FCE Okene has 50 PhD holders – Provost
Wso far? hat would you say is the high point of your tenure in office
Let me say peace, peace and peace. I am sure if you know the history of this college, you’ll appreciate why I say peace, peace and peace.
FCE Okene was one of those colleges that were known for crises in the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) because of the numerous problems from the students, the staff and so on. But since my arrival, we have enjoyed peace and a stable academic calendar. There was never any time students went on rampage or even lecturers went on strike. It does not mean there are no challenges but has been attained because we are operating an open-door policy.
How did you secure the structural projects in the college from TETfund ?
When I assumed office in 2009, I discovered that in terms of infrastructural development, the college was really nothing to write about. I used the first two weeks to visit my friends in Abuja; some of them were in the National Assembly. I met them and explained the situation to them and they agreed to give me the support I needed, which they did. So when people see that you are using the money wisely in what you are doing, they will want to encourage you. When some of them in the National Assembly came and saw what we were doing, they said; “We are going to encourage you to do more.” So they did and I also used other connections to get the projects done.
What is the situation of staff welfare here?
When I attended the interview for this job, one of the things they asked me was my vision for the college and I said my vision is to take this institution to the next level. This college should be called a degree-awarding institution in years to come.
When I came in, I also discovered that the college was lacking highly qualified manpower. Of course there were PhD and master’s degree holders but they were not many in this college and I felt that for this college to be called a degree-awarding institution, there was the need to develop the manpower.
So, I invited the members of staff and told them: “You just have to go and get your masters and PhD, even if you are a non-teaching staff.”
I am happy to inform you that between 2009 and now, we have been able to produce nothing less than 50 PhD holders, which is unprecedented, and of course we have higher number of master’s degree holders even among the non-teaching staff. Some of them who were working with ND have gone for their HND, those with HND have gone for first degree and those with first degree have gone for masters and those with masters have gone for PhD. Last year we organised two major accreditations; one for the NCE programme; organised by the NCCE, and the second for the degree programme by NUC. For each of these we scored 100 per cent.
What were the measures you put in place that made everybody embrace peace in the college?
I operate an open-door policy. I’m not a chief executive who will hide information. In fact most of the circulars from Abuja benefit the members of our staff even if the money is not available.
I’ll invite the union and say; “look we’ve received this circular, the government said we should pay you this money but please the money is not on ground and they will say: “this is unusual, you are not like those chief executives who will get this letter and hide it and say they’ve not received anything.”
Staff and students have free access to my office anytime. There is no restriction at all, and of course from time to time I hold meetings with the union executives; tell them about our policies and also seek their advice.
We also have a committee system whereby majority of the staff are members of one committee or the other, and I always tell the bursar that anybody who comes to you to find out how much government is giving us, how we are spending government money, open it for them to see; don’t hide anything. And of course they know when we have money and when we don’t.
One project that caught our attention is the e-learning centre. Can you share your vision for that centre?
That building will be our e-learning centre in this college. In fact the building has been completed and what we need to do is just to buy the equipment. You cannot have a 24th century tertiary institution without e-learning.
How did you achieve the harmonious co-existence between the college and the host community?
We have assisted the community in several ways but they have also assisted us. We have so many students living among them, they help us to track students who are likely to be involved in cult activities and inform us about suspicious gatherings.
What is the place of a teacher in our country presently?
The teacher occupies the central position in the educational system of any country. The truth of the matter is that the welfare of the teacher is not being adequately catered for; teachers are owed salaries for many months.
Most of our youths don’t want this occupation; they don’t see it as anything, so maybe we should encourage students by providing scholarship to those who want to come into the teaching profession.