Okowa tasks lecturers on multi-disciplinary research for students’ development

By Austin Oyibode
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State Governor, has challenged Polytechnic lecturers to pay emphasis on multi-disciplinary research and practical life skills to ensure that Polytechnic graduates could be self-employed.

Senator Ifeanyi Okowa

The Governor, who spoke while inaugurating the Governing Council of the Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro observed that the current education system where graduates come out looking to the government or the few available private enterprises for gainful employment was wrong.
“We are deeply convinced that the solution to the massive youth unemployment that we are facing in the country, and especially in our state, lies not with certificate acquisition, but with skills building through technical cum vocational education.
“Students must be thought and equipped with entrepreneurial skills, problem-solving abilities, principles of personal effectiveness, leadership development, business and crisis management, as well as current trends in business and ethics,” Okowa noted.
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa reiterated, “these should be complemented with regular skills building and training programmes to upgrade and update their knowledge base.
“The development of technical education is at the very core of our SMART agenda because we believe that until we get our youths to acquire the requisite technical and vocational skills, we are not building a future for them,” the Governor noted.
“No meaningful national development can be achieved without sound, qualitative technical education and in Delta State, three of our technical colleges are currently being rehabilitated and refocused to equip students with the knowledge and entrepreneurial skills for business, trade and commerce.” The governor observed.
He challenged the Governing Council and management of the Polytechnic to pay attention to improved curriculum and quality of teaching so as to equip their products with the requisite mind-set and knowledge to excel in today’s rapidly changing world.
Rt. Hon. Funkekeme Solomon is the Chairman of the Governing Council while Hon. Joe Adigwe, Hon. Gabriel Alebe and Chief Mrs. Oti Agoba are members of the Council.
Responding on behalf of members of the Council, Hon. Solomon thanked Governor Okowa for deeming them fit to serve the government and people of Delta State as Chairman and members of the Polytechnic Governing Council.