Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Ado – Ekiti Dr. Dayo Oladebeye has advocated the need to take into cognizance the core mandate of Polytechnics before converting them or enabling them for the award of Bachelor of Technology degrees instead of their outright conversion into Universities.
The Rector made this call against the background of some section of the society clamouring for the conversion of the Polytechnics to Universities with a view to checkmating the controversial dichotomy between the Polytechnics and the Universities.
Dr. Oladebeye, who gave the position while answering questions from some reporters in his office on Thursday 7th February 2019, asserted that “Polytechnics are distinct academic institutions established with the core mandate of providing highly skilled manpower for the industries and Technological growth of the Nation, therefore this goal will not be achieved if they are turned into Universities as they will become more theoretical thereby losing their core mandate”,
The society, the Rector pleads should stop looking down on the Polytechnics, rather, Nigeria in its drive for the needed technological growth should give the recognition to Polytechnic graduates as empirical records has shown that Polytechnic graduates are no push overs.