Give premium support to polytechnics education – OSCOTECH

The Chairman of the Governing Council Board of Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke, Prince Diran Odeyemi, has called on the government to focus more attention on polytechnic education, which, he said, will make the country self-reliant in technological innovations.

Prince Odeyemi made the call while featuring on the news and current affairs program organized by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Osun State chapter in Osogbo on Wednesday. He added that the federal government should take a critical look at how the nation can be developed technologically by giving premium support to polytechnic education.

According to him, polytechnics are not receiving the required attention, and this has crippled some innovations.

“Some polytechnics have good and great innovations, but alas! lack of proper funding by the government has crippled their ideas. There is no nation around the world that developed without giving priority to polytechnics and technological institutions. Much attention must be given to polytechnic education in Nigeria.”

“Polytechnic education should be given a place of pride because it is the only institution where skills are acquired for self-development. Many students go to university to acquire theoretical knowledge without acquiring skills.”

“Imagine a student, after graduating from a university, acquiring a degree but later starting to learn handiwork from an illiterate person just because he or she wants to acquire skills that can make him or her self-reliant.”

“The world is changing, and technology is already driving it. Every nation yearning for development must embrace technology.

“So, our government must look beyond degrees acquired from university and focus on and encourage polytechnic education, which is capable of turning the nation around.”

The aims and objectives of establishing polytechnics and schools of technology are for training and skills acquisition, which helps to transition the economy from consumption to production.

For instance, “At Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke, we have some brilliant innovations that, if properly funded, would be great for our communities. We have a Bluetooth Control Fan, a fan that can be controlled by Bluetooth or by GSM. We have a generator that is GSM-controlled. If you are not even in the country and you want to give the impression that you are around, you can send a message to the generator, and your compound can have light for some hours before you turn it off.”

“This has a dual purpose, particularly in the era of security threats. We noticed that some people, in an attempt to go out and switch off their generator, get kidnapped. You don’t need to leave your room to put on and put off your generator; you can send a text message.”

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“We have smartphone automation. Smartphone automation is now global. Your air conditioner and security can be controlled.”

“We have Electric Jack, Weight Control Wheelbarrow Electrical, Smart Home Automation, Biometric Attendance, RFID Smart Security Gate, Programmable Load Shedding System With Remote Unit, Android-Based Fan Control System, Access-Restricted Integrated Power Monitoring And Control System, and Smart Traffic Light. These are some of the innovations from our school.”

“In as much as we continue to pay lip service to technology, we will be moving in circles, and ‘No matter how you travel on the wrong route, there is no other solution than to turn back.'”

“We must know when to turn back and refocus our education priorities. We have done enough writing. What can people do with their hands? Skills are in demand globally now.”

While appealing to the alumni association of the institution to come to the aid of some less-privileged students who could not afford payment of school fees, he remarked, there is a need to show love to others, particularly those who are less-privileged, saying that the Lord will ensure that their pockets never run dry.

Prince Odeyemi, who used the occasion to appreciate the Rector of the institution, Dr. S. A. O. Adegoke, and the other management team for their absolute cooperation in making the institution more virile since he came on board, described them as indispensable intellectual wizards who know their onions in the field of education and beyond and prayed to God to fortify them for more wisdom in life.