Dr Busayo Ajayi, founder and Proprietor of Ajayi Polytechnic, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State spoke on the state of education in Nigeria and how polytechnics contribute to the growth and development of the country. SAM NWAOKO brings excerpts of the interview.
What do you think about the conversation programme recently introduced by the government for polytechnic graduates…? Won’t that be a discouragement for technical and vocational education?
Polytechnic mandate is to produce men and women who are equipped with enough technical skills to be able to contribute meaningfully to the national growth and development. This mandate cannot be achieved if the products of polytechnics are not acquiring the necessary skills. Before polytechnics can attract intelligent students, we should ensure that individuals are encouraged to opt for polytechnic education rather than universities. We can only achieve this if we remove all disparities between polytechnic graduates and University graduates.
At this stage in our country, we should be looking at extent at which policies contribute towards solving our economic problems rather than coming up with ideas that tend to make no meaningful implications to finding solutions to problem we are facing as a nation. What benefit will the nation gain if polytechnics graduates are not at par with university counterparts? If this will not provide solutions to our national problems in any way, why not encourage the polytechnic graduates who are equipped with enough technical skills to be able to contribute meaningfully to the national growth and development process for them to feel valued?
My opinion is that we should scrap the polytechnics and allow existing ones to be converted to universities of technology so that we can end this disparity debate. Polytechnics that cannot meet up with requirements to award degrees can focus on providing technical and vocational education.
In what ways do you think the government and policy makers can further encourage expansion of technical and vocational education which is the bedrock of entrepreneurship?
To expand technical and vocational education; we should revisit our skills qualifications framework (NSQF). We have copied what is obtainable in foreign countries, but we do not consider the implications on the potential beneficiaries. The NSQF program in Nigeria has been designed in a way that it is not affordable to average Nigerian. I doubt if this good program can work if we refuse to change mode of implementation. We really need the Nigeria Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). This is a system that has to do with development, classification, and recognition of skills , knowledge, understanding and competency acquired by individuals, in respective of how the skills was acquired. This enables individuals to have practical knowledge and still gain necessary qualifications. I run an organisation in the United Kingdom that run such skill acquisition program. It is a very good way of expanding technical and vocational education. I wish Nigerian government can implement this NSQF program properly. If well implemented and affordable, it will help in improving economy through well-trained workforce, help to reduce unemployment, and it will help the products we are producing in the country to be competitive in global market.
I am not sure of what is happening to NPower build/ skills program. One of the problems we have in Nigeria is that we do not sustain good programmes. It is unfortunate that people that do not have capacity to develop these programmes are charged with the responsibility of running the programme. During Buhari government, Ajayi Polytechnic was given the opportunity to partner with NPower to train some beneficiaries, and we won the award as the best training provider in the whole of South West because we ensure that such programmes have impact. But we don’t know what is happening with such good programmes anymore.
It is very important that we allow individuals and organisations that have capabilities and capacity to run all these skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development programmes the government is introducing. These programmes should be in the hands of people who have the passion and knowledge to manage them if the government and policy makers are keen on getting results.
Your journey so far in the world of academics and running a polytechnic must have taught you some lessons. What are some of ?
I started entrepreneurship journey as a teenager. After my first degree, I almost lost focus due to wrong orientation and bandwagon syndrome. Before gaining admission to the university, my dream was to become a successful entrepreneur, create jobs and contribute meaningfully to the society through social entrepreneurial initiatives. Unfortunately, we saw higher institutions as just a platform to acquire certificates and not as a platform to gain the required knowledge, skills and behaviours that can shape us in showcasing our potentials. We tended to believe that the purpose of acquiring university degree was to obtain certificate that would give us job. This bad orientation indicates that something was missing somewhere. After my first degree, like many other graduates, I lost focus; dropped my dream of becoming job creator to become job seeker. I was able to secure employment, but despite being lucky to secure a job, I wasn’t comfortable and I wasn’t satisfied. I always had the feeling that something was missing. I believed that there was something wrong. I then decided to travel to the United Kingdom for further studies. The education I acquired in England assisted me to rediscover myself. I got the required skills, knowledge and behaviour that assisted me in becoming the person I dreamt to become.
