The Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti on Saturday at its 17th Convocation Ceremony graduated a total of 16, 786 students for the 2013/2014, 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 academic sessions.
The Convocation was the first after many year of the institution’s inability to have it conducted.
Four eminent Nigerians were honoured with distinguished honourary awards for their immense contributions to the growth of technical education in Nigeria.
These included the current Governor of Kano State and former Chairman Governing Council of the Institution, Dr. Abdullahi Umaru Ganduje (OFR); Mr. Femi Ogunleye, an Alumnus of Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti and Chairman / CEO of Hydrodam Nig. Ltd.; His Excellency, Dr. Sam Ominyi Egwu (CON), former Governor of Ebonyi State and Distinguished Senator representing Ebonyi North and Chief (Dr.) Sir Bestman P. O. Anekwe, KSM, FFPA, Chairman and CEO of NIPCO Plc.
Performances of the graduating students for the 17th combined convocation ceremony for the 2013/2014, 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 academic sessions were explicitly presented by the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti, Dr. Dayo Hephzibah Oladebeye while addressing the Convocation at the Sports Complex of the Institution on Saturday.
For the Higher National Diploma (HND), a total of 281 students were awarded distinction for the five academic sessions; 2,229 students awarded with upper credit while 3,765 awarded with lower credit and 717 with pass grades.
For the Ordinary National Diploma (OND), a total of 361 were awarded with distinction; 2,378 with upper credit; 4,790 with lower credit and 2,265 with pass grades.
In all, for the 2013/2014 academic session, a total of 3,786 students were graduated; 2014/2015 had 3,121 graduands; 2015/2016 had 2,746 students; 2016/2017 had 3,796 graduands and for 2017/2018 session, there are 3,337 graduands who graduated.
For the categories of overall best students for each of the academic sessions of the institution, Oloyede, Elijah Oluwasegun Abe emerged with a CGPA of 3.79 for the 2013/2014 academic session;( Omotoso F.I. from the department of Science Laboratory Technology (SLT) and Ezekwem O.F. from the Department of GCT both emerged as the best graduating students for the 2014/2015 academic year with CGPA of 3.79; Falope Bisola from the Department of Science Laboratory Technology (SLT) emerged as the best graduating student for the 2015/2016 academic year with a CGPA of 3.86; Yusuf K.A. from the department of Accountancy emerged as the best student for the 2016/2017 academic year with a CGPA of 3.84 and Ovienmhanda F.O. from the department of GCT emerged as the best student for the 2017/2018 academic year with a CGPA of 3.87.
At the Convocation Lecture earlier held in the week, the guest lecturer, Engineer Professor Sam Adejuyigbe who delivered a paper on ‘Exploring the Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Mechatronics World: The Place of Polytechnics in Entrepreneurial Educational Development in Nigeria’ advocated and called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency introduce new courses like Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Mechatronics in the Country’s Higher Educational Institutions.
He pressed further to advise the Federal Government to increase its investment in Entrepreneurship training and empowerment by making use of specialists in the field.
Adejuyigbe also went on to counsel President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to take a cue from the developed countries of the world like the United States of America, Brazil, Russia, India and China who have become experts in the art of creating robotics, artificial intelligence, mechatronics and entrepreneurship to act aptly and recommend to policy makers that the above listed courses thrive more where Universities are given required backing to host and develop Technology Incubation Centres in their domains.
He opined that an intervention funding support for entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, robotics education needs to be provided by the Education Trust Fund (ETF), Petroleum Development Trust Fund (PTDF) and Federal Ministry of Education (FME) which will cover capacity building training within and outside the country and provide an unrivalled infrastructural development for all the four levels of institutions in the Country namely Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Technical Colleges”.
In the saw vein, the Alumni Lecture for the 17th Combined Convocation of the Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti which was delivered by Mr. Busayo Mike Ogundari, the Head Data, Southwest 2 for Globacom Nigeria Limited centred on ‘Exploring Business Survival Strategies for Entrepreneurs in Nigeria’.
During the lecture, Ogundari hammered on the need for Nigeria’s young graduates to pursue goals that will help them to be self sustained and become employers of labour rather than employees for others. He urged young graduates to take advantage and opportunities that abound for them and make use of them to eliminate poverty and unemployment in the society. Packaged by Emmanuel Adeniran
