OWERRI – The Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Dr Celestina Njoku, has advised its students to acquire practical skills that would give them an edge over others in the labour market.
Njoku made the call at the 36th matriculation ceremony of the polytechnic on Friday where more than 3,000 students were sworn-in.
She said the institution had established an entrepreneurship centre where students could sharpen their skills or learn new ones in line with the Millennium Development Goals.
The rector listed the areas of training to include bead making, sewing, baking, music, art, fishery, speech writing, decoration and catering.
She added that three new courses had been added to the academic programmes of the school, bringing the total number of courses to 31.
“As of last year, the polytechnic had a total of 28 programmes in five schools, today, the institution has an additional three new programmes namely hospitality management, arts and design technology and chemical engineering, making a total of 31.
“The institution is fully equipped to compete favorably in the labour market with the quality of graduates we produce from our mills,” she said.
The rector called on philanthropists and donor agencies to assist the institution in achieving excellence as she awarded scholarships to six students who distinguished themselves in their fields of study.
The beneficiaries of the scholarship are Chidi Ifeanyi (Electrical Engineering), Nwosu Chinonso (Public Administration), Ihekweme Sampson (Office Management Technology) Esther Ogadimma (Electrical Engineering), Okafor Ogechukwu (Computer Engineering Technology) and Onyewuchi Anthonia (Quantity Survey).
She advised the new students to shun negative vices capable of stalling their career and called on the parents and guardians to keep watch over their children and wards to ensure that they did not derail.
“While congratulating you on the admission of your children and wards into this great citadel of learning, we urge you to be highly involved in their activities and upbringing.
“You should ensure that your children and wards do not derail due to negative influences and pursuits but to successfully achieve their goals of graduating within the apportioned time and going out into the world as products we can all be proud of,” she said. (NAN)
