Dr. Taofeek Adekunle Abdul-Hameed, the pioneer Rector, recently spoke with journalists about the progress made since its inception. In the interview, Dr. Abdul-Hameed highlighted the significant achievements of the young institution under his leadership. He addressed pressing issues such as the long-standing HND and BSc dichotomy, advocating for reforms that would promote equity between polytechnic and university graduates. He also emphasized the importance of embracing emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence in polytechnic education.

The Rector acknowledged existing challenges but expressed confidence in the institution’s direction, citing a clear vision for technical innovation, entrepreneurship, and practical learning.

What are your experiences as the pioneer Rector, Federal Polytechnic Ayede, Ogbomoso?

The journey has been quite eventful and indeed quite challenging. But we thank God for overcoming some of the challenges through the support of many stakeholders, the dedication of the management staff as well as the council members. As a new institution, there was no structure on the ground for the first four years. We had to make provision for our own offices and we were not paid salary from March 2021 through December 2021. We were running helter-skelter, but by 2022 we were able to make some breakthroughs. And by dint of hard work, we had the administrative building currently in use by us, through the Federal Ministry of Works. We got the building through the influence of one of our major stakeholders who showed concern about our situation. And lest I forget, let me express our profound gratitude to the National Youth Development Centre which was the former occupier of this temporary campus. We also secured the place through another major stakeholder. The list, no doubt, will be endless should I start mentioning names. But I want to use this opportunity to thank all of them — individually and collectively.

How did you recruit staff for the polytechnic and when did you begin academic activities?
Before we recruited the first set of staff, we contacted the Head of Service of the Federation, the Federal Character Commission, Budget Office of the Federation and the Accountant-General’s Office. And after getting a go-ahead, we recruited about 150 staff in 2022. We thereafter invited the National Board of Technical Education, which happens to be our supervisory and monitoring agency. And when the NBTE came to our institution, we confidently told them that we wanted to start with 12 programmes at once. But NBTE approved four programmes. The approved programmes were a huge motivation for us, particularly in comparison to our peers which got just one or two courses. We began academic activities in July 2022, and soon after we started making more progress as well. The vision is to ensure that our products acquire two certificates upon graduation – a certificate in a specified academic discipline and another certificate on vocational skills. We place high premium on entrepreneurship development because we don’t want our graduates to roam the streets looking for jobs after graduation. And let me gladly tell you that we are already making tremendous progress in that regards to the extent that one of our students was offered employment even before graduation. That clearly attests to the value of the vocational skills acquired from our institution. I also firmly believe that good is good but it can never be better than the best. We are aspiring to be the best, and once we are able to sustain this tempo in the next few years, we should be able to compete favourably with first and second generation polytechnics. By and large, we have fared well amidst the challenges.

I thank President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, and the headship of TeTFund, Arc. Sonny  Echono, for supporting us. TeTFund has tremendously been of help to the Federal Polytechnic Ayede. Among one of the buildings on our temporary site, is a 250-seater auditorium sponsored by TeTFund. There are also many projects on our permanent site, as100 percent of the take-off grant given to us was used to construct buildings on the permanent site. The structures are there for all to see. And in terms of students’ population, I want to boldly say that of all the six polytechnics established at the same time as our institution, Ayede Federal Polytechnic has the highest student population of well over 1,200 as I speak. And currently, the institution runs 12 courses divided into five schools. That’s why TeTFund always yielded to our requests on many occasions. Additionally, apart from building constructions, we have been benefiting from TeTFund sponsorship in the area of research. Many of our faculties have been sponsored for PhD and Master’s programmes as well institutional-based research programmes, through TeTFund. And recently, heads of tertiary institutions were called to Abuja for a meeting and we know what TeTFund is going to do for us this year 2025, towards promoting the progress of the institution. In a nutshell, we are very eligible to access most of the developmental projects being sponsored by TeTFund.

Do you support parity between polytechnic and university graduates in terms of hierarchical structure?

I strongly support the parity between HND holders and Bachelor’s degree holders. In advanced climes, the in-thing is vocational skills and that’s what is being encouraged throughout the world. China’s technological advancement today is hinged on the emphasis the country places on entrepreneurship development through vocational skills acquisition. As a holder of two doctorate degrees and three master’s degrees from prestigious universities, and having been in the polytechnic sector for over 30 years, I can authoritatively make comparisons between the two tertiary institutions. Now, if you look at it, we are not progressing because we place so much emphasis on paper qualifications. And developments will continue to elude us except government promotes vocational skills and de-emphasises paper qualifications. That is why our slogan at NBTE and the supervisory agency is ‘skills rather than degrees’ because the in-thing  is skills. No nation can develop without promoting skills acquisition. And in advanced climes, what you get from polytechnics is Bachelor of Technology not HND. Even the British whose educational system we are copying, has phased out HND, so what you see in the United Kingdom now is B.Tech and BSc. Why then is Nigeria an exception?  This is due to pride of being higher or superior to others based on paper qualifications; a mindset that I am a degree holder and so I am far better than an HND holder whereas it’s not so. But the truth is, it all depends on what you’re going to contribute to the larger society, and not just about paper qualifications and theory alone.  Therefore, I want to appreciate the National Assembly for giving us the opportunity. And I believe the Bill will eventually be passed to President Tinubu for his assent. We were even thinking that before the expiration of the last administration, the Bill would have been signed into law for the parity between HND and degree holders. It is high time we forgot about paper qualifications and focus on positive impacts we can make on the society.

