Your Statement On Our School Untrue, Baseless,RUGIPO Replies PDP

Press Statement

The attention of the Management and Governing Council of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo has been drawn to a malicious report credited to the Spokesperson of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo where some untrue and baseless stories were said about the polytechnic in a bid to spite and blackmail the government of Ondo State.

This propaganda by the Ondo State PDP do not ordinarily deserve a refusal, but it is imperative not only to correct these wrong impression but to also protect the image of the institution and that of the government from the negative effects of such biased and inaccurate report.

This was contained in a statement issued by the institution Director of Public Relations and Protocol, Mr. Samuel Ojo and made available to journalists on Wednesday in Akure.

It was on record that during the tenure of the immediate past PDP government in Ondo State the polytechnic workers were being owed 9-month salaries before the Government of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu came to the rescue of the polytechnic in 2018 by granting it intervention fund to pay salaries. The fortune of the polytechnic started dwindling when the past government drastically reduced the subvention due to the institution and thereby plunged the polytechnic into huge financial crisis since 2014.

It must be told that contrary to the insinuation of the writer of the report, no school fee has been increased and student enrolment has not dropped but has increased tremendously. It is on record that the Management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo has reviewed school fees downward twice in the last three years. Apart from reducing the school fees to be paid be students, the age-long practice of differential payment of school fees by indigene and non-indigene students was abolished. This gesture was applauded by the leadership of National Association of Polytechnic Students during a working visit to institution in 2020.

Based on the report of the recently concluded accreditation exercise conducted by the NBTE, the institution’s operation was said to be in conformity with NBTE standard. The accreditation exercised was a huge success as all programmes presented for accreditation and re-accreditation sailed through. NBTE even gave a nod to nine (9) new programmes.

Recently, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) ranked the institution among the first ten (10) best polytechnic in Nigeria. The indices used to arrive at the raking include percentage of programmes with full accreditation, proportion of students to lecturers, capacity building of staff, teaching quality and others. Based on this fact, the institution is fast becoming the best choice among polytechnics in Nigeria based on number of applications received in the recent admission exercise.

In term of infrastructural development, the institution is doing far better under the administration of Governor Akeredolu than under the previous government. The polytechnic is now better positioned for training and development as the institution has become more conducive for learning.

The negative report about the institution is a calculated attempt to score cheap political points. Obviously, the report was motivated by malice, politics and depression.

The general public is hereby advised not to take promoter of this piece of misinformation serious.