About 5,540 applicants have currently applied for the 100 job vacancies approved by the Nasarawa State Government at its owned state polytechnic in Lafia.
Justina Kotso, the rector of the Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic gave the figure while presenting the institution’s budget performance before the State House of Assembly Committee on Education in Lafia.
She said, in the recent job advertisement, the institution had received a total of 5,540 applicants, who applied for the 100 vacancies approved by the government.
“We have screened and have gotten 767 qualified applicants, out of which about 400 first-class have applied for the job, ” she said.
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Kotso said that the management under her watch has installed solar power in the school’s library and ICT centre as well as installation of CCTV cameras to improve the security, and in other academic activities.
“We have also strengthened our registration portal in order to block linkages and wastages, as perimeter fencing of the institution is ongoing,” she added.
The rector called on the students not to allow themselves to be used to cause violence and crisis in the institution but continue to be law-abiding for development to thrive.
She, however, identified funding as a major challenge facing the institution, saying “like Oliver Twist, we are appealing for more funding as we are prepared to continue to bring new innovations for the overall development of the institution” she added.
Daniel Ogazi, the Chairman, House Committee on Education urged the management of the polytechnic to first consider the academic and non-academic casual staff in the system before considering other fresh applicants in its ongoing employments exercise.
Ogazi said that absorbing the casual lecturers and other staff would be in the interest of justice, fairness, peace and for the overall development of the polytechnic.
“We want to commend you for being up and doing in taking the institution to the greater height.
“On the issue of the ongoing employment in the institution, we want to urge you to consider and give priority to those casual lecturers and other staff that are working for a long period of time in the institution.
“Some of them are working under casual for five, eight, ten and even eleven years.
“And now that the government has approved employment, I call on you to absorb casual lecturers and other staff first before you consider fresh applicants, you have professionals and capable hands that are working for you before now, consider them first,” he said.
“I want to appeal to fresh applicants to be patient as the exercise will be in batches,” He added.
Ogazi has also called on the state government to give more attention to the development of the institution.
” I want to call on the executive to consider education as the bedrock of development and the strength of the state, especially higher and technical education”.
He said that the committee would continue to collaborate with the government in order to take the institution to the next level of development.
