By Gabriel Dike and Blessing Ani
Rector of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Obafemi Omokungbe, has been in the saddle of Nigeria’s first higher institution since March 6, 2018. He is the first alumnus of the 74-year-old institution to be appointed rector.
In this interview, he spoke on issues affecting the polytechnic system, the much-awaited transformation of YABATECH to a university, technical education and funding.
What were your first moves when you came three and a half years ago?
Before we came, the college was in a state of emergency, decaying dilapidated infrastructure. When we came, we had vision and mission and devised strategies to address the situation.
I remember that when we came on March 6, 2018, we did not have any good road within the campus. There were potholes, you could not go 10 metres without potholes. The potholes were turning to boreholes.
To arrest the situation, we came up with four cardinal programmes. We talked about academic improvement and development; infrastructural development both in Yaba and Epe campuses; and upgrading and refurbishment of the existing structures, mainly in Yaba.
We noticed that the morale of staff and students was low. We brought in the welfare of staff and students. We also found out that the internally generated revenue (IGR) was low. We expanded and improved the channel of generating revenue for the college.
How about the implementation of your vision for YABATECH?
Before we came on board, we had regular academic challenges. We decided that, to achieve this mission, we must have a stable academic calendar. We must have a good relationship with the staff and students, then improve the academic standard and academic improvement of staff by making sure that they go for higher degrees.
We have been able to accomplish this to some extent in the last three years. We found out that the hostels were not conducive enough for students to live in. Most of the mattresses were infested with bedbugs.
What we did was at least to change over 3,000 mattresses. We decided to renovate the hostels one after the other and we have renovated about eight halls of residence. We replaced the mattresses and the double bunk beds.
We also looked at the classrooms. We have renovated all the faculties and upgraded all the classrooms with new chairs and benches. Some of the classrooms were equipped with air conditioners and we have acquired what we call “turn it in” to arrest plagiarism.
When we came on board, five or six of our staff appointments were terminated due to plagiarism. We felt, as a responsible management, to arrest such is to have this package so as to discourage this act.
In the area of relationship with the alumni association, we tried to improve on that. We know that, with good standing of alumni association, the college will not lack when it comes to assistance. The number of polytechnics in the country is about 33 or more. We know government cannot give YABATECH the needed attention in terms of funding.
We had to think outside the box and decide to launch an endowment fund. There is need for us to be able to compete globally. And to compete globally, our infrastructure must be in place in terms of classrooms, library, staff offices and the visible infrastructure.
At 74, with the same old infrastructure, what is happening?
When we look at YABATECH as a 74-year-old institution, a school that started with less than 300 students with the same infrastructure. We now have over 20,000 students. There is need for the management to put on its thinking cap and see how we can solve this.
That made us to launch an endowment fund of N50 billion. The fund realised from this will be put to good use to bring the school to a world class standard. I know that the Federal College in London, in terms of area, is not up to YABATECH.
For us to emulate such things, it means that some of our old buildings will have to be knocked down and go up laterally, since they were not designed to take such number of floors. Some buildings that are not too good, we have also carried out integrity test to see what we can do to strengthen their structures so as to put them to good use.
We have had a stable academic calendar. We have been carrying out our convocation ceremony regularly, apart from last year, due to COVID-19 pandemic, and we began online lectures.
All staff buses were grounded and we repaired them. For our staff to be able to work effectively, some level of comfort must be given to them. One is having a staff bus. We are in Lagos, but nobody is paying them Lagos factor as it happening in some other institutions.
What is the situation as regards converting YABATECH to a university?
We made some moves. The senator representing Lagos West, Solomon Adeola, sponsored a bill to convert two polytechnics to universities. It went through the first and second readings. There was a public hearing, which we attended and made presentations. After that there was the third reading and the bill was passed to the Presidency for signing.
Before, it was only YABATECH and Kaduna Polytechnic. But along the line, it became YABATECH and Ilaro Polytechnic. I went with the rector of Ilaro Poly to do a follow-up with the senator and he gave us another appointment.
I can tell you right now that the bill is awaiting the signature of the President. We are working behind the scenes to see that is done.
What are the major challenges facing technical and vocational education in the country?
Let’s look at it this way. Now we have been talking about the mandate setting up this polytechnic, which is to produce both middle and high-level manpower. What is missing in the country is Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) because of not having technical colleges in place anymore.
