Taraba State Polytechnic: the journey to excellence under Abarshi
Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The Taraba State Polytechnic Suntai, like most other academic institutions, have suffered serious infrastructural deficit over the years with staff, including the rector of the polytechnic, inhabiting offices that mostly did not have convenience while the school often looked like an abandoned community Secondary School.
In the last few years however, the interventions from the Tertiary Education Trust Funds (tetfund) under the rectorship of Dr. Ayuba Abarshi and with requisite show of political will by the state Governor Darius Ishaku, the school has witnessed drastic infrastructural transformation, building a more befiting and conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning.
Until recently, the main office block of the polytechnic was an eyesore, providing office spaces without even conveniences. However with assistance from the tetfund, the administration has provided decent and befiting office spaces for lecturers and other staff of the polytechnic.
The Director of works of the school Mr Samuel told our correspondent that “the situation was actually very bad. In most cases, we had to rush home in the middle of the day to go and use the convenience at home or the public convenience. Because the offices were also very small, we had to stockpile documents and other things so much such that the offices were simply chocking. It was hell working under these conditions back then.
“With the provision of these new offices now, there are times I simply work till very late in the night without even realizing how late it is. The offices now are habitable, spacious, decent and very comfortable. It has also greatly increased our productivity to a very large extent”.
This succour came by way of the construction of the new administrative block housing decent offices for the administrative staff of the school. The gigantic storey building has, besides providing decent offices for staff, became a major aesthetic sensation in the school.
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“When I used to visit my elder brother here in the school and see the way the school was, I told myself that I will never come to study here. It was as if it is an abandoned community Secondary school. But just in the last few years, a lot has changed. I feel very proud to have my friends come to visit me in school because there is so much to show off. We now have mega structures that are typical of a tertiary institution not like what was tenable in the past” Joseph Ayua said.
Mr Terfa kunde, a student of the state polytechnic who graduated a few years ago told our correspondent that the lecture rooms at the state poly were more of cages than lecture rooms.
“One of the major problems we had in the school was lecture rooms. They were just so small and disorganized and so poorly ventilated that each lecture was nearly a nightmare. The last time I went to the school, I saw that they have a lot of new lecture halls and have even renovated most of the old ones. I think that will have great impact on teaching and learning now”.
The school has been able to upgrade most of the lecture rooms with new furniture and some of the latest classroom fittings while ensuring that each lecture room stays well ventilated.
The skill acquisition centre of the school has also been sufficiently boosted to include shoe and leather work centre, catering centre, block moulding industry, printing press, furniture section, tailoring, and others where students are exposed to practical skills for self reliance.
The school has also established vetinary clinic on the Jalingo campus that serve as a training institute as well as cater for the vetinary needs of the surrounding community.
To boost learning experience for students of Mass Communication and information technology, the school has set up a TV and FM station that also helps to serve the information need of the immediate community.
The school has established a staff Primary and secondary school at the Suntai campus provides quality primary and secondary school for staff and the immediate community. This has also helped to provide employment for a lot of young persons in the area both as teaching and administrative staff.
The purchase and installation of state of the art Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment including computers, routers, projectors, smart printing machines and others have not only helped to boost students practical knowledge in the field but has also provided an enabling environment for both teachers and students to engage in extensive research.
“The ICT centre is simply one of the best you can find around. It is well equipped with some of the very latest technology and relevant gadgets. The installation of a standby generator as alternative power source has rendered it very functional at all time” Samuel said.
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The design and fabrication of jaw crusher and vibrating screen for small size stone crushing and sizing as well a recycling plant for the production of plastic pellets from used polythene at the Jalingo campus has justified the status of the school as a technology hub and given students a hands on knowledge.
Similarly, the design and fabrication of pilot scale Biogas plant to explore potentials of Biogas as an alternative source of energy promises a revolutionary feat once fully explored.
The newly completed science and environmental buildings, the technical workshop, the farm house, and other structures have not only ensured sufficient space for learning and administrative work but have also largely increased the general outlook of the school.