My experience in life and passion towards ensuring that more people do not become victims of the societal orientation; my desire to gain more knowledge on how to help individuals to achieve their dream of becoming job creators, fulfilling destiny and acquiring skills that can make them become successful entrepreneurs, made me to pursue a PhD in Entrepreneurship from the University of Essex, United Kingdom.
Today, one of my dreams that became a reality is Ajayi Polytechnic, a private polytechnic established to raise giants through inclusive entrepreneurship and innovative technological education. If I must be frank, entrepreneurship and innovation education is now inevitable judging by the number that are graduating from institutions of higher learning in the last few years, with at least 60 to 70 percent of them unemployed, either because they are unemployable, or due to other deficiencies. We believe that our entry into the educational sector at this point would assist in plugging the dysfunctional tertiary education in Nigeria, which had, over the years, resulted in graduates that are not adequately prepared to face the challenges of building their entrepreneurial capabilities.
At Ajayi Polytechnic, we are determined to train and produce technical and skilled manpower that will become industrial giants and providers of solutions to the myriads of economic problems of nations.
The polytechnic was approved and licensed to operate by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) in May 2017 and it has all necessary approvals and fulfils procedures of Ekiti State government’s Education Ministry, the National Board for Technical Education (NABTEB) in technical and vocational training, as well as certification in September 2018.
Is it that you designed deliberate programmes to sustain the polytechnic?
The institution put in place policies and programmes that have greatly helped in achieving the vision of the polytechnic. Some of these include compulsory skill acquisition programmes in the curriculum of the polytechnic, which has made it compulsory that before any student can graduate and be certified to have graduated from the polytechnic, such a student must have acquired at least one skill and be able to demonstrate such skill in a practical manner that the skill in question required. Some of the available skills are laptop repairs, phone repairs, fashion design, cosmetology, solar energy installation, data analysis, computer programming (using several languages), and web-designing, to mention but a few.
It is also a standing policy at the polytechnic that no faculty member will be employed without first having at the minimum, a Masters Degree or already on it. The council of the polytechnic believes so strongly that policies such as these would ordinarily help improve the quality of education in the institution, and many of the faculty members employed are already researchers in the making.
It is also the policy of the polytechnic that entrepreneurship training and seminars are infused into the curriculum such that students are often given projects on starting a mini business and going through the entrepreneurial processes of sustaining the business. What I call ‘soft skills’, are also infused into the curriculum of the polytechnic, so as to mould well rounded students that can compete with their colleagues in the labour market, anywhere. Personal development of our students is very important to us and we monitor the students’ personal development.
Despite the challenges that are involved in managing higher institutions at this trying period of Nigeria’s economy, what has been the mainstay of Ajayi Polytechnic?
Early this year, we won an integrity award from a very reputable source. We did not even know that we were being noticed. This further attests to the fact that we are genuinely maintaining our corporate integrity, vision and mission. From the onset, we resolved to do things in a different way. We are creating our own brand. We are innovative, and we have continued to encourage our students to also think alike, creatively and innovatively, so that they and the institution can stay ahead of the industry. We resolved not to compromise our integrity as an institution. We conduct our business with utmost transparency, with zero tolerance to student molestation, extortion, harassment and other vices that currently pervade many institutions in Nigeria.
We are student-centred. In our institution, all we do, we do for our students. We are student-centered in terms of course delivery, policy-making and infrastructural development. Little wonder that I declared 50% scholarship for students, during this period to help them have access to quality education. Excellence is important to us. As an institution and more importantly as a brand, we strive hard to continuously improve the quality of delivery for our students, so that they can compete with their counterparts anywhere.
In terms of technology and infrastructure, what makes your institution so outstanding and a place to be for students seeking world class education?
The Polytechnic is outstanding because we can boast that we have modern, World-class, and state-of-the-art Laboratories for Engineering, Sciences and Technology programmes. We get commendations, from accreditation teams, anytime they come over to check our resources.
