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The Management of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, has abolished the issuance of Statement of Result and sale of handouts.
The Rector of the citadel of learning, Dr Christopher Okoro, said the decision was meant to streamline processes and reduce exploitation of students.
Okoro made this known when the new executive of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Abia Council, paid him a courtesy visit in his office on Wednesday.
According to him, the institution had digitalised its processes to ensure efficiency and transparency, adding that the new process would enable students to access their results online, adding that all results must be uploaded six weeks after examinations.
Okoro said, “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 the polytechnic had outlawed the sale of handouts, emphasising that students were no longer compelled to buy textbooks while explaining that the certificates now come with QR codes, thereby allowing employers to verify their authenticity.
Okoro said that the move was part of the institution’s efforts to enhance its academic integrity and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy.
“How will a student finish up after five years and you give the person paper and call it Statement of Results? The person will carry it, probably pay for the clearance; and come back after years for certificates.
Okoro revealed that the polytechnic had also made significant strides in clearing salary arrears for staff members and improved the institution’s infrastructure, saying that 36 months of salary arrears accumulated by previous administrations has been cleared.
He said the institution, which was deregistered by the National Board for Technical Education, had gained full accreditation for all its 33 programmes with the boards approval for 17 new ones.
The Rector identified some of the new programmes as Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security Mechatronics Engineering, Fashion Design Technology, among others.
He also expressed gratitude to Gov. Alex Otti for his massive support to the institution, adding that “his leadership is one that thinks not just for the now but for the future.”
Earlier, the new Chairman of the Chapel, Mr Steve Oko, said the visit was to explore ways to establish a symbiotic relationship between the group and institution.
He 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.
Oko also 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.
He advised the Rector to always deal with professional journalists and to beware of quacks masquerading as newsmen, particularly the untrained social media practitioners.
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