Students are supposed to learn skills in the technical colleges but we no longer have them. But those who are supposed to be in the technical colleges are the ones driving Keke Marwa and Okada. It is sad. If you need a carpenter now, you have to import them.
How long are we going to do that? I think that is why the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), under which these institutions should be, are now using the polytechnics to undertake technical education along with their mandate to arrest this ugly trend.
We have noticed that there are skill gaps in the country, how do we solve that? We can’t go to the university and then come back to the polytechnic to make sure that these gaps are filled up; so that the unemployed youths can learn one or two skills and be able to function on their own.
In YABATECH, we have a skill acquisition centre that is useful to the community around us, which we have been operating. If you want to be a shoemaker and a hairdresser, we have programmes for you. These are courses under the technical and vocational education. But that has not changed our mandate.
What is happening to Epe campus?
We have transformed Epe to the best of our ability. Now we have three faculties and six departments and a School of Technical Vocational Education. These we are running in affiliation with University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN).
We used 2019 TETFund intervention grant for the construction of the school. We have completed the perimeter fence of the campus. We have spent huge money in Epe to develop the campus. Epe indigenes are looking at it that we are just taking land for the fun of it. But we have proved them wrong.
We have established our presence in Epe. We have a director, a full faculty and six departments from two other faculties. The National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation team visited the School of Technical Education in Epe.
How can polytechnic education be attractive to candidates?
Why do we have that shortage in people filling the spaces meant for polytechnic? We have done things in the country to the extent of marginalizing polytechnics. I am sure that you didn’t want your kids to go to polytechnic because of the policy implementation. The idea that everybody must go to university is wrong.
In Canada those that go to technical schools, earn more than PhD holders, it is the implementation of the policy. We are not implementing the policy rightly. That is why we are having this problem. People see those who attend polytechnic as being inferior to those who went to university.
As a parent, you won’t encourage your kids to go to polytechnic. Polytechnics are for those that deal with inventions. But government pumps money to university than polytechnic and you expect miracle.
If you go to Italy or France, those who attend polytechnics are those in the industries and those are the ones that drive the economy. If the country is doing well you do not expect to see graduates of polytechnic in the civil service. They are supposed to be in the industry driving the economy, is that what is happening? No. That is why the space will continue to be like that except we decide to do the right thing.
What should be done to encourage students to embrace technical education?
That is simple. We bring back technical colleges, equip them and encourage the students to apply for admission. Let us look at it from this angle. We have a policy of 6:3:3:4. That means six years of primary school, three years of junior secondary school, three years for secondary school and then four years for university.
When you do JSS3 and you cannot cope, you go to technical colleges. It does not mean you are a failure in life. That is where parents’ miss it. At the end of JSS3, if a student is recommended to technical college, you will take your child to another secondary school to start SS1 and at the end of the day, he or she will not be able to cope in the SSS class.
That is how we bastardised the system the 6:3:3:4. Until we implement that policy well before technical colleges will fall in place and the polytechnic will produce technicians and technologists. The university will produce engineers.
How ready are you to carry out the new mandate after the conversion to university? We are more than ready. That is what we showcased at the public hearing in Abuja. Our readiness to attain that status was what YABATECH presented to them.
What lessons from COVID-19 pandemic?
In the last one and a-half years of COVID-19 pandemic, we have been having online teachings and meetings. We have been doing some lectures virtually. We have being granted approval to run Open Distance Learning. We started this after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The students had their lectures online. We also started this session with online. So, COVID-19 or no COVID-19, we don’t want to see that as a barrier. It is just that COVID reduced our cash flow. If we run an online programme, it is cheaper than face-to-face.
Students experience with online lessons during COVID has not been palatable, how did YABATECH manage this challenge?
When you start a project, definitely it will have problem. You cannot improve on anything unless you start it. Initially, you may have problem because you are competing with institution that have been doing online class for the past 10 years, you can’t be on the same page. You can only improve.
When we started, it was not palatable. We sent some lecturers on course, some on how to deliver lecture online. We encouraged them to do that. Now secondary schools are running online and even nursery too.
Many stakeholders say public institutions would have collapsed without TETFund, do you agree?
I agree. In one of the forums that I made presentation I also said this. The truth of the matter is that if not for those interventions, we no longer access capital grants the way we used to. If we have certain amount for capital grants, we won’t get first tranche of it until September and by end of October they are ready to mop up.
However, for TETFund projects, the money is readily available and we complete projects on time. Why will the institutions not praise them?