We boast of reliable, high-speed internet connectivity, across the campus. We also operate one of the most reliable CBT hubs in the country. Besides, we have an extensive online library, with access to Open Access Resources- Journals and Textbooks. Our physical library is well-stocked with latest academic resources. We have specialised Laboratory for programming, software engineering and data science. Our Engineering Workshops are well-equipped for hands-on training.
How would you advise stakeholders in the education sector on how to improve on the quality of education generally in Nigeria?
Improving the quality of education, especially polytechnic education in Nigeria, requires a collaborative effort from stakeholders. The government needs to increase the funding of education, particularly polytechnics, by allowing private polytechnics to access TETFUND. If you look at it, the number of private polytechnics in Nigeria keeps increasing on daily basis, and students going to these schools are Nigerians who will, in turn, come back to contribute their quota to the economy of Nigeria, after graduation.
The government needs to partner with private polytechnics so that students that choose to attend private polytechnics will not be at a disadvantage. We should correct the narrative that only students from rich families enroll in private institutions. This is not true.
It will interest you to note that almost all public institutions’ school fees are even more than that of Ajayi Polytechnic. The fee we charge students is not up to the amount public polytechnics collect from their students.
The polytechnic owners and management also need to prioritise academic excellence in their entire citadels of learning by investing in their faculty, the institution itself, and the delivery of curriculum, so that polytechnic products can compete favourably with their counterparts from other levels of education.
We need to ensure that we are developing our students’ knowledge, skills and behaviour. We should stop making students think that higher institutions are certificates factory. One of the reasons why we are facing economic challenges in the country is because majority of the stakeholders in the education sector are not doing the right thing. The Industry should also be invited to collaborate on curriculum development so as to have a robust curriculum that can cater for the needs of the industry, thereby producing graduates that are employable.
All institutions need to genuinely imbibe entrepreneurship training, students’ personal development, including soft and hard skills’ acquisition. They should also provide internship assistance to polytechnic students, especially during SIWES or Industrial Attachment, so that they can gain more practical experience.
What opportunities exist for students of Ajayi Polytechnic, Ikere-Ekiti to compete favourably, or enjoy benefits on the international stage?
We ensure that all our students acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviour, that will make them to be employable in any part of the world. Some of our students are working for companies out of the country. All students at Ajayi Polytechnic Ikere Ekiti have the opportunity to graduate, alongside their ND or HND certificate, at least, one professional certification, in Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle and computerized accounting. All students in Ajayi Polytechnic must acquire at least one trade before they graduate under the institution’s skill acquisition programme. They are also exposed to international collaboration, through the Entrepreneurship Programme of the institution. We work in partnership with various international institutions. We have been using these partnerships and collaborations, in providing platforms for our students to network, form strong ties, and learning from other countries, towards building the capacity to compete globally. To ensure that less privileged students are not at disadvantage, we do organise scholarship opportunities for students, coming into the polytechnic, of up to 50 percent of their tuition.
What advice do you have for prospective applicants who are desirous of making this institution, their polytechnic of choice?
In Ajayi Polytechnic Ikere, we are committed to raising the giant in you, through inclusive entrepreneurship and skill acquisition programmes that will make you a sure employer of Labour, after your graduation from the Institution. The Polytechnic also has conducive environment for learning and cutting-edge equipment that makes it practical, fun and easily understandable.
If you have entrepreneurial mind-set, thinking of becoming employer of labour, or determined to ensure that you are not unemployed, after completing higher institution, at Ajayi Polytechnic, we can guarantee you that 100% success rate. We carried out survey on our graduates’ destination, and we are proud to let the whole world know that no Ajayi Polytechnic graduate is unemployed after graduation. We are determined to sustain this achievement. You will gain all the required knowledge, skills and behaviour that will either make you set up sustainable business, and become employer of labour, or put you in the position to be employable in any part of the world. The scholarship programme available in the polytechnic also offers interested candidates, the opportunity to have access to quality and affordable education.
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