Kogi Poly’s many absurdities and abnormalities..
Kogi state polytechnic is an institution that was born out of an urgent need to fill the educational vacuum created by the creation of the state from two other states. Created in 1993, it is to provide and cater for the educational needs of the good people of Kogi state.
It would be recalled that, Kogi state was carved out of Benue and Kwara state respectively. These states have various educational institutions from universities to polytechnics and then colleges of education that remained with them. Howbeit, the newly created state can not be said to make boast of a single higher institution of its own, except the Federal college of Education at Okene and the Federal Polytechnic Idah and the inherited school of Nursing at Obangede. It was imperative therefore, that the newly created state establishes its own institutions; hence the birth of Kogi state polytechnic which was the first state owned institution came into fruition.
The creation of Kogi state brought about the mass exodus of experienced and competent academics that are of Kogi extractions from Benue and Kwara states. The take off of Kogi State polytechnic therefore was smooth without any hitch for the readily available manpower resources. It was a conglomerate of brains that left institutions from the parent states to kick start Kogi State polytechnic. They had requisite experiences and qualifications and as such, Kogi State polytechnic did not waste time in becoming one of the very best in the country. However, the situation was soon to degenerate into a sorry state. Qualified and competent lecturers soon started leaving in block and mass to other institutions where they pay better, others left when tussle for supremacy and power within the system became a norm which stampeded the progress of work, many left due to the highhandedness, maladministration and perceived victimizations under a particular rector or the other, while others who where disallowed from developing themselves also left, leaving a few who were neither as experienced and qualified as the ones that left, to lead and head various sensitive offices in the school, this soon marked the beginning of the fall in standards of the institution.
Many years have passed, the status quo is getting worse, and hope of restoring the school to its past glory seems deem and oblique. The situation of the school has degenerated into a state of indignity and infamy. One of the very mortifying issue in the school at the moment is the qualifications of its academic staff who ought to pass knowledge to our young ones. In a situation where you have staff with masters and bachelors degrees with good grades relegated to being non academic staff and you see higher national diploma or bachelors degree holders with Pass or third class grades as lecturers is very horrendous and inexcusable. It is the height of saboteur and subjugation of standard. In this scenario, what would be the quality of students graduated from the school? No wonder, majority of students who graduated from the school cannot write their names correctly, or compose simple sentences without hoards of errors.
The polytechnic has never advertised vacancies for the post of lectures, instructors and technologist, except for key positions like Rector, Registrar, etc, hence the pattern it adopts in employing its staff is a very faulty one that allows just anybody with a degree of higher national diploma without requisite experience and flare for teaching be found in the classrooms. Recruitment of staff is done during accreditation of courses; principal staff brings names of their relatives, friends and families to fill up spaces, since the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) would not accredit any programme that does not have requisite staff strength. This is done without the notice of the public that is made up of a database of extremely qualified persons, hence, charlatans and academically bereft persons find their way into the noble profession.
The government should as a matter of urgency, carry out result verification exercise for the staff of this school to curb this disgracing trend and make available vacancies open to all.
The absurdities in Kogi state polytechnic is one too many! It is an open secret that lecturers engage is petty extortion from students whose parents scavenged to put together all they have so they can be in school. The sales of sub standard textbooks are the bane of the day. It is either you buy these sub standard and unregulated textbooks or you carry over the course. When you carry over the course, you must still buy the same textbook next semester, irrespective of the fact that you have from previous semesters. The only difference now is that, the textbook maybe carrying a different book cover, no revision, no addition and no subtraction.
Woe betide you to be a final year student, it is what Fela Anikulapo calls “double wahala for dead body” You must pay for the 3rd semester examination. With these lazy and criminal attitudes, these lecturers have been enriching themselves to the detriment of these struggling students. That is not all, you will have to also buy test scripts or you fail the test. As if this isn’t enough, some lecturers are found of collecting money from students who do not want to fail or not confident of their performances. The fee ranges from 5000 and above. Towards this, the government needs to take decisive and proactive steps by stopping the sales and production of text books at the institutions, which will give room for research on the part of the students, who will learn to develop course outlines, this will develop their abilities and performance. Also government should make any lecturer caught extorting from students a scapegoat, so that sanctity and dignity are restored back to the school.
