The Space of Representatives has promised to recommend for suitable investment of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria within the 2025 funds.
The Chairman of the Space of Representatives Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Upper Technical Training, Kayode Laguda made this assurance.
Talking in an interview with journalists on Tuesday on the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara Shape, in a while nearest the committee’s oversight purposes, Laguda mentioned that there was once insufficient investment for the present polytechnics within the nation by way of the Federal Executive.
The establishment’s Rector, Dr. Kadiri Kamoru, had previous appealed to the Federal Executive to “inject more money into the polytechnic sector for Nigeria to develop technologically.”
Laguda mentioned, “Funding issues are not peculiar to Federal Polytechnic, Offa alone. Other Federal Polytechnics that the committee has visited have also raised funding concerns. So we intend, as a committee, to advocate for increased funding from the Federal Government for the polytechnic community in next year’s budget and beyond.”
At the committee’s challenge to the establishment, the lawmaker mentioned, “We are here to carry out our statutory oversight functions. We had a very long day, going through their documentation. For all the things we did not get to see, we asked them to forward those to us in our office.”
Additionally talking with journalists, the Rector recommended the Federal Executive to lend degree-awarding situation to Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria.
In line with him, “That status would eliminate the vexed issue of the dichotomy between polytechnic and university graduates in the country.”
He added, “We have a Polytechnic Act that empowers us to award degrees. We have middle-level and high-level manpower. We have everything, including the manpower requirements for the award of degrees at the Federal Polytechnic, Offa; we can boast of 65 academic staff who have PhD degrees in various disciplines, so we are qualified to award degrees to our students.”
“If the Federal Government allows us to award degrees and establishes a professorial cadre in the polytechnics, there will be no dichotomy between university and polytechnic graduates. Polytechnics have capable hands. Here in Offa, I can tell you that we have more than 65 doctoral degree holders,” he mentioned.