August, 2012
By Siadat Alausa
For national development to take place, technology institutions must produce the manpower with the right skills, according to the Rector of the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr. Margaret Ladipo.
Speaking at the Conference of Registrars of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria, (COREG) held in Lagos recently, Ladipo insisted that Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology must be able to make a positive impact in the developmental process of the nation rather than constituting a burden. While she admitted polytechnic education in Nigeria was facing enormous challenges, she asserted ability to effectively use available resources optimally, would determine the quality of each institution, its programme and ultimately the success of the whole polytechnic system.
She said: “Certainly, one of the ways by which Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology can effectively perform is through the administrative competence of the personnel that run the institutions, not least of which is the Registrar, who is the custodian of records, extant rules and regulations, and indeed the engine that drives the administrative machinery of the institution”.
The rector also used the opportunity to urge the registrars, who serve as advisers to the chief executives of their institutions, to continue to be innovative, especially when it comes to entrenching global best practices for the good of the polytechnic system. “The chief executives need your support to help them achieve their mandate. They need your loyalty and respect and most of all, as they go through the rigours occasioned by the mantle of leadership, they need to be able to count on you”.
She continued: “I believe that as administrators of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology, we should at all times keep in focus the mandate of Polytechnic education. And working hand in hand with the academic staff, we should be able to achieve the vision of Polytechnic education”.
Ladipo also said as the statutory secretary to council, which is the governing body with the mandate for the general management of the polytechnic and also the Academic Board, a lot rests on the shoulders of the Registrar..
Registrar of YABATECH, Biekoroma Amapakabo said the year has been full of activities and “we have been professionally and intellectually stretched as Registrars, because we had the NBTE accreditation exercise and for the first time, the NBTE introduced the institutional accreditation, in addition to the accreditation of academic programmes.”
She continued: “The federal government’s visitation exercise was also conducted during the year. The experiences of all Registrars from these events, from our interactions, showed that quality of Registrar has very serious implication for how the polytechnic fares.
“The lesson therefore is that, we must at all times seek exposure on issues of institutional administration outside of our routine use of extant regulations. The world has become a global village and this includes higher institutions. Best practices in higher educational administration have also become global and we must not be left behind in this train”.