Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Adds 17 New Programmes in Response to Changing Times, ,
Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
The management of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba (formerly Abiapoly) has added 17 new programmes, bringing the total approved programmes being offered at the state-owned institution to 47.
The Rector, Dr. Christopher Okoro, said that the 17 new programmes were introduced in response to the current global realities, and the needs of the local environment, adding that “we know the times and we will work ahead of others.”
He said the new programmes are artificial intelligence, Mechatronics Engineering, Agric and Bioresources Engineering, Multimedia and Journalism, Leather Technology, Fashion Design Technology, and Taxation, Cyber Security and Law, Cooperative Economics, among others.
The rector shared the developments at the polytechnic when the new executives of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abia State Council, led by Steve Oko of the Vanguard Newspapers, paid him a courtesy visit.
He said that all the programmes offered at the polytechnic have received accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), adding that things have turned around for the institution, which suffered loss of accreditation during the last administration.
“This polytechnic is the first to have leather technology as a department in the whole southern Nigeria. This institution is also the first polytechnic in Nigeria to have Artificial Intelligence as a department,” Okoro stated. “In the whole country, we are the first to have AI as a department.”
He said that the management thinks ahead hence Artificial Intelligence has been introduced “as a course in the polytechnic long before NUC planned to have Artificial Intelligence in universities.”
Okoro said that the accreditation of the new programmes and the old ones did not come on a platter of gold, given that the NBTE needed resource verification to grant approval for the 17 new programmes.
“For today, accreditation of programmes is no longer a problem because all the courses are duly accredited,” he said.
According to him, the accredited programmes include Mass Communication that had existed in the polytechnic for up to 15 years without NBTE knowing about its existence.
The rector, who came into office in June 2024, said that the polytechnic has witnessed holistic transformation and all the systemic hurdles hitherto erected to exploit students have been removed, while staff welfare has received adequate attention.
“A lot of persons have subscribed to this institution because a lot of good things are happening,” he said, adding that old things have passed away.
According to him, management has abolished issuance of statement of results as students now receive their certificates straight away on completion of their programmes, and students are no longer compelled to buy textbooks.
“In this polytechnic, sale of handouts is getting outlawed. And not just outlawed on paper, it is also outlawed in principle. We have harmonised laboratory notes for students, which is subject to review after every four months, in line with the global trends, of different areas,” he said.
Okoro stated that efforts have been made to build a lecture theatre and “to make sure we also improve on the learning environment for our students because we understand the importance of having students being groomed in a proper environment”.
He said that through his sustained support, Governor Alex Otti has given the management of the polytechnic “an enabling environment to ensure that we compete favorably and ahead of other polytechnics that are found in this part of the world.”
“To me, we are not building this Polytechnic to compete with anybody, we are competing with ourselves and competing with science, technology, and the time we have found ourselves in.
, Education – THISDAYLIVE, October 7, 2025, 11:57 pm
