2022: Federal Poly Nekede Rector presents account of stewardship

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As the year 2022 draws to it climax, the Federal Polytechnic Nekede,Owerri Rector, Engr. Dr. Michael Chidiebere Arimanwa has addressed the management, staff and students of the institution where he rolled out the achievements of his administration and wished them fruitful seasons.

The Rector made his achievements known on Tuesday during the 2022 end year solemn assembly held at the campus 1000 capacity where Brother Ahanonu Joseph Osondu, Pastor Dr. N.O. Kanu Ngozi, Brother Leonard Okonkwo, Ikwu Grace Ijeoma and Rev. Gideon Chris Nnawuihe officiated the gospel outing while the Rector ministered from the 1st Chronicle 29vs10-15 and Numbers 23 where he charged people to remain grateful to God.

The Rector rolled out his administration achievements to be development of a directorate for Linkages and Intervention "and in the last four years, we have been able to linked to 14 different organizations: we are connected to ICAN, you are aware that we have an understanding, very soon our graduates will start enjoying the waver of 10 courses, and the they will only write 5 courses to become Chartered Accountant. We are also connected to Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria (CIBN) because by the CIBN rating, we are the best linkage institution in the South East and because of that, they bequeathed to us a building which is 160 capacity auditorium for the use of the school."

"We also received this year an award for Banking and Finance Education as the best institution from South East as far as Banking and Finance is concerned. We also have relationship with Dispensing Opticianry Registration Board of Nigeria and that arrangement is to eliminate quackery, few days ago, some of our students graduated. We are also connected to Lofty Fans in Togo and that contact has given us the first ever Tilapia Fingering in both South East and South South Nigeria. We are connected to Sir Emeka Ofor foundation, that links have given us books and journals which are in our Library. We are connected to Zinux Technologies, Zinux subsidized the purchase of laptops for our staff and also provided trainings for our graduates to position them for the world of work."

"We are connected to National Board for Technological Innovation (NBTI) and they established an innovation center in our institution. We are connected to Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing company where 33 of our students from Mechatronics Engineering were trained by Innoson Manufacturing company and they should be coming back any moment from now, the training is free. We are connected to Occupation Safety and Health Association (OSHA) United Kingdom, this institution have become a South East training center for OSHA. We are connected to FOCUS Peace call in Canada, they have also donated educational materials."

"We are connected to Nigeria Communications Commission. We are connected to National University of Science and Technology in Ukraine, and another University of Law and Business in Ukraine, these schools in Ukraine are for exchange of skills acquisition and technology transfer. We are connected to Jarmy Parjor International and he has given scholarship to students of Business Administration Management (BAM)."

For Research and Innovation Development, the Rector accounted that

"We have been able to access four hundred million naira from TETFund to carry out researches at the various levels in our institution, it's from there we developed electric car, gas fire crucible burners, rice distoning machine, coconut dishusting machine, canal cracking and separation machine, palm fruit digesting  machine, press-up machine, cassava grading machine, surveillance aircraft that can be programmed to send messages to security authorities about a development."

On infrastructure, he said "we have a school of Engineering office complex completed, we have school of Agricultural and Bioenvironmental Engineering office complex, School of Engineering Technology classroom complex, SBMT classroom complex, SEDT office complex, SEDT classroom complex, Building Technology workshop. We have remodeling Fine Art and Design Department studio, SGS classroom complex, well furnished laboratories in different departments and schools, fish farm estate, we have a single story remodeling studio for architecture department, provision of seats in classrooms."

"We have paid maximum attention to safety department: fire fighting equipments and committee appointed, we have done internal and external roads, our fabrication center has been upgraded and working properly, our institution have become a TETFund center of excellent in ICT, TETFund also gave us the best TETFund research institution in the South East, we have created ranch for our cows, our medical center has been rated the best medical center, during the Covid-19 era, we responded adequately."

"In ICT development, we have done quite a lot, we have laid optic cable around the campus, we initiated the smart campus programme, we are among the first 6 polytechnic in ICT development, we have provided internet on campus, our ICT has grown up to the point where we are now running paperless meetings: everything online, we have established computer lab for several schools, we have provided WIFI, we have provided electronic voting system: you can vote from anywhere. We have provided a lot of office equipments, we strengthened the water factory, we established a tissue paper factory, we have reinvigorated our security system, we have provided CCTV around the campus, we have provided computers in the library, our E- library and virtual facilities are available, we have done well in our corporate social responsibility: we have donated to our retired staff, computers to the police, we have done well to the host communities, donated computers and printers to professional bodies, empowerment programmes for the host communities, establishment of transportation system within the campus and they are doing well."

"We have established Education Foundation which will also assist indigent students, we have provided supports to women's groups, we have received 132 awards: 4 are best rector awards, we have done two major accreditations and we have presented 52 programmes in all, and all of them passed, we also have resources inspection and approval to run 6 new courses which are already on. We have established two additional schools: school of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, and school of Information and Communication Technology, they have there potentials for growth."

"We have achieved unbundling of Mass Communication department, we are also working on unbundling computer science. We have been involved seriously in staff trainings: 69 of our staff have received approval to run Ph.D in Nigeria Universities, 7 have approval to run Ph.D in foreign Universities, 32 staff for Masters program in Nigeria Universities, 16 staff for Masters in foreign Universities, 2 staff for Post Doctoral in foreign, 124 staff TETFund  sponsored conferences, workshops and seminars, 300 staff for various capacity building development and professional conferences sponsored from IGR, and 549 people were employed within the period."

"Management will continue to work in the trajectory of projecting the institution, we have achieved a lot of visibilities for Federal Polytechnic Nekede and we will continue in the line of welfare for staff, we will establish more departments as funds are available and as much as we can attract NBTE to come and do accreditation. Single Treasure Account is a good thing for the Federal Government, it helps the government know how much that is coming in every institution and have all the money in one place and know what to do with the money, but for institutions, part of the challenges is that the control exercise by the government is affecting individual institution, the policy is a good one except that government should look at how the disadvantages that affects the institutions is ameliorated."

"We are in advance stage in getting additional campuses for Federal Polytechnic Nekede, before the end of January, we are hopeful that we would signed MoU with the company that will come to establish an alternative power supply, we have reached advance stage." The Rector stated.