Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

The Rector, The Polytechnic Iresi, Osun State, Dr Azeez Adewoyin has appealed to the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, to find a way of giving concession to community-based institutions on the cost of accreditating courses.

Dr Adewoyin also urged the state government to give community-based institutions the required attention, noting that the institutions were complementing the government efforts.

The Rector called for community-based institutions to benefit from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, adding that parents of students in community-based institutions were also taxpayers.

Dr Adewoyin appealed on Tuesday at a press conference of the institution’s 1st combined convocation slated for Thursday, February 20, 2025.

Addressing the media, the Rector said unlike before, the cost of accreditating and re-accrediting courses was now on the high side, noting that the development was causing an impediment to the institution.

Dr Adewoyin said a total of 1,914 graduands will be convocating on Thursday, urging the students to shun bad vices and be good ambassadors of the institution.

He said, “In the past, what we used to do is to write the National Board for Technical Education that you want to mount certain courses or certain courses you mount is due, and they should come to re-accredit them. They would tell you the time they are coming and what you will do is only to provide for their accommodation and feeding of the personnel.

“But now, they are going to bill you. You will have to pay a certain statutory amount, apart from the accommodation and feeding. Now, to accredit courses now runs into about eight or nine digits figure. All these are impediments to an institution of this nature because it is not set up primarily for profit making.

“Also, community Polytechnics should benefit from Tetfund even if it is a certain percentage because the parents of these students equally pay tax, and it is out of this corporate tax that they collect together and use to fund institutions.

“A total number of 1,914 students will graduate, 1884 with National Diploma (ND), and 30 with Higher National Diploma (HND). The HND is our first set and they are from Accountancy and Computer Science. On this note, I want to congratulate our graduates for this worthy achievement”.