…as Education Ministry trains 14 Women on catering, fashion design, others
The Edo State Polytechnic formally known as Edo State Institute of Technology and Management (ESITM), Usen, has commissioned an Analytical Laboratory, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, including a gas chromatography equipment, said to be the only functional one in the South-South region of Nigeria.
Rector of the institution, Prof. Abiodun Falodun, in a chat with journalists, said the laboratory was set up to provide for the needs of academic institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private researchers, industries in different sectors of the state.
He said the commissioning will be followed by a two-day training workshop for academics, technologists and technicians in the school, to be led by Dr. Adisa Samuel and other experts from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).
He said the project was completed with support from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), and will go a long way to position the institution as the hub for chemical analysis as well as training technicians, technologists and others in chemical and allied sciences, in the South-South Region.
Some of the equipment in the laboratory include Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), Gas Chromatography equipment (GC), UY-Visible, Spectrophotometer, Flame Photometer, Freeze Dryers, Colorimeter, Polarimeter, among others.
He said the analytical laboratory has equipment to serve the food and agro-allied companies, including Okomu Plc and Presco Plc., water factories, pharmaceutical companies and petrochemical companies, among others.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Ministry of Education has graduated 14 students from its Women Education unit for year 2018, with the graduands receiving training on different vocational skills such as hairdressing, fashion design, catering and interior decoration.
Commissioner for Education, Hon. Emmanuel Agbale, at the graduation ceremony, tasked the graduands to be industrious and aspire to greater achievements in life, using their new trade as a means to improve their livelihood.
He said the Ministry was pleased to have contributed to the economic liberation of the women, noting that the Women Education Unit is another channel of capacity building and human resources development for Edo Women.
He hailed the state governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki and the Women Education Center for providing the resources for the training, adding that the success of the centre could not have been achieved without focus, determination and sacrifices.
In her address, the Acting Coordinator, Women Education Center, Mrs H. E. Osemwengie said, since inception in 1990, the centre has trained over 1000 women with some of them gainfully employed in private and public establishments while others have set up their private restaurants, fashion homes and business centres, thereby providing employment for others.
She said that the centre is accredited for National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB) modular examinations, noting that the students excel in both the National Business Certificate (NBC) examination and the modular examination conducted by NABTEB.
