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The Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, Akwa Ibom, Dr Uduak Ukekpe, has promised to move the 7-year old institution to its permanent site in 2021.
Ukekpe who stated this while taking newsmen on a tour of ongoing construction work on the campus on Thursday, to mark his two years as rector, said 80 percent of ongoing projects at the institution’s permanent campus was sponsored by TETFUND, and that by the middle of 2021, academic activities might likely resume there.
He revealed that eight new academic programmes including Computer Engineering, Survey, Accounting, Business Administration, Civil Engineering, Electrical Electronics Engineering amongst others would be added to the two already existing programmes, Statistics and Computer Science.
He mentioned that the new programmes would kick start from the permanent campus, adding that the Polytechnic currently has 85 students because the annex campus could not accommodate them.
He stated that the school could not admit more than the students capacity prescribed by JAMB, saying that the admission capacity in Computer Science had been met but not in statistics.
“We have plans to move the administrative seat to the permanent campus. Civil Engineering and Electrical Electronics Engineering Complexes as listed by NBTE are ongoing. By next year we will be good to go for the engineering programme. Some of the equipment have been installed.
“When I came in, there was no access road, there were no buildings that were near completion. No contractors were on site. We put up these structures within two years. We are currently running two programmes: Statistics and Computer Science.
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“We are targeting eight more courses. We have manpower on ground but it is not adequate. We will be employing if they lift the embargo by next year. What stopped the process was the embargo placed on employment when COVID-19 came in.
“80 percent of the projects you have seen here is as a result of TETFUND intervention. I want to thank TETFUND; we are doing our best to attract any TETFUND intervention where possible,” he stated.
On the issue of cultism, the rector said there was no case of cultism in the institution as students have been warned against it, adding that exams malpractice was at a zero percent.
He dismissed insinuations about the host community encroaching into the land of the institution, saying the community donated the permanent site to the Polytechnic and the relationship beween them was cordial.
“So far we have not had anything to show that there is cultism. Exam malpractice is at zero percent based on the last exams we conducted. Defaulting students in the past were disciplined, so we don’t have such incidence.
“Compensation for the land was done, but when I came, what I learnt is that the Polytechnic freely demarcated the land. We have started perimeter fencing to avoid encroachment,” he said. END
