By Bunmi Oguns, Associate Editor
It is needless to say that funding has been a serious challenge in the development of polytechnic education in Nigeria. In this exclusive interview with educationtownhall.com, the Rector of Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) Mr. Oluyinka Sogunro stressed the need for the government to speed up action towards funding the institution, so that it can carry out meaningful research. He also called for the establishment of a commission that would solely oversee the affairs of polytechnics, as it applies to universities, so that they can compete globally, among other issues. Excerpts:
Since you came on board in June last year, how has it been running LASPOTECH?
I have been in the institution for so long a time, so I know how it has been. We want to bless God because we are still surviving. We have had a stable academic calendar, that is the major thing. Last year, we rounded off the last session in June and we have commenced another session, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), also delayed the resumption of year one students. We have opened up collaborations with external agencies. For instance, the third gate of the institution has being demolished and currently being rebuilt by FCMB , in the next three or four weeks, the project will be completed. We are also collaborating with CHAMS, AFRI One; a software developer, and International Aviation College through our consult which will commence this January to build drones. We also partnered with Cassava Stakeholders Association, and have cultivated about 10 hectares of cassava plantation. We had a partner that came from China and wants to collaborate with us in the area of cassava starch, by the first quarter of this year, we are going to expand the plantation. They have taken samples and will be requesting for about five tonnes of cassava. We will also be collaborating with Federal Institute of International Research Oshodi (FIIRO) and Technology Incubation Centre. Huawei recently donated 60 computer systems, refurbished the chairs and tables and gave us inverters, among others, running into several millions of Naira. It is a good gesture. It was facilitated by the state government. That’s in the area of collaboration and in the area of research we have gotten patent right for fuel-less generator, automatic jack , and biogas digester, though we are still improving on it. There are several research works going on right now. Some of our staff have also benefitted from TETFund grants to study abroad for those who want to do Ph.D., and Masters programme.
Some experts are of the opinion that that there is double standard on the part of the government when it comes to handling polytechnic education in the country, do you share in this notion ?
The issue of dichotomy between the university and polytechnic has taken so long. During the Obasanjo administration, it was on paper that the dichotomy should be removed, but in reality, it is in Nigeria that everybody believe in university education. It shouldn’t be the case. University education is not for everybody, that is the mistake parents make, everybody want his/her wards to go to university. Polytechnic education is very important. By the time you attend a polytechnic and you acquire the adequate and necessary skills, the sky will not be the limit for you, you will use your hands to do so many things. People are looking for white collar jobs, but we try to train students here to become an employers’ of labour, not people who will be looking for job. By the time you finish, you should be on your own with adequate entrepreneurial skill to employ others and train them and before you know, your family will grow. The National assembly is working on the issue of dichotomy and I believe very soon, it will be signed into law. We have our own representatives in the ministry of education who are there, our association which is Council of Heads of Polytechnic and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria (COHEADS) is there, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) is also working on it, we are resting on our oars. Our members at the national assembly are also making moves.
How would you describe the relationship between the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) of the institution and pensioners?
The relationship has been cordial with the unions. This institution has been known to be peaceful for some years, until recently when members of staff were agitating for implementation of CONTISS 15 salary structure. Thestaff were to be moved from their present position to another. We have a supervisory body just like NUC for universities, and for polytechnic, we have National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). We received a notice from them in 2013 that some staff should be migrated and we recognised that, and looked into that document in 2014 but we could not implement it. Some institutions implemented theirs, but got stuck due to paucity of funds, and they could not go ahead with it. So we had to remove some allowances from it, but thank God that the Lagos state government has been doing its best to give subventions to institutions. We were on that and as a state institution, if there is a document from the federal government on certain issues, the documents must be domesticated within the state, it is not biding on the state. It will be biding if the federal government is going to give the money or to increase salary. If the federal government is going to make that decision, it will be backed it up with financial output. We have the federal and the state and by the time we get it from the federal government, we still need to take it to the state government to negotiate it.
Is your institution benefitting from the white paper on needs assessment, to ensure that laboratories are upgraded and affiliated institutions updated or refurbished?
On the needs assessment, they came here some years back but we have not seen the outcome. That is one of those things the Council of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria (COHEADS) was asking that they should give us. For this nation to move forward, polytechnic education is the key factor, otherwise, we will just remain where we are. Nothing has been done about it and as far as facilities are concerned, we are not relying on the federal government, because this is a state institution, though we are going to benefit from it. The state government has budgeted N750 million for our accreditation coming up in the first quarter of 2017 and it has been budgeted for facilities. What it means is that Lagos state government is very serious about polytechnic education, we have not gotten that before in the history of this school.
It is believed that the polytechnic Act is obsolete and needs to be reviewed. What efforts is your administration making towards ensuring that it gets to the National Assembly for public hearing?
There have been some committees working on that, we have agitated for polytechnic commission and when that is granted, be rest assured that we will review the act on a regular basis, just like we have NUC for universities, NCCE for the teachers college of education, so when we have that commission, it will go a long way to assist us. It is before the national assembly.
Do you think polytechnic education is getting what it deserves in terms of funding?
Funding is a major issue, for instance in the budget presentation, a` percentage allocated to education is beyond UNESCO standard which is 26 percent and I cannot remember when last Nigeria met that benchmark. As a state, Lagos is trying. Many institutions would have collapsed if not for TETfund. You will recall that many institutions could not pay wages of staff, then you see some going on strike. Most of the infrastructure are decayed, facilities are obsolete. For proper accreditation to take place, you must have a conducive environment which go a long way. It all boils down to funding because most institutions don’t have enough personnel- both teaching and non-teaching, no equipment in the laboratory, even furniture for their staff. For learning to take place, the environment must be conducive. In order for institutions to compete with the modern world, funding is the major thing. If there is enough fund, tertiary institutions would be able to do research. We try to develop capacity, though TETfund has been assisting in the area of academic and staff development. This is a state owned institution. Lagos state we know is performing. In terms of funding, it is kudos to the state government. They can do better though. Some states are still struggling to meet up. So as far as education is concerned, the state is trying its best and it also strives to improve on the facilities that will make education to be conducive for learners.