CSO wants NBTE to investigate activities of Novelty Polytechnic

By Dorcas Jonah

Initiative for Citizens’ Rights, Accountability and Development, a CSO, has urged the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), to investigate alleged illegal activities of Novelty Polytechnic, Kishi, Oyo State.

The CSO, in a petition on Friday, alleged that the activities of the institute violated the standards of NBTE.

Mr Luqman Hassan, Executive Director of the group, said that the polytechnic established satellite campuses, outreach and study centres, which had been banned by NBTE.

Hassan said that the institute was also running diploma programmes that had been banned by NBTE, hence putting students and parents at a disadvantage.

He said: “Findings revealed that Novelty Polytechnic, Kishi flouts rules and laws guiding the establishment and management of academic institutions, especially polytechnics in Nigeria.

“The Polytechnic does not concern itself with the approved standards in line with the National Minimum Standards of Education Act.

‘“Neither does the school run in conformity with any laid down quality assurance mechanism of NBTE.”

Hassan also alleged that the polytechnic currently did not have qualified lecturers, and that those engaged could take as much as 14 courses, on a meagre salary of N35,000.

“This is against International Labour Standards and best practices,” he said.

However, the Proprietor of the polytechnic, Dr Abdul Salami, who responded to the allegations in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said they were baseless.

Salami said that the petition was the handiwork of some aggrieved members of staff of the institute.

He said the polytechnic had followed all laid down rules and standards by appropriate bodies, adding that the institute had qualified lecturers, debunking all the allegations in the petition.

(NAN)