Harassment, intimidation and physical assault are very rampant and prevalent in the school. Some few weeks ago, it was alleged that one of the lecturer and HOD of computer science department slapped a student who became unconscious and was rushed to the hospital. We took time to investigate the incident and it was discovered that his notoriety knows no limit as regards assaulting students. It was said that was not his first or second time of slapping students. In fact this notoriety of his earned him the name “Mr Slap” this is just one out of the many incidents of harassment of students by lecturers. It was so widely circulated all around the country that it received downright condemnation and brought shame to the institution and the state as a whole. (https://kogireports.com/kogi-poly-lecturer-assaults-student-slumps-and-hospitalised/)
The slapping gene runs deep in some other department of the school. A one time commissioner under the last administration from the Igala axis also slaps students like no man business. Still in the same school of management studies, a lecturer of the Okun extraction is known for slapping, kicking and tearing of students’ scripts in examination hall. One wonders if these academics are not street touts as they go about violating the dignity of persons. The major problem is students not knowing their rights. Any lecturer could be sued for assault and battery under section 252 of the criminal Code Act and punishable by one year imprisonment under section 351 of the same law. Moreover I doubt if any schools code of conduct agrees to this despicable act.
Aside from the above fact, there is serious moral debauchery and profligacy in the students’ lecturer relationship. Often times, it is discovered that because students, especially female students want high grades, they are willing to go the way of the lecturers majority of whom are morally bankrupt. You find students who didn’t write examinations scoring the highest grade in his or her class when results are eventually released, because a trade by batter session of raunchy sex has taken place between the student and the lecturer, then the lecturer consequent brazen manipulation of examination scores. If the lecturer whose course is affected tries to protest, he is setup to take the fall.
In the faculty of fine and applied art of Kogi state polytechnic, there is a particular office known for it notoriety in harboring female students, mostly from other departments who engage in acts such as sitting on lecturers laps, hugging, sitting on lecturers table, kissing and some times alleged sex, right there inside the office, it seem the authorities of the particular department are afraid of confronting these sets of lecturers, whose ring leader is assumed to have connections within the political circle and government house and so untouchable.
Another abnormality in Kogi state polytechnic is the introduction of the 3rd semester. This semester was introduced by the former rector Prof. Mathew Ajibero as a palliative measure for graduating students. It was meant to enable final year students in particular re-write courses they had failed, so that they can meet up with service year, it wasn’t meant to be a continuous exercise but it is now. Kogi News Hub took it up to investigate this illegality and it was revealed that, students pay for this semester and the lecturers get a percentage from the pay. The more students that fail your course, the more money you make from the 3rd semester. We interviewed a lecturer who pleaded for anonymity, he said he was once shocked to see his students who all passed his courses now having carry over and upon inquiry, he was asked to forget it. This is the height of gross corruption, the government should as a matter of urgency, scrap the said 3rd semester. This will allow students to sit up.
Lastly, the sale of entry form is another big scam that needs to be regulated. The school has a given number of student its can accommodate and an approximate number of application it is expecting from the public within a stipulated time. When the sales of admission forms commences online and it gets to the stipulated numbers of applications, the ICT center prints out the names of those that applied and forwards them for consideration.
However, instead of stopping the sales of forms and closing the school portal, sales of forms continues, while unsuspecting victims applies with additional fee attached for late registration. When Kogi News Hubs probed, it discovered that the money generated now does not go into the school account but private hands.
However, Kogi State polytechnic still has many good and qualified academics but the activities of the bad eggs are tarnishing their images and overshadowing the deeds of the good ones.
The government needs to rise up to the challenge and salvage Kogi state polytechnic from the brink. Many of their departments are sitting on ticking time bombs because of the varying internal crisis rocking them which are waiting to explode.
– Bala Ahmed writes from Lokoja
Coming soon
KOGI POLY: Financial mismanagement of intervention funds, 2015-2016
