Federal Cooperative College, Oji River to be named Polytechnic
By Ozo Ray Awka
The Federal Cooperative College Oji River, Enugu State, will in no distant time metamorphose into Federal Cooperative Polytechnic as robust discussions and deliberations are currently ongoing in the National Assembly to ensure the renaming of the institution as it will go a long way to further endear the school to Nigerians, especially those who seek to acquire technical and vocational education for self-empowerment purposes.
Provost of the institution Dr. Owan Obodagu Tonica who disclosed this said that the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River which started as an in-service training institute for the Department of Cooperatives in 1976 where they only obtained professional certificates, transited from a mere service institute to a Federal Cooperative College and also gearing up for another transition into a Federal Cooperative Polytechnic.
The Provost said, “There is a move now to change the name of the school from Federal Cooperative College Oji River to Federal Cooperative Polytechnic Oji River.
“Students of the institution enjoyed watertight security, constant and consistent electricity supplies coupled with sports and recreational facilities for students aside from entrepreneurial skills development centres in the college.”
According the him, the institution is replete with infrastructures and facilities for practical learning in tandem with its mandate of nurturing individuals who will become prudent managers of the nation’s economy through employment creation.
The Provost noted that currently in the area of academics, the Federal Cooperative College Oji River has four major departments namely Cooperative Economics and Management, Banking and Finance, Business Administration as well as Computer Science, with all fully accredited by the National Board for Technical Education both at ND and HND levels respectively.
Tonica also explained that within the year, the college will play host to a delegation of the National Board for Technical Education who will visit the school to accredit more departments. He said Accountancy, Public Administration and Marketing Departments would be accredited by the NBTE around October this year.
According to him, “Students of the Federal Cooperative College Oji River have been going to National Youth Service Corps since the National Diploma and Higher National Diploma programmes began in 1996, the college has been transformed from a mere service centre to an enviable citadel of learning where Nigerians now acquire skills where they have a comparative advantage.
He said, “I can’t explain how these things happened. Most of the structures you see now started in 2017 when I came into office as Provost. Contracts are being attracted to the school. Projects are also being attracted to the college. So it is something that nobody can explain how it happened.
“Last year, we built a new hostel for the male students and a new hostel for the female students. We also built a structure for the Students’ Union Government and then we built the admin block we call White House. All were done last year.
“Now we are talking about street lights within and outside the campus. All the internal roads within the college are being constructed. We have a football pitch, we have a volleyball court and other facilities just to make our students happy.”
