• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Despite all odds, Abia Polytechnic is geared towards being more technically-driven – Rector

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Friday Ezionye Eboh, a professor of Management, and rector of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, who mounted the saddle of leadership of the institution on February, 7, 2018, has pledged to take the school to a greater height.

On assumption, he met a decayed system, ranging from many months of unpaid salaries, allowances and staffers’ whose morale was at the lowest ebb.

Eboh disclosed that the staff strength was over-bloated with 1,400, with over 100 part-time lecturers, whose monthly wage bill was in excess of N5.5million.

Three TETFUND intervention projects were equally abandoned which, he hinted, led to the suspension of TETFUND interventions to the Polytechnic.

The Rector noted that before his arrival to the institution, recurrent industrial actions were the order of the day which led to interruption in academic activities, while overdue bank facility of N164million with Union Bank was yet to be settled. In addition, there was a court judgment debt of N119million in favour of EO Jonas & Associates, and several others hydra-headed problems hanging on neck of the Polytechnic.

Undaunted by the challenges, the Eboh-led management team swung into action by first reducing the staff strength to 1,252 through age and certificate verification exercises, while part-time lectures were reduced to 60.

READ ALSO: Education summit to resolve issues in Abia Polytechnic opens in Aba

With thestaff verification exercise, monthly wage bill was equally reduced to N165million and average monthly pension increased to N6.5million.

The professor further disclosed that arrears of honorarium to part-time lecturers has been paid up to 2017/2018 session in most departments, while staff salaries for 10 months in 2017 and 2018 respectively have been totally paid.

He said apart from paying staff salaries for the period mentioned, 10 months’pension arrearsin 2017 and nine months in 2018 have equally been paid by his administration.

Equally, the Union unremittedmany months’check-off dues have been settled up to 2018, while the management has reached an understanding with the Board of Internal Revenue (ABIR) on PAYE arrears and has since been remitting in line with the agreement.

In order to checkmate truancy among members of staff, the institution has introduced a biometric clock-in system which would be fully effective after its forthcoming rationalisation exercise.

The present administration in its bid to drive effective admissions, screening, fee payment, e-receipt, course registration, clearance and on-line result functionalities has activated the hitherto dormant school management portal.

According to Eboh, his administration has eliminated revenue leakages through the use of this portal as all fee collections now go through the portal and direct to the bank.

Before Eboh’s arrival, TETFUND had withdrawn its interventions to Abia State Polytechnic toabandonment of its projects in the institution.

The Rector revealed that TETFUND has restored interventions to the Polytechnic with the construction of three new blocks of classrooms and offices going on simultaneously at Osisioma.

He also said that work has commenced on the three abandoned TETFUND intervention projects, adding that as at now, the auditorium is at painting stage, the two-storey classroom block at Osisiomais at plastering stage, while the Science block has been roofed.

The administration within this period has attracted most academic staff training sponsorship to employees, both teaching and non-teaching, including overseas scholarships.

The Professor also said that the institution has enrolled its students to a Tertiary Institution Students Health Insurance Programme (TISHIP) for their health care services, while the management has equally deployed and launched a campus wide wifi internet facility for the community.

READ ALSO:Ikpeazu’s decision to discuss issues of Abia Polytechnic inspires hope, says ASUP

In order to shore up its internally generated revenue (IGR), the institution under Eboh’s watch has reactivated key business units of the institution such as; the bakery, pepperoni, and bookshop with improvement in its EED programmes.

Eboh, within the short period he assumed office, has attracted more courses to the institution which include Mass communication, College of MaritimeStudies for courses in Maritime and Shipping, as well as Minda Technologies for courses in cell phone repairs- both on PPP arrangement.

He told BDSUNDAY that the institution has also partnered ASFAT and LEGMA (Fashion designers/ tailors and shoe and leather work manufacturers in Aba for certificate programmes.

“As at today, and against all odds, we have completed the first semester examinations of the 2018/19 academic session. It can only be God,” enthused the Rector.

He also said that against all odds, the institution has been growing from strength to strength in Science and Technology, adding that in the past the institution was named as the best technically-driven instituton in the country.

“The National Board for Technical Education gave a standing ovation last year to Abia Polytechnic as the best Polytechnic in Nigeria that is technically-driven,” Eboh said.

The Rector noted that it was not a mistake on the part of the founding fathers of the institution to choose Aba because of the ingenuity of artisans in the city.

He revealed that Aba, being the commercial nerve centre of South-East and home of SMEs in Nigeria, the Polytechnic would always provide the needed training for the artisans to ensure that they meet up with the needed quality and global standard in modern technology.

 

UDOKA AGWU, UMUAHIA