The Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin has graduated 7,781 National Diploma and Higher National Diploma students during the 2021/2022 session, the rector of the Institution, Dr. Abdul-Jimoh Mohammed, has disclosed.

Speaking at the 28th convocation ceremony held on the institution’s campus, Mohammed said that the Institution is presently offering 56 programmes including HND Mass Communication which has been approved by the National Board for Technical Education.

He added that additional facilities have been acquired for HND Animal Production programme as requested by the Board.

He also stated that the polytechnic students would be more entrepreneurial to make them relevant in the industries.

Mohammed added that the school management had pulled off the prestigious partnership with the Prototype Engineering Development Institute, Ilesha; Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi; and Mantrac CAT, an engineering concern in Ikeja, Lagos.

The chairman of the Governing Council of the Polytechnic, Hon. Ahmed Yinusa, charged the graduating students to make themselves self-reliant through the training and skills they acquired in the school.

Yinusa stated, “I wish to candidly advise my dear graduands that you should be ready to put into constructive use that qualitative educational instructions and skills garnered in the Polytechnic, to the continued development of our dear country, especially during this period of our collective need to be beneficiaries of technical and technological advancement.

“Furthermore, I urge you to tap from the abundant entrepreneurial skills gained in the Polytechnic to launch yourselves into self-reliance. This, I strongly believe, will not only be to your advantage, but will go a long way to complement the government’s policies towards taking Nigeria away from mono-economy.”

Addressing the gathering, the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, urged the graduating students to make use of training and skills they had acquired in the school to be self-employed and contribute their quotas to the development of the country.

The governor, represented by his deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, said that he expected zero tolerance for cultism and social vices, peace and unity among the entire Polytechnic community, and prompt accreditation and re-accreditation of courses.

He said this would not only bring back the institution’s lost glory but also improve its ranking among other tertiary institutions in the country.