain them very well. Why then do the corpses of tractors litter our farms and local government secretariats? ”, he asked rhetorically.
Dr Masa’udu Kazaure, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the Chairman of the Convocation lecture, stated that LASPOTECH is doing excellently well.
“The Polytechnic is doing very fine. This is reflected in the ranking that we released”, he said.
“The management staff under the Rector (Mr Samuel Sogunro) are doing excellently well. In truth, LASPOTECH is excellent”.
He stated that the institution has 67 programmes out which 60 have been accredited and that some of the remaining 7 programmes have been giving interim accreditation.
The Executive Secretary of NBTE also commended former Rectors of the institution, especially Mr Ayodeji Iginla and Dr Lawal as well as former Registrar, Princess Adetope Kosoko for their roles in dismantling what he called 48 illegal campuses that LASPOTECH used to operate.
Earlier in his welcome speech, the Rector, Mr Samuel Sogunro stated that the 27th Convocation of the institution is very unique to him because it is his last as Rector of the Polytechnic.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education, Mr Tokunbo Wahab , congratulated the institution on the convocation and pledged continued support of the state government.
The Special Adviser, who was represented by the Permannt Secretary, Office of the Special Adviser on Education, Dr Shamsideen Allison, also thanked the guest lecturer and other guests for attending the ceremony.
Some of the eminent dignitaries at the event were His Royal Majesties, Oba Semiudeen Kasali, the Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, Oba Bashir Sotonwa, the Sekumade of Ipakodo, Alhaji Babatunde Rotinwa, Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, Prof. Tajudeen Gbadamosi, the immediate past Chairman, LASPOTECH Governing Council, Hon. Sunmi Odesanya, former member, Lagos State House f Assembly Arch. Taiwo Kara, former member, LASPOTECH Governing Board and Mr Ayodeji Iginla, former Rector, LASPOTECH.
