Funmi Ogundare
The Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) will on March 12, confer honorary fellowship awards on the Founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Chief Afe Babalola and Chairman of the state Local Government Service Commission, Alhaji Babatunde Rotinwa, as they have proven to be sources of inspiration and worthy of emulation.
The polytechnic will also graduate a total of 16,315 students, who have completed their National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes in various disciplines.
Briefing journalists recently to announce its combined 27th convocation ceremony for the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 academic sessions, the outgoing Rector, Mr. Samuel Sogunro said out of the total number of graduands who have acquired at least a vocational skill at its Centre for Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition (CESA), 598 had distinction, 5,332 came out with upper credit, 8,2117 had lower credit, while 2,117 got pass classifications.
The 10th rector of the polytechnic, who highlighted his achievements during his tenure, said the polytechnic was able to secure institutional re-accreditation and approval for resource accreditation for ND in Photography.
“This administration is poised to float another 15 new programmes that are need-based. The programmes which are before the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for consideration are: ND- Transportation Planning Management; ND-Welding and Fabrication Technology; ND- Interior Design; ND- Fashion and Clothing.”
Others are ND- Mineral and Petroleum Resources Engineering, ND- Agric Business Management, ND- Polymer Science Technology, ND-Home and Rural Economics, HND- Statistics, HND- Leisure and Tourism, among others.
He appealed to the state government not to relent in its support to the institution towards the actualisation of the need-based programmes.
“As an entrepreneurial polytechnic, the curricular have been enriched to strengthen our students by introducing a general agriculture course to students at all levels. This will make the students self-reliant and enhance food production and security.”
As part of efforts to reposition the polytechnic for efficiency and functional service delivery, he said five new directorates have been created, adding that it has also secured patent rights for three inventions by the Schools of Engineering and Applied Science in fuel-less generator, automatic car jack and bio-digester.
“Work is at advanced state on test-running of traffic lights control designs.”
Asked what he would have done better, Sogunro said, “there are so many things I would have done including the total transformation of the polytechnic but the six months industrial crisis affected most things.”
He advised the incoming rector to communicate more with the staff of the institution and be accessible, saying that there is a lot to do in bringing about development.
As part of activities slated for the convocation ceremony, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola will today deliver a lecture titled ‘Infrastructural Deficit and Technological Development in Nigeria: The Role of Technical Education’.
