Ogun Poly: ASUP wants approved courses published by NBTE

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has been asked to make clarification on the status of newly-established Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia.

The Board was further urged to publish various courses accredited by it for the institution, which the state government said might take-off in December.

The national vice president of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Timothy Ogunseye, stated this, on Tuesday, while briefing journalists at the ASUP secretariat at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta.

According to Ogunseye, it had become imperative for the NBTE to publish the accredited courses to be offered by the new polytechnic before his members can move to the school as directed by the state government.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State at the ground breaking ceremony of Ogun State Polytechnic, Ipokia, had assured that the state would meet the deadline given to it by the NBTE on the provision of basic infrastructure at the new school.

The governor also disclosed that 42 courses had been accredited by the NBTE for the institution and expressed optimism it would take off by December.

But Ogunseye, speaking on Tuesday, faulted the governor’s claim on the NBTE’s accreditation and noted that nothing was on ground at the new school to warrant any accreditation.

He said the national leadership of the union was in Abeokuta to support its members in MAPOLY in their struggle not to be schemed out in any arrangement and urged NBTE not to sanction “illegality”.

“Our position in this regard is that there must be a gestation period during which people can move people from Abeokuta to Ipokia. And we are of the opinion that there is nothing wrong if the polytechnic as well as the university can co-exist for the next three years. From there our members, can now move to Ipokia, by which time we expect the level of infrastructure in Ipokia to have been upgraded.

As we speak, we have nothing on ground in Ipokia. And please we need to correct this impression, ASUP in MAPOLY or any staff is not against the establishment of polytechnic in Ipokia. All we are saying is that where you even do that, issues surrounding staff career development, students’ comfort, all this issues have to be looked into.

“Honestly, if that programme is to work, we expect the government to spearhead a mass house revolution in Ipokia where accommodation would be made available for staff and students and where classroom blocks, laboratories, workshops, all those things would have been built before we consider the movement at all.

“Otherwise, all they are just trying to do now is to going around it and asking our colleague to be facing all this hardship and sufferings, and we are saying all these things should not be.

“We are not doing this because of our members alone but because of the students which the institution will produce”. Ogunseye submitted.

He, however, suggested three years gestation period for the Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, to co-exist in order for the government to have ample time to develop the new polytechnic in Ipokia

Also speaking, the Zone ‘C’ coordinator of ASUP, Olawale Omoobaorun, said according to the union’s findings, the only state owned polytechnic in Ogun is the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, with 27 courses accredited by the NBTE.

He added that the union was being proactive to protect its members from being pushed out by the state government in its bid to start the new university