The management of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, said it abolished the issuance of statements of results and sales of handouts.

The Rector, Christopher Okoro, said the decision was intended to streamline processes and reduce exploitation of students.

The institution was formerly known as Abia State Polytechnic, Aba.

Mr Okoro made this known when the new executive of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Abia Council, paid him a courtesy visit in his office on Wednesday.

He said that the institution had digitalised its processes to ensure efficiency and transparency.

He stated that the new process would enable students to access their results online, adding that results must be uploaded six weeks after examinations.

“Once exams are over, all results must be uploaded six weeks after examination. 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, thereby allowing 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 and you give the person 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 improved the institution’s infrastructure.

According to him, 36 months of salary arrears accumulated by previous administrations has been cleared.

The elated rector said the institution, which was deregistered 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.

Mr Okoro identified some of the new programmes as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity machatronics engineering, fashion design technology, among others.

He expressed gratitude to Governor Alex Otti for his massive support to the institution, saying that “his leadership is one that thinks not just for the now but for the future.”

Earlier, the new Chairman of the chapel, Steve Oko, 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 him to sustain the tempo and strive to maintain a harmonious working relationship with his management team and staff members of the institution.

He further charged the institution to introduce programmes that align with contemporary needs of society and also embark on research that proffers solutions to problems of humanity and society.

Mr Oko assured Mr Okoro of the preparedness of the chapel to project the activities of the institution through the media space within and outside the country.

He urged the rector to always deal with professional journalists and to beware of quacks masquerading as newsmen, particularly the untrained social media practitioners. 

(NAN)