The founder and proprietor of Gregory University, Uturu and also the Governorship candidate of APGA in 2023 elections in Abia state, Gregory Ibe (Professor) has condemned the recent withdrawal of the accreditation status of Abia State Polytechnic Aba by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
Reacting to the development, Ibe sympathized with the students and staff of the institution whose academic programme has subsequently been truncated by the NBTE pronouncement.
According to Ibe, “This is one withdrawal of accreditation too many. It is definitely not a good time to be an Abian academic. I am particularly pained by this sad development because of the preponderance of interventions I initiated through TETFUND collaborations and distribution of palliatives to staff members as a way of forestalling this tragic outcome. Tell me what will be the fate of the unfortunate students whose academic progression has been forcefully truncated and the dilemma of staff members whose woes arising from many months of unpaid salaries have been further compounded?”
He contended that his evaluation of the current status of educational institutions in the state was the reason he intended to declare state of emergency on the education sector if elected governor in 2023.
Read also: Rising death toll of children in private schools
He however announced his willingness to absorb OND certified students of Abia state Polytechnics in Gregory University Uturu to enable them convert to degree scholars.
In his words, “Leveraging the unimpressive outcome of survey conducted by industry experts on educational institutions in Abia state, which deployed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indices and international best practices in education to assess the true health status of our primary, secondary and tertiary schools, I once again reaffirm my resolve to declare state of emergency that will lead to comprehensive reform of the sector once I am elected governor in 2023. But to create an immediate response to the Abia Polytechnic debacle, I have requested the management of our institution to work out modalities for possible absorption of desiring OND certified students of Abia Poly into Gregory University Uturu for conversion to degree scholars”.
It would be recalled that Ibe had in the past initiated distribution of large consignment of food materials to staff of Abia State Polytechnic Aba and Abia State University Uturu while facilitating critical interventions by federal government agencies for both institutions.
