The Rector of The Polytechnic Ibadan (TPI), Professor AdekunleAdebiyi, says the priorities of the current management and governing council of the institution are training and retraining of both its academic and non-academic staff.
Professor Adebiyi who described learning as generic and a continuous exercise stated that “as an institution, we need to be updating our knowledge in order to be in line with the best and current practices as far as the operation of this institution is concerned.”
He spoke at a one-day seminar on due process and presentation of achievements of the governing council of the institution to the public, held at the CIBN Hall of TPI, last Wednesday.
While speaking on the rationale for organising a seminar on due process, he said that “knowledge is dynamic, and as a citadel of knowledge, we hope to lead others by example not only in Nigeria but also in sub-Saharan Africa and even as one of the polytechnics in the world, hence the reason for the move to update our knowledge base.”
He advised the top management officials who were participants in the training to carry out their responsibilities in the institution with every sense of commitment, saying that “we are the leaders and we have to lead by example.”
He attributed the current transformation and development taking place in the institution to the ingenuity and large-heartedness of Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration toward the education sector.
“Generally there is no perfect system. The challenge of funding has always been the bane of development in every institution of learning, but we have been adequately funded by the government.
“However, coupled with our meagre resources as an institution, we are still able to make the best out of them. This is what we are trying to showcase to the world.”
Chairman governing council, TPI, Professor Adekunle Akinyemi, in his remarks while crediting the modest achievements of TPI to the council, noted that it would be grateful to the governor for his support toward the institution.
According to him, the two-year-old council hit the ground running upon inauguration and has since embarked on quite a number of projects, some of which have been completed and inaugurated while others are still ongoing.
He affirmed that there had been improvements in the financial welfare of staff, and academic programmes while efforts had been made to reduce indiscipline/lawlessness within the polytechnic community.
He listed the activities and achievements of the council including the conduct of the 2020/2021 accreditation exercise of 35 programmes, regular mobilisation of HND2 for NYSC, provision and installation of computer systems in the Mechanical Engineering Department, facilitation of the approval and inauguration of the open distance and flexible e-learning by NBTE, construction of Faculty of Science by TETFUND, among others.
The Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement, Mrs Tara Adefowope, in her presentation on the topic ‘Corporate Governance and Due Process,’ emphasised the place of strong corporate governance in attracting investors, partnerships and funding as well as in enhancing the reputation and image of an organisation.
She encouraged the management team of TPI to develop a culture of integrity and create an environment where employees are comfortable speaking on integrity-related matters.
The chairman, of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, TPI branch, Biodun Adegunde commended the authorities of the institution for putting the programme together, saying “we are so happy that there is a forum, whereby all the stakeholders in the institution are brought together to discuss the progress and development of the school.
While appreciating the present council, which he claimed had really added value to the system, he also thanked Governor Seyi Makinde and the management team for choosing right.
“This is the best council that we have ever had to have given us tremendous achievements within two years. This kind of event should be continuous so that we can have avenues to discuss the progress of the school for further developments,” he said.
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