The Benue State Government has unveiled plans to engage foreign-based professionals at the Akawe Torkula Polytechnic (ATPoly), Makurdi to provide practical skills in technology and ICT towards equipping the youths with requisite knowledge for international certifications in technical skills that will make them self-reliant.
The Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Martins Agena, FCIA who disclosed this in a recent chat with journalists in Abuja, said the move is part of the Alia-led administration’s deliberate steps to ensure the polytechnic meets international best standards while giving citizens access to skills that will make them productive and be of value to the society.
According to him, the Management of the Polytechnic has finalized plans with foreign technical partners who are professionals with reputable institutions in the UK, Canada and US and are willing to serve as resource persons to lecture students on skills acquisition at the institution.
In his words “there are non-governmental organizations and individuals out there who are willing to support innovative ideas. There are there to support science and technology which is the core of technical education. Private individuals and friends alike are much more willing. We have met over and over and they are willing to come to our aid. It may seem very difficult but will be simple the time we embark on doing the right thing”.
“Permit me to use this example without the consent of a friend of mine, Seun. Seun is a business analyst with the UK government. I met with him one-on-one in London and he called his other friends and we had a meeting. These are people who are over there with institutions of reputable standard, people who have what we need to give us what we are looking for. So, we are saying already, we have brought consultations on board. These are people who have the technical know-how, people whose knowledge has already been tested in the developed world like the United Kingdom. So, we have no doubt in doing what we are planning to do now”.
“We are now in a global village where the boundaries are no longer there. The resource persons we are engaging don’t need to travel to Benue State or Makurdi for them to lecture our students. We are going to create classroom technology that is virtual for now and in the end, we will hold our lectures conveniently and human resource will not be a problem at all.”
“Of course, on ground, we have technicians and technologists that will hold forth for those who those who are in the Diaspora to lecture. So, on the issue of having the people with the technical know-how, our consultations have shown that we have more than required supporters to achieve that”.
Speaking on the challenges currently faced by the institution, Dr. Agena said polytechnic education is what the needs most in the 21st century because of its capacity to give out skills and he is not deterred because he has the backing of the Governor, His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia who he said is desperate and deliberate in improving the lives of Benue people, especially the youths.
“Of course, the difficulties are there but I have a governor who confided in me, who has confidence in me and who said he wants this place to turn things better for the society. For now, the Governor of Benue State, His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia Ph.D is desperate and deliberate about giving the citizens and indigenes of the State the technical skills that will make them self-reliant. He has been on my neck since I came on board to give him the requirement of what is needed for the polytechnic to be of global standard. So, the government is not taking it likely and is serious about that. The government has prioritized education in the state and that could be the first way of fighting insecurity. By the time you pack most of the youths off the streets and give them education, using the required skills to thrive in today’s world, they will have no time to indulge in some of these criminalities we have in our society”.
“We have too much unemployed youths that we need to give them skills to feed themselves and be responsible to the society. If you have too many idle graduates who are becoming a problem to the society, then you give them skills to be productive. We have so many of our youths turning into yahoo boys because they don’t have these technical skills to give them what they need. So, a polytechnic has all it takes to respond to these issues but of course the society is vast and everything is there in the society. It is just for you to know how to go about it”, he said.
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