From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
National Association of Polytechnic Students(NAPS) has thrown its weight behind the Federal Government over the ban of Twitter operations in Nigeria.
National President of NAPS, Benedict Olalere, made the disclosure at a press conference he addressed in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, on Wednesday, over the reasons managements of all the polytechnics in Nigeria must implement the newly introduced
course by National Board of Technical Education (NBTE), titled: Pyschometric Studies, under general studies department, which is said to be GNS106 and GNS107.
Olalere warned the central government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari against prosecuting those that were said to have violated Twitter ban, saying: “That is a no-go-area for the government. They should not even try it.”
Giving reasons why NAPS backs Federal Government on the ban, Olalere explained that the management of Twitter should have reached out to the aides of President Buhari and asked them to politely remove the controversial tweet, instead of embarrassing the president of Nigeria by removing the tweet by themselves. Twitter, according to him, failed to remove tweets by leader of Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Olalere, however, stated that Pyschometric Studies “is concerned with the objectives measurement of skills, knowlege, abilities, attitudes and personality traits. It helps to reveal the cognitive capacity of an individual before taking to making a life-changing educational decision by revealing the sustainability of an individual or students to a particular field of study.
“This course is far beyond mere or local politics, which polytechnic management should embrace. Hence, the polytechnic students shouldn’t be deprived from such course and opportunities embeded in it.
“NAPS leadership hereby call on the Polytechnic Management to give adequate attention to this course and link up with International Psychometric Centre, Ibadan, for a proper and adequate involvement in line with NBTE mandate without any iota of delay for the interest of the polytechnic students.
“The leadership of NAPS beseech all the polytechnic management to desist from fund diversion of the pyschometric payment to the school account or either. Pyscometric fee should be remitted to the International Psychometric Centre (IPC) account as at when due to avoid unnecessary issue from the students community. Moreso, the management should ensure accountability as to avoid crisis that might want to emanate from students deprivation from the course.
“The course is an online course, which should not be taken as classwork in order for
maximum involvement and participation of the students to fulfill the aims and objectives of the International Psychometric Centre.
“It’s on this note that the leadership of NAPS, urge all the polytechnic management, who are yet to implement the psychometric studies as stated and directed by the NBTE to do so at the right time for the general good of all polytechnic students in Nigeria.”