I sincerely believe that if the parity is eventually achieved and the polytechnics focus on what they are established to do, it would positively impact on the society. In some years back, when I was in secondary school, one could easily tell the difference between an undergraduate of The Polytechnic  Ibadan or Yaba College of Technology and a university undergraduate in terms of performance. A polytechnic graduate will certainly outshine a university graduate when it comes to practical, hands-on skills. But when there’s discrimination, a polytechnic student will just want to earn the National Diploma and Higher National Diploma and then move on, whereas the purposes are there. Conventional universities dwell more on theories than practical, but in the case of  the polytechnic system, we are expected to train senior manpower to liberate the economy, move it forward and impact positively on the development of the society.

Our major concern for now is road network to our permanent site. And that is the best thing anybody can do presently to assist this administration. We have 11 or 12 structures at our permanent site but they are not being put into use. And before you know it, after two or three years, time will begin to have adverse impact on the structures. But if someone can assist us to link up our permanent site to Ogbomoso here to Odo-Oba to Ajawa, that would be too fantastic because we are eager to move into the site. In fact, our current temporary site is getting to a point when it will no longer contain all of us as we need more classrooms, more offices and so forth. And as regards keeping the permanent site secure, the Commissioner of Police and Area Commander have assured us of security.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly encroaching on every sphere of human endeavour globally. How well is your institution positioned to key into this technological innovation?

Artificial Intelligence is about information communication technology. And TeTFund has done much for us regarding ICT Zonal Intervention and this has made us ICT-compliant. As a matter of fact, we are trying to teach our students innovations in Artificial Intelligence. And less than four weeks ago, a lecture was organised for our students on Artificial Intelligence, delivered by a professor from LAUTECH just to create awareness and spur the students’ interest in the technological innovations. So, we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure our students are up to date in terms of technological developments.

The issue of power generation has been a problem, but I know the Tinubu-led administration will determinedly ensure that we overcome the challenges associated with power failure. Nevertheless, the trend today is solar energy, and that’s where rural electrification is coming in. We have benefited from the rural electrification agency. They have provided us with solar light which we have installed on our temporary and permanent sites. And so I want to assure you that we are going solar because it is the vogue. We all know alternative sources of energy like the hydro-electricity generation we are used to, but as an electrical engineer, I believe solar light is by far better. We are looking inward and that is what’s going to be our focus. Although we have tried to connect to the national grid through 33KV from Oyo, Olo-Obada side, we are still thinking of going solar all the more. And if you go to our temporary site, you will see that we are using solar in our library, and even the administration building is being powered by solar now –going forward. That will save us cost aside from regular supply of electricity. So, that’s the way we are thinking.

Contrary to the misleading media report, no building collapsed on the temporary site or on the permanent site. What actually happened was just a structural failure. It was a cantilever that came down while the building was under construction. And sincerely, when you’re talking about construction such occurrence happens anywhere. It was not a case of a completed building that had been handed over to the institution, and then it later collapsed. And the reported collapsed building is still intact on the permanent site as I speak, and you will see for yourself when we get there. And I want to tell you that all integrity tests have been conducted on all the buildings, and the tests confirmed that the structures are good. If you have about 11 or 12 buildings on a particular site with some 80 per cent completed, others 100 per cent completed and one under construction, why then should anyone blow that out of proportion?  These are verifiable things, and I urge you journalists to conduct an independent investigation into the reported building collapse.

Our relationship with the community has been so cordial here at the temporary site, and I believe the relationship will be cordial at Ayede as well. And I want to seize this opportunity to express our appreciation to our father and Kabiyesi, the Soun of Ogbomoso land, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye. During my last visit to his palace, the Soun expressed interest in the development of Federal Polytechnic Ayede, encouraging us to keep on moving ahead of others. We have also established good relationships with the Alajawa and the Aresa of Iresa Pupa. The first 150 staff of the institution comprised 32 per cent of Oyo State indigenes, 21 per cent from Osun State, others from Kwara. The records are there for all to see but because the institution is a federal school, the House Committee on Federal Character has mandated us that the next employment must reflect the Federal Character Principles from Southeast geo-political zone, Northeast, Northwest, and so on. We did that as well but the committee wants everything to be well balanced

We have been encouraging research and capacity building as critical aspects of scholarship right from 2022, although the Federal Polytechnic Ayede was established in 2021. As a research-based institution, we have 32 TeTFund beneficiaries doing different research in our young institution. That shows how much encouragement we have been giving to our staff to embark on research that would eventually lead to the development of the society. And when you talk about equipment fabrication intervention from TeTFund, we have 12 beneficiaries and the records are there for verification either from TeTFund or from Ayede here. That shows that when it comes to equipment fabrication and hands-on skills, we are on the ground right from the beginning. We have a centre for skills and entrepreneurship development, and when it comes to TeTFund international sponsorship, we have about 21 beneficiaries, and 90 beneficiaries of local sponsorship. The management has always been encouraging everybody to go for conferences for exchange of ideas that will lead to new developments, and where you can showcase what you have done to the world. We have 38 beneficiaries from workshops and sponsorships, about 45 beneficiaries from trainings, we have four scholars that have published their books through TeTFund and about four sponsored journals. So, these are some of the things we have been doing as a polytechnic to ensure that things are done the way they should be done in such a way that the outcome would bring positive developments to the society.

Exactly, we had wanted to move into the permanent site in December 2024. But unfortunately, that wasn’t realisable. Although there are some completed projects on the permanent site, the road network is a major issue. And we have been making spirited efforts to ensure the Federal Government comes to our aid. We have also been making contacts with the Oyo State government, the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA). We have also made contact with the Chairman of Ogo Oluwa Local Government Area, and just a couple of weeks ago, the Chairman visited the permanent site for inspection. So, the most pressing need for now is the road and even if it’s not tarred but only graded for us, we will move there. All things being equal, we are targeting September this year for the movement into the permanent site, by God’s grace.