Federal Polytechnic Ayede matriculates 381 students, as rector says, 2 certificates await students at graduation
Abdulrasak BELLO
381 new students Tuesday took the matriculation oath during the second matriculation ceremony of the Federal Polytechnic Ayede, Ogbomoso, Oyo state, held at its temporary site, Iresa-Pupa.
They were admitted into different programmes offered by the polytechnic, full-time (FT) and daily part-time (DPT).
The rector of the polytechnic, Engr Dr Taofeek Adekunle Abdul-Hameed while welcoming the new students into the institution, urged them to eschew all forms of social vices and other actions contrary to accepted moral standards.
He congratulated the students and their parents assuring them that at graduation they would be handed two different certificates, academic and entrepreneurship skill development, which he said would transform them into job and wealth creators rather than being pitiful job hunters. This is as he urged them to avail themselves of the opportunities offered by the institution noting however that they would face challenging times but to be rest assured it would be rewarding.
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“Dear matriculating students, I extend my warmest congratulations to you and your parents. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in your lives, a chapter filled with opportunities for growth, learning and success. As you take this oath of matriculation, you are committing yourselves to the pursuit of knowledge, excellence, and personal development.
“I urge you all to embrace this opportunity with zeal and determination. Your time here at Federal Polytechnic Ayede will be challenging, but rewarding. As you immerse yourselves in your chosen fields of study, remember that education is not just about acquiring knowledge but also about developing critical thinking skills, creativity, and a passion for lifelong learning.
“Our dear students, you remain the centre of our institution because without you in focus, this citadel of learning would not have come into existence. You have today embarked on a journey that will make you a functional and productive segment of Nigeria and the world at large. I assure you all that as an Institution, we are acting in loco parentis (in place of parents).
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“I will also like you to take note of the three things that constitute the motto of our Polytechnic: Learning, Dexterity and Morals. You must take your studies very seriously; you must identify and develop the skills God has endowed you with; you must be morally upright. Learning and dexterity are not enough if moral is missing.
“It is also crucial to admonish you, our dear students, on the acute need to eschew all forms of social vices and other actions that stray from accepted moral norms in our societies like cultism, prostitution, indecent dressing, drug addiction, robbery, examination fraud, hooliganism, thuggery, gambling, smoking, sexual immorality, among others.”
Dr Abdul-Hameed enthused about what the polytechnic envisioned for the students at graduation, saying, “We look forward to promising moment when our students will have two certificates at their graduation; one for academic and second for Entrepreneurship Skill Development that will equip them to be job and wealth creators. They will no longer need to look for jobs, but rather create jobs and wealth for themselves and others. With this, we will be fulfilling our vision and mission.”
He gleefully unveiled the pathway to achieving this noble vision is through intensive training and exposure to skill acquisition and business development programmes introduced by the institution and various partnerships brokered with several relevant bodies, informing a large number of students have now registered their businesses with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
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“The yearly programme tagged “Entrepreneurship Orientation Webinar 2.0” was held with the attendant benefits accrued to the students. We had another training programme in conjunction with Soaring Scholar Impact about a month ago; it was an initiative that inspired students towards all-round excellence in their academic and entrepreneurship journey.
“As at today, 195 students out of 220 students in the National Diploma II have registered their businesses with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), awaiting further business support and financing through the Centre for Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (CSAED) of our Polytechnic. We now have FEDPA Entrepreneurs Club to cater for students interested in Business and Entrepreneurship, and harness their potentials in creating, managing and sustaining small and medium enterprises under mentorship and supervision of accomplished entrepreneurs within and outside the campus”
The rector remarked that the polytechnic is similarly enhancing the capacity of its lecturers towards this goal by ensuring they undertake various human development and capacity building programmes within and outside Nigeria, as he noted that it is the fastest growing polytechnic in Nigeria among its peers.
“We have great interest in human development and capacity building. Many of our staff have had accesses to trainings/workshops and conferences within and outside Nigeria. It is our belief that these trainings and conferences and subsequent ones will equip our staff to deliver their duties at optimal level. The trainings, conferences and workshops have been very impactful.”
He added, “I stand here today at this yet another historic event of the second matriculation ceremony of our great Institution, Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, Oyo State, Nigeria. It is, indeed, a celebration of remarkable progress of this fastest growing Polytechnic; the fastest in the sense that among our peers established the same time, ours is leading in many ramifications. Today, we are matriculating our second set of students admitted for the 2023/2024 Academic Session. Since the establishment of this Polytechnic along five others, we have been tirelessly working to make it a cynosure of academic excellence and entrepreneurship training. This, we have held very dearly and we will continue to strive for the actualisation of our dreams.”
The pioneer rector also stressed that the institution now offers 12 academic programmes at the ND level all which he underlined are accredited by the relevant bodies emphasizing the polytechnic is positioned “to be a world class Institution for innovative and technical education reputed for adding values to human developments through enterprising and innovative graduates. Our students have made the right choice of coming here…”
He further informed that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has “approved our Polytechnic to train our students and trainees from outside skills in Electrical Installation and Maintenance, Plumbing Installation and Maintenance, Paint Making and Decoration from this session onward,” saying TETFUND had supplied them with equipment, tools and consumables worth one hundred and thirty millions naira (N130,000,000.00) in the last one year and “This capacity development has paid off and our students are benefitting from it.”
Abdul-Hameed highlighted various other success stories of the institution in the last one year including acquisition of vehicles, computers and other office equipment, training equipment for entrepreneurship in the areas of plumbing, painting and electrical installation, one 500KVA transformer and other accessories like feeder pillar, cables, wire fence etc, construction of 30KVA solar energy with 48 panels and 24 batteries and other accessories for library and computer networking, installation of computer server with 30 number thin cloud systems and 15number 3-in-1 desktop systems and networking, construction of another administrative block with offices, construction of multi-skill centre and story-building library complex (both ongoing) and so on, while thanking corporate organizations and individuals that had assisted while seeking more interventions, as he enthused that the institution is breaking many frontiers helping to create a unique citadel of learning.
The matriculation oath was later administered on the new students.
