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Christopher Isiguzo

The five-man fact finding committee set up by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to assess the level of compliance with its laid down rules at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu has completed its two-week assignment at the institution.

The committee headed by the former Executive Secretary of NBTE and a senior lecturer at Bayero University, Kano, Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi, expressed optimism that all issues concerning last year’s temporary withdrawal of the institution’s accreditation most of which bothered on over-admission would be effectively resolved soon.

The NBTE had sometime last year, temporary halted academic activities at the IMT following alleged admission racketeering involving the then Rector, Dr Edwin Onyeneje, it suspended the accreditation of the school’s programmes, as well as approval for the posting of graduates of the institution for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Briefing newsmen recently, Abdullahi said the committee had in the course of executing the assignment, obtained among other things, data on student enrolment, mode of admission to National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes, both full-time and part-time, as well as staff disposition.

While noting that the management of the institution led by its Rector, Prof Mike Iloeje fully cooperated with the committee, he said the committee would submit its report to the NBTE Executive Secretary, who would make the findings and recommendations public.

He said the committee was asked to identify all programmes offered on full and part-time basis, including ND, polytechnic and other diplomas and certificates and also to determine actual enrolment into the programmes identified.

He said they were also asked to verify the level of compliance with the two-year drawn down plan for downsizing students’ enrolment in relation to NBTE approved carrying capacity and also to determine how students were enrolled into the full-time programmes on one hand and part-time programmes on the other hand, and advise if due process had been followed in admitting them.

Other contents of their six-point terms of reference according to him were to determine the actual number of academic staff on programme basis and the quality of their qualification, as well as to advise on any and all other aspects of the institution that they consider of interest to NBTE and the institution, and to the attainment of the objectives for which the institution was established.

Other members of the committee were the Deputy Director of Academic Planning Division of NBTE, Chief A. A. Mba, (Secretary); Deputy Director of Programmes Support Division of NBTE, Mrs. Grace Yahaya; former rector of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Dr. Waheed Kadiri; and former rector of the Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara, Prof. E. E. Akporhonor.