The president of the Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering (NATE), Dominic Udoatan, has said that technology can play a huge role in the growth of the country.
He stated this during a courtesy visit to the management of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo, on Monday.
The visit was part of the association’s activities to mark the 2023 Conference of Technologists and Annual General Meeting.
Mr Udoatan called for the establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission (NPC) to address the long-standing disparity between university and polytechnic graduates in the country. He said that policy-makers had favoured university education over other levels of education, which had affected the nation’s reward system. He added that the current situation was like training young graduates without a secure future.
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“The National Board for Technical Education should be left with the management of technical colleges, while the proposed NPC should concentrate on formulating policies for polytechnic education. The disparity between the university and polytechnic graduates is taking its toll on the enrolment of students as many parents prefer to register their children in the former. Students enrolment at polytechnics nationwide is now dwindling on a yearly basis due to the premium placed on university education,” he said.
He also criticised the management of polytechnics for not doing enough to promote the interests of their staff and students.
He said that the economy of the country was supposed to be driven by technology, but with the dichotomy, it would be hard for the country to catch up with other developing nations.
“To correct the imbalance, there is a need for the setting up of a National Polytechnics Commission similar to that of the National Universities Commission. I am also imploring rectors of the polytechnics across the country to use their offices to champion the cause,” Mr Udoatan said.
The rector of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Prof. Kareem Adebiyi, welcomed the team and assured them of his support in achieving their goals.
He said that he was a product of both university and polytechnic education and that polytechnic graduates had a lot to offer the country especially in technology.
He commended the leadership of the association for doing a great work, saying “we are satisfied with the level of work that you are doing. From workshops, we have seen different designs and various machines that are available here for the small and medium scale industries. It is left for the business people to take advantage of Technology.”
He appreciated the association for choosing the institution as one of the places to visit to mark its 2023 CONTECH and AGM.
“We are indeed honoured. Our institution is largely a composition of engineers, technicians and technologists who are contributing their quota in no small way to ensure that the mandate of the institution is optimally achieved,” he said.
The theme of the 2023 CONTECH Ibadan is, “Sustenance of technological code of ethics and engineering standards; a key for national development.”