Quality education remains a vital tool for the development of a child. A life devoid of qualitative education is hopeless and incomplete. The desire to provide the people of Kwara State the opportunity to have tertiary education and technical studies prompted the state government to establish an institution with core mandate of providing needs and aspirations of the people of the state through technical education. At the inception, the institution was named Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin.

The school, which had since been renamed Kwara State Polytechnic was established by the then Military Governor of the state, Colonel David Bamigboye (rtd) to offer technical education, training, research and development of techniques in arts and language, applied sciences, engineering, management and commerce and other spheres of learning for the people of the state and lovers of education anywhere in the world.

However, the decision to establish the Polytechnic by the former Military Governor was announced during the launching of the four Year Development plan of the state in 1971.

The institution, which commenced academic activities in 1973 with 110 students, 11 academic staff and three senior administrative staff, was one of the famous technical institutions in the country and one of the most sort after in the polytechnic education sub-sector.

The famous Kwara State Polytechnic then was a citadel of learning and majority of its products who are still alive are already excelling in their various disciplines. The present Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, was a product of the institution; the Chief Executive Officer of Royal FM, Gbenga Adebayo; COREN Registrar, Engineer Abdulmalik Kamila Wopa;  Kehinde Eleja (SAN), among others also passed through the tutelage of the institution when it was formally known as Kwara State College of Technology.

The institution sojourned through difficult time in early 2000 with cultist groups on the prowl, but with anti-cultism measures put in place by the former governor of kwara state, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the menace was reduced to barest minimum coupled with the desire of the present administration of Abdulfatah Ahmed to sustain the legacy.

With the motto, Technology, innovation and service, Kwara State Polytechnic has been repositioned since 2009 when Alhaji Masud Elelu took over the mantle of leadership of the institution, bringing his vast experience in both private and public sectors to change the institution for the better. The institution has improved in all spheres, particularly with the stable academic calendar, which makes the institution one of the most sort after in the North Central and his administration's zero tolerance for cultism.

Since his assumption in 2009, Masud Elelu-led administration had recorded modest achievements as the Rector of the institution. These achievements earned him the second term by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed who re-appointed him after the end of his first five years in the institution to ensure the continuity of the legacy he has built.

The rector, assisted by deputy rectors, registrar and other management staff with the support of staff and students of the institution, established a Sachet water factory, block making industry, car wash, bakery, purchased two brand new official vehicles for the institution, construction and installation of over-head tank at the polytechnic dam, renovation of offices, lecture rooms, security building, medical centres among others.

The Elelu’s led administration, through adequate utilization of TETFUND and National Board for Technical Education funds, constructed entrepreneurship centre, mass communication studio, chief lecturers' offices, leisure and tourism village, 250 capacity lecture halls, 500 capacity conference centre and well-furnished e-library. In the same vein, the administration also equipped laboratories, constructed research and information technology and architectural studio among other laudable projects.

Speaking with the newsmen recently at a press conference, Rector of the institution, Alhaji Masud Elelu, said the polytechnic was one of the institutions that started conducting Computer-based pre-admission screening in 2010 and since then, the institution through its Institute of Information and Communication Technology has been organizing the screening without the service of consultants.

Also, the institution built a well fortified data base that cannot be hacked by externals or any scammer and ensured that its admission was based on its carrying capacity as set by the National Board for Technical Education.

In line with admission process of the institution, 10 per cent was based on absolute merit, 60 per cent on upper credit and 30 per cent based on request. This however depicts the openness and transparency in the conduct of the admission process of the polytechnic.

Expressing his view on the achievements of the institution in the last five years, Registrar of the Polytechnic, Mr. Olanrewaju Salami, who joined the polytechnic in 1987 as an assistant lecturer and changed his career in 1992 to administrative cadre as a result of cancellation of ‘A’ level programme in the country and became Acting registrar in 2008 and substantive registrar in 2009, said the institution has witnessed tremendous achievements in the past five years, which made it to stand firm among other tertiary institutions in the country.

According to him, the school now has school anthem, ensures cordial relationship between management and staff, management and students, the relationship which turned students’ unionism to viable one where the needs of the students are well catered for.

He said the institution had passed through turbulent time when the unions always embarked on strike but since the past five years, it has made remarkable progress and experienced structural development, academic progress, stability, peace on the campus, accreditation of programmes and courses among others.

However, the institution has been waxing stronger and expanding its tentacle to the extent that it created platform for public-private partnership (PPP) for the development of the institutions, erection of structures and establishment of banks. Student’s union charges or dues are also collected by the union under the supervision of the management of the institution for the provision of social amenities and meet the demands and needs of the students.

Recently, the students union constructed a befitting modern mini-mart, which serves as a recreation centre for the students to converge and relax and share academic knowledge among their colleagues. The students also bought a branded 18-seater Toyota bus for the smooth running of the affairs of the union. This shows that the Student Union of Government has been repositioned to make impact on students and subsidize their needs.

Similarly, the institution has also been imparting positively on the students and teaching them leadership qualities to make them responsible citizens and contribute towards the development of the country. This, however, makes the students to be competing favourably on the execution of projects in the school as a way of giving back to what would later become their alma mater.

Expressing his view on the relationship that existed between the Students Union Governing Body and the Management of the Institution, SUG President, Comrade AbdulRahman Muhammed, said since the inception of Elelu's tenure, the institution has witnessed tremendous achievements and changed the impression people always attached to Students Union Government. According to him, the Kwara State Polytechnic is one of the leading institutions in the country that offer technical and business education.

The management therefore had decided through partnership with private sector to construct more hostels for the students to enable it accommodate all its students on the campus and put them under proper security watch.

The entrepreneurship programme of the institution is highly commendable as it was tailored towards exposing students to practical skills and enable them to be self-reliant after graduation instead of endless search for jobs in the employment market that had since dried up.

Already, students of the institution had started producing paints, bricks, liquid soap and other materials. In fact, according to the rector, when the school awards contracts, it ensures that 80 per cent of materials used for the projects were sourced and made from the institution.

The Kwara State polytechnic also exposed its staff to training and retraining as majority of its staff, particularly those in Mass Communication were deployed in different media outfits in the state to acclimatize and have the practical knowledge of journalism profession. This would enable and encourage staff to reach the peak of their careers and disciplines.

In with the present administration of Muhammadu Buhari to rid the country of corruptible tendencies, the institution has concluded plan to set up anti-corruption and transparency unit to curb social vices and check wrongdoings among the staff and students.  This unit, according to the rector, would comprise men of proven integrity and legal experts that would champion the institution’s anti-corruption crusade.

The secret to these laudable achievements in the past five years could not be far-fetched as most of tertiary institutions in Kwara State operate under peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationship. This paves way for them to be competing favourably to ensure academic standard and uninterrupted academic calendar. The institution is also in synergy with other institutions in the state.

However, the tenure of Masud Elelu as the rector had brought stability and new innovations into the polytechnic. There are onerous tasks ahead of him, particularly the task of sustaining the legacy he started. It is therefore pertinent to call on alumni of the institution and wealthy individuals as well as corporate organizations to partner the institution and support the Elelu’s developmental drive to reposition the polytechnic.
As part of its agenda to meet the vision and mission of the institution, the Kwara State Polytechnic will next year hold the first of its kind, Kwara State Polytechnic Day with the theme “Together we can make a moral and technological difference”. The event is meant to portray the polytechnic the way a tertiary institution should be in impacting knowledge on the people and use the occasion to showcase the technological and Scientifics advancement of the polytechnic. Speakers from far and near will display their talents by way of delivering papers.

Tunde Akanbi, a journalist, writes from Ilorin