Over thirty staff of the school have either completed or are studying for various Degrees both home and abroad. This is in collaboration with the tetfund and the state government.
Even more have been sponsored for several seminars and workshops have been organized by the school to train and retrain the lecturers on new trends in the teaching profession and other areas. This is aimed at ensuring that the staff remain in tune with emerging trends and contemporary developments in their respective fields.
SecurityOver the years, the school perimeter has remained completely porous allowing encroachment from the surrounding villages and unhindered trespassing on the property. Students have been reportedly attacked right on campus and some female students raped.
To address the challenge, the school has just completed the construction of 2,350 meters perimeter fence around the school. This is coming with the main entrance gatehouse and three other mini gates, each with a one room self-contained gatehouse for ease of access by the school community. Since the completion of the perimeter fence with the gates manned by security personnel, there has been no reported cases of attacks on students on the campus.
Provision of solar powered lights all over the two campuses ensures that the grounds are always lighted even when there is power failure. For most students, this means they can always read at nights even when there is power outage and the school generator is turned off.
Currently, the school is undergoing the construction of a three hundred bed space female hostels in the school with sponsorship from tetfund. This is in addition to the construction of a two hundred space female hostels recently to ease accommodation especially for female students.
According to Miss Juliet Ibrahim who is a student of the polytechnic, the hostel is a major plus as accommodation has remained a major challenge especially from students coming outside the state.
“It is always very difficult to get accommodation around here and even when you do, it is still very expensive. So if the school is able to provide accommodation on campus for most of the students, the pressure on accommodation outside will be eased to some extent. In any case, it is more convenient to stay in school and enjoy other benefits such as light and power and the relative security the campus offers”.
For ease of movement, the school has procured a fifteen seater bus and other utility vehicles and has ensured a refurbishing and steady maintenance of all school vehicles to keep them in top form at all times.
According to the rector of the school Dr. Ayuba Abarshi “the management and governing board of the school actually sat and decided that there was need to upgrade the school in all ramifications. Consequently we set out to do all we could given the scarce resources. Fortunately, the tetfund has been of tremendous help. They have funded most of the projects on both campuses and that has drastically changed the outlook of the school.
“Another key ingredient to our success is the political will of His Excellency Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku and his enormous interest in education.
“When I was made the rector, he specifically told me that he wanted the school to become of international standard and I should not hesitate to draw his attention to anything that can be done to upgrade the school. So in the last few years, he has been very supportive personally to ensure that things were working right.
“Despite the rather very scarce resources of the state and the overwhelming pressure from other equally important areas in dire need of development, the governor has been consistent in ensuring that our demands are met.
“However, this is a work in progress and there is still so much to be done. We have some ongoing projects and others that we are still hoping to secure funding to execute. In the end, our ultimate aim is to make sure that we position the school to provide the best learning environment and experience for our students and make teaching and working a pleasant experience for our staff. We just want to be among the leading polytechnics in the country and beyond”.
Perhaps, one of the most important achievement of the school in recent times is the enhanced collaboration among staff and discipline among students.
According to Janet Joseph, ” you can not do any how here now. As a lady, you dare not dress anyhow to school or misbehave. I think because the Rector is a Pastor, students naturally know that any misbehaviour can be very detrimental to them. Students conduct themselves with all sense of responsibility and decency now. It is really good how very serious most of the students have become with their studies too knowing that you can not cut corners now to pass exams or get things done”.
This level of discipline ensures that students are truly graduated have been found worthy in Character and learning.
Indeed, Taraba state polytechnic have experienced remarkable transformation in recent years, due to sound leadership from the management team led by Dr. Ayuba Abarshi with finding from tetfund and the state governor Darius Ishaku. As Dr Abarshi posits, it is a work in progress and the people of Taraba state and beyond would look forward in anticipation for the transformation of the school into a truly International citadel of academic excellence.
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