Efforts are in top gear for the elevation of the Federal Cooperative College Oji River Enugu State to a Polytechnic.
There are robust discussions and deliberations in the National Assembly to ensure the renaming of the institution to Federal Cooperative Polytechnic.
The dream when achieved will go a long way to further endear the school to Nigerians especially those who seek to acquire technical and vocational education for self-empowerment purposes.
Provost of the institution Dr. Owan Obodagu Tonica who disclosed this recently said that the Federal Cooperative College Oji River which started as an in-service training institute for the Department of Cooperatives in 1976 where they only professional certificates were obtained, transited from a mere service institute to a Federal Cooperative College and also gearing up for another transition into a Federal Cooperative Polytechnic.
According to the Provost, ” There is a move now to change the name of the school from Federal Cooperative College Oji River to Federal Cooperative Polytechnic Oji River”,
“Students of the institution enjoyed watertight security, constant and consistent electricity supplies coupled with sports and recreational facilities for students aside from entrepreneurial skills development centres in the college.
He said the institution is replete with infrastructures and facilities for practical learning in tandem with its mandate of nurturing individuals who will become prudent managers of the nation’s economy through employment creation.
The Provost noted that currently in the area of academics, the Federal Cooperative College Oji River has four major departments namely Cooperative Economics and Management, Banking and Finance, Business Administration as well as Computer Science; with all fully accredited by the National Board for Technical Education both at OND and HND levels respectively.
The Provost also explained that within the year, the college will play host to a delegation of the National Board for Technical Education who will visit the school to accredit more departments.
He enumerated the departments to be accredited by the NBTE around October this year to include, Accountancy, Public Administration and Marketing Departments.
According to him, students of the Federal Cooperative College Oji River have been going to National Youth Service Corps since the Ordinary National Diploma and Higher National Diploma programmes began in 1996.
The college he said has been transformed from a mere service centre to an enviable citadel of learning where Nigerians now acquire skills where they have a comparative advantage.
” I can’t explain how these things happened. Most of the structures you see now started in 2017 when I came into office as Provost. Contracts are being attracted to the school. Projects are also being attracted to the college. So it is something that nobody can explain how it happened”, he stated.
“Last year, we built a new hostel for the male students and a new hostel for the female students. We also built a structure for the Students’ Union Government and then we built the admin block we call White House. All were done last year”,
“Now we are talking about street lights within and outside the campus. All the internal roads within the college are being constructed. We have a football pitch, we have a volleyball court and other facilities just to make our students happy”, he explained.
/RAYMOND OZOJI
(College Media Director)
