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Ezionye Eboh, a professor of management and acting rector of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, in his maiden press parley held at the governing council chambers of the institution revealed his vision for the institution, which includes increasing internally generated revenue, curbing extortion of students and restoring the past gory of the institution. GODFREY OFURUM was there for BDSUNDAY. Excerpts:
How have you been coping as the acting rector of Abia State Polytechnic?
You know that when we took over the leadership of this polytechnic, it was under lock and key; there was no activity because the trade unions were on strike, but through the intervention of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, we commenced work here on February 7, 2017 and by the grace of God, exactly three days after that the trade unions called off the strike.
We are delighted to tell you that since then, we have enjoyed uninterrupted academic activity. Peace has returned to this campus, academic activities are ongoing, every staff is working to ensure that the objective of the founding fathers of this polytechnic is achieved.
Let me say upfront here that we have come to understand with the various stakeholders, especially the trade unions, that strike is like an evil wind that does not blow anyone any good. And the unions are moving in that wavelength. Agreed that there are challenges, but we should not allow the trials of the day to becloud our sense of judgment. And collectively we are tackling the challenges and collectively also God is granting us successes each week. And so our students are on ground, both old and new. We have resolved that with clear sense of direction and determination the issue of strike in this polytechnic will not reoccur in the foreseeable future and we are taking every conscious effort to achieve that. Let me also thank the unions for their understanding and for being a part of the success which we have so far recorded. We met challenges, and far above all the challenges was the issue of arrears of salaries. We realized that there were some staff whose salaries for July last year had not been paid and we have cleared that up.
What role did the governor play in ensuring that staff salaries were cleared?
I have never seen a governor as passionate as Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. He instructed that the issue of payment of salaries of staff should be a priority and he has consistently followed it. Within these two months and through the magnanimity of the governor and, of course, with the support of the Commissioners of Education and Finance, we have paid August, September and October 2016 salaries. Our commitment is to ensure that those who work get their pay. It is a universal principle and we are not taking it for granted. Like I said earlier, I am happy that the workers also realize this and all hands are on deck. But as you and I know, government has so many obligations and resources to meet these obligations are increasingly dwindling. And so the polytechnic, like every other public institution, is also duty-bound to shore up its internally generated revenue (IGR) so that we complement the efforts of government and we have taken steps in that direction. And one of those steps that we have taken and we will continue to take is to ensure that every leakage in the system is blocked.
What exactly are you doing to block these leakages?
We have done quite a lot within this period to ensure that all leakages are blocked. The major source of our IGR is payment of school fees and we have devised a process which we know is also working in similar institutions, in which students are encouraged to pay their school fees in time. We are in the e-learning era and so students are encouraged to pay their school fees within two to three weeks into resumption. And you know that comparatively speaking, our school fees remain one of the lowest in the public institutions around here. And so every payment into this institution is done through the bank. You will not see anywhere now where cash is collected and so you pay your school fees, register your courses and as you register, you get your matriculation number and identity card. For returning students, after paying their school fees, they would register their courses and check their results online. So there is a connection.
That process has been instituted and it has started working. We are encouraging a situation that we are also looking at our revenue centres, apart from payment of school fees. The motto of this polytechnic is ‘Towards Excellence in Technology’ and we are technologically-inspired in everything that we have been doing. We have products everywhere, including the table water that we served you. We are working out a process of ensuring that these revenue centres yield the actual revenues and they are not diverted into private pockets. We realize how important discipline is in the system and we are ensuring that workers and students get the necessary discipline and work with integrity, commitment and with the zeal to pursue global best practices, even in education. So, we have encouraged students to do the right thing and we also encourage our colleagues to also do the right thing and I am happy to report to you that these measures are yielding the right dividends. People who hitherto wouldn’t have sat up to do the necessary things are doing so.
Abia State Polytechnic is working. Like I said earlier, we are in the e-learning era and we are at the moment working on internet connectivity to the whole campus. We want to ensure that anybody who comes here is able to access any part of the world at the click of the button, and within a couple of months that process will materialize.
What is your vision for the institution?
We are here to institute a system that works, irrespective of who comes in as a member of management or rector, we want to ensure that the system works. You realize that in developed countries, their systems work. It is not as if they have less corrupt people than we have, but over there, the system does not look at anybody’s face and that is a major thing that we want to ensure here at Abia Polytechnic. We are here because of the students and these students are our children, our brothers, our sisters and wards, and so we should ensure the effective delivery of the product that they have come to purchase in order to remain in business. And I tell you, Abia State Polytechnic is a business because whether you like it or not, whatever you do as a public or private institution, whatever you are selling, you are in business. We want to ensure that this polytechnic remains a major player, remains respected and regains its lost glory.
I want to thank Governor Ikpeazu who is determined to ensure that the glory of Abia Polytechnic is restored. For him, he insists that the glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former. We also thank the team he is currently working with, so determined. They are so passionate about Abia State Polytechnic. We are happy that we have a governor who is giving us all that we have asked for so far, despite the financial constraints everywhere. We will move on with the vision, we will move on with that enthusiasm.
