Rector of the Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, Engr (Dr) Mobolaji Agbolade Onasanya has touted the institution’s 100% success in the accreditation of its courses – including new courses and existing courses up for re-accreditation – as a major highlight of his three-year tenure so far.
Engr Onasanya disclosed the accreditation rate in a recent interview with journalists, giving a scorecard of his three years in office, following his appointment as the fourth substantive Rector of the polytechnic on August 29, 2023.
The Rector says the accreditation of the new courses has given the polytechnic the headroom to admit more students in the new academic programmes, and an increased quota in the existing programmes, due to improved infrastructure, including laboratories and equipment.
Engr Onasanya also highlighted his administration’s efforts to address the institution’s infrastructure deficit by prioritising the completion of inherited building projects. This includes the completion of the School of Environmental Technology building and the Engineering Laboratory Complex, which has four laboratories for Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
In addition to completing the construction of building projects, the Rector says the institution under his watch has ensured good maintenance, renovation and upgrading of existing infrastructure, with renovation work ongoing on the main auditorium, which is slated for completion before the convocation ceremony in six weeks.
On staff welfare, Rector Onasanya says the institution’s Governing Council and Management have sought to accommodate the different staff unions and their demands within the available resources, which has contributed to the industrial harmony being enjoyed in the institution.
He highlighted some staff welfare policies including the early payment of salaries by the 25th day of every month; the clearing of backlog of years’ long pension arrears; a new salary advance scheme for staff members, repayable over six months with no interest; and continuous staff training and development programmes for both academic and non-academic staff, both within and outside Ogun State.
He also revealed that the institution was the first state government-owned polytechnic in Ogun State to implement the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS) 15 migration policy, which was introduced by the National Board for Technical Education (NABTEB) in 2009, to elevate polytechnic staff to a higher salary grade level.
“We were able to implement the CONTISS 15 migration. In fact, our institution is among the first that was able to implement the CONTISS 15 migration among our sister institutions in Ogun State”, Rector Onasanya said.
Speaking further, he said, “It (CONTISS 15) is a federal government policy which is expected to be implemented by the state polytechnics as well, based on available resources. Of course, it is not that the resources are easily available, but because the Governing Council and the Management esteem staff welfare, we ensure that we implement this CONTISS 15 migration.”
Rector Onasanya, however, noted that the institution bears the full burden of all financial obligations to staff members, which he says is a strain on its treasury, as funds earmarked for salaries could have been “utilised for some other developmental projects.” He noted that the situation was not obtainable in federal tertiary institutions, where the federal government is 100% responsible for salaries and other staff obligations.
With the Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic being a major and integral part of Ijebu-Igbo, Engr Onasanya says the institution has improved the relations between town and gown, and reaffirmed the polytechnic’s commitment and solidarity with its host community.
He said, “The management team, with the support of the Governing Council, has enabled a better relationship with the host community. We are always in touch with the Orimolusi (of Ijebu-Igbo), and the other (traditional) rulers in the society. Also, we do relate with the indigenes very well, and I can say since my stay here, we have not had any friction with the community, and that has really been good. Overall, we can say we have had good town-gown relations over the time.”
Despite the achievements recorded so far, some challenges persist, including the chronic lack of adequate power supply, which has been a longstanding issue for the institution, despite several efforts to engage the state government on the matter.
Rector Onasanya, however, said the situation has not deterred the institution, declaring that the Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic is now “a self-sustained institution in terms of power supply”, as the school has pivoted to using solar energy, with the provision of inverters and related equipment to several buildings and service unit offices across the campus.
