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The management of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State, says it has abolished the issuance of statements of results and sales of handouts.
The polytechnic rector, Christopher Okoro, said the decision was intended to streamline processes and reduce student exploitation.
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The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the institution was formerly known as the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba.
Mr Okoro made this known when the new executive of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Abia State Council, paid him a courtesy visit in his office on Wednesday.
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He said the institution had digitalised its processes to ensure efficiency and transparency. According to him, the new process would enable students to access their results online, and all results must be uploaded six weeks after examinations.
“Once the examinations are over, all results must be uploaded six weeks after. So, students don’t need to go and meet the lecturers,” he said.
Mr Okoro, who said that the polytechnic had outlawed the sale of handouts, emphasised that students were no longer compelled to buy textbooks.
He explained that the certificates now come with QR codes, which allow employers to verify their authenticity.
Mr Okoro said that the move was part of the institution’s efforts to enhance its academic integrity and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy.
He said, “How will a student finish up after five years if you give the person a paper and call it a statement of results?”
“The person will carry it, probably pay for the clearance, and come back after years for certificates.
“And you still collect money again from the same person, and start looking for the files again. I said that is not right.”
Mr Okoro disclosed that the polytechnic had also made significant strides in clearing salary arrears for staff members and improving the institution’s infrastructure.
According to him, 36 months of salary arrears accumulated by previous administrations have been cleared.
The rector said the institution, which was de-registered by the National Board for Technical Education, had gained full accreditation for all its 33 programmes, with the board’s approval for 17 new ones, such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, mechatronics engineering, and fashion design technology.
He thanked Governor Alex Otti of Abia State for his support to the institution, saying that “his leadership thinks not just for the now but for the future.”
‘Avoid quacks’
Earlier, Steve Oko, the new chairperson of the Correspondents Chapel, said the visit was to explore ways to establish a symbiotic relationship between the group and the institution.
Mr Oko described the rector as a “phenomenal agent of change” and commended him “for transforming the institution from obscurity to stardom” in barely one-and-a-half years.
He urged the rector to sustain the tempo and strive to maintain harmonious working relationships with his management team and the institution’s staff members.
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He challenged the institution to introduce programmes that align with society’s contemporary needs and embark on research that brings solutions to humanity and society’s problems.
Mr Oko urged the rector to always deal with professional journalists and avoid quacks, particularly the untrained social media practitioners.
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