Students recently accused management of increasing fees payable in the institution, especially development levy and to show their grievances, they protested. Can you throw more light on this?
Students made an attempt to riot, but it was nothing but an attempt, in my perception. It concerned development levy. When we came on board, we looked at the charges, we realized that the admission process in the institution was paralyzed, the strike was a major problem, which of course was why we had our matriculation late. So, when we resumed after the strike, members of management looked at the fees payable by the students and decided to institute an online payment system. We said enough is enough; we shouldn’t be allowing students to be paying cash to anybody. We wanted everything in the charge list to be captured. And while looking at the charge list, we saw development levy of N15,000 and also found out that it was captured at the point of exit, that is at ND 2 and HND 2 and we said that it was not proper. Development levy, if indeed it is development levy, should be captured at the point of entry at ND 1 and HND 1. And that was the only adjustment that we made there. And indeed, for all intents and purposes, up till now we have not added any kobo in the charge list. Of course, we cannot add a kobo without getting authorization from the owners of this institution. That was the charge list we saw for 2015/2016 session.
When the students began to make that attempt to demonstrate, we calmed them down and told them that we were going to discuss with them the following week because that occurred on a Friday. And so when the leadership of the student union came for discussion over this matter, we realized that some disgruntled elements sponsored those students because the student union government was not aware of that effort to demonstrate. If students should be led into demonstration, even if the SUG refuses to participate actively, the SUG should at least be aware. And so we saw the leaders as a bunch of recalcitrants who were playing to the gallery of some people who felt that their time was up. Secondly, we also realized that perhaps that charge list for 2015/2016 hadn’t been implemented. Apparently, it was approved by either the then management or council and that was the latest charge list in hard copy. What happened in 2014/2015 and the years down the line was essentially that the development levy was shared amongst the four layers of this institution – ND 1, ND 2, HND 1 and HND 2. Consequently, development levy was shared and paid every semester. If you add what students were paying, it amounts to something more than the N15,000. If I give you any facts here, I want you to go and verify; the records are there. So, what we’ve done now is that development levy is paid once at entry. And with what we have done now, if you remove development levy, which is paid once, you’ll realize that the school fees paid by students is less. The point I am making is that development levy has been there. The only thing the management did is to say that development levy should be paid at the point of entry. We equally saw it as something fundamentally faulty that a student pays development levy at all stages of his/her stay in the institution. So, now it is only paid once at ND level and also once at HND level and that is what we have done.
The last time I checked, this institution was getting about N90 million as subvention from the state government and the previous managements complained that it was small, considering your huge budget. Are you comfortable with what you are currently receiving or are you asking for more? If not, do you think that you can augment with your IGR?
I want to start by asking you to point at the man who when money is involved doesn’t ask for more. We will always ask for more, but one thing that is very important is the interest of the governor in the affairs of this institution and that answers that question. We are asking for more, but the N90 million that is coming is more regular now and that is what is most important for us. And if it is regular and we are able to do what we are doing now, even if we don’t pay every month, we won’t allow it to deteriorate to the extent it got to before we came in. It is not just Abia Polytechnic that is the responsibility of government, but the government is fulfilling its obligations to Abia Poly and that is what is important. Managers of Abia Poly should also work hard to ensure that the polytechnic survives.
Some students of this institution have severally complained of extortion by lecturers; they also complain of missing of results sheets, especially those in final year, which most of the time delays them from joining their mates for Youth Service. What will the management do to curb these issues?
The issue of delay of graduating students has been addressed by management and any student who makes such a report now, it is either that the complaint is baseless or that the student is playing game. We have instituted a taskforce chaired by the deputy rector to ensure prompt release of ND 2 and HND 2 results. That taskforce has only two weeks to ensure that results of all students who ought to graduate are reconciled and I am happy to report to you that the taskforce has worked assiduously. There is a timeframe for the release of results. The lecturer is not at liberty to keep results of students beyond the approved period.
We are back to the sale of books through the bookshop. We realized that we had a problem with some staff of the polytechnic who diverted money generated from the bookshop and of course those people have been told that they have no place in this institution because the hallowed chamber of this great institution does not condone criminals. And so we have taken that measure that all books are sold through the bookshops. At the moment, we are paying members of the academic staff whose books have been sold so far. Of course, I’m sure that the students who told you this also told you that I gave them my phone number to call me on any form of molestation, abuse or intimidation and we have received quite a number of calls and we have taken action.
What is management doing towards exploiting the ingenuity of Aba as a commercial hub to increase IGR?
If you recall, I started by saying that this is a great polytechnic located in the great city of Aba. I had a reason to start that way. And like I said earlier, we have set up a number of committees, and one of those committees has been mandated to find out how we can shore up our IGR. That committee is working on various permutations and beyond that, members of management have also decided to reach out to the great industry players in Aba. We also have another proposal which we would make to the government in due course. The much I can tell you now is that you should not let your heart be troubled. We are on it.
