The House of Representatives has promised to address funding challenges of federal polytechnics in the 2025 budget.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, Hon. Fuad Kayode Laguda, particularly vowed to ensure the Federal Polytechnic, Kaduna, gets financial attention in the budget.
Laguda, who spoke when he led members of the committee on an oversight function to the institution, explained that the visit was aimed at finding out the problems being faced by the school with a view to improving technical education in the country. He stated that the main challenge the committee realized from its visit was that of funding.
He said the oversight was aimed at learning about the issues so that arrangements can be made to accommodate them in the next budget cycle. He commended the Rector of the institution for the efforts despite the challenges.
The Rector, Dr. Suleiman Umaru, took the committee members on a tour of some of the projects they have carried out. Dr. Umar urged the committee to help address some of its challenges, which include obsolete equipment, dilapidated buildings, and poor funding.
He also said over 500 staff have exited since 2021 and they could not get replacements due to an embargo by the government. This, he said, has led to a shortage of staff for the institution.
He stated, “Since 2021, over 500 staff have exited the services of Kaduna Polytechnic, and we are not allowed to make any recruitment. We are making efforts to get the government to allow us to make replacements but are not able to succeed. So we hope the committee should help because many departments are understaffed, and it would be difficult to scale NBTE accreditation if it continues this way. There’s a need to replace those who have exited the institution.”
“Kaduna Polytechnic is the institution with the most national spread. So the greater the number, we need more facilities and expansion of facilities, and we appeal to the committee to consider us in the budget for more projects because the school serves the whole of Nigeria, not just the north.”
