Polytechnic with 142 students spends over N600m on overhead

The House of Representatives Committee on Polytechnics and Other Higher Technical Education has expressed shock after discovering that the Federal Polytechnic Ugep, in Cross River State, spends over N600 million on personnel and overhead costs, despite having only 142 students and 154 academic and non-academic staff.

This revelation came during a presentation by the Polytechnic’s Rector, Professor Edward N. Okey, on Monday, where he outlined the institution’s budget performance and other activities.

The committee had invited several Federal Polytechnics from the South-South region for an oversight session.

Among the institutions invited were the Federal Polytechnic Orogun, Federal Polytechnic Ugep, Federal Polytechnic Oil & Gas Bonny, Federal Polytechnic Auchi, Federal Polytechnic Ekowe, Federal Polytechnic Ukana, and the National Institute of Construction Technology Management, Uromi.

The committee expressed concerns about the spending at Federal Polytechnic Ugep, with the Committee Chairman, Fouad Kayode Laguda, particularly troubled by the N38 million spent on local travel.

In his presentation, the rector provided details about the school’s operations, claiming that the management had spent a N20 billion take-off grant to renovate abandoned structures, including Ugep Community Secondary School, which was repurposed as a temporary campus. He explained that the school, established in 2021, initially struggled to find a site, which delayed its opening. “When we went to Ugep in 2021, we were to start the school at a temporary site in the state polytechnic called the Institute of Technology and Management (ITM). But, when we got there, we could not get the state polytechnic to start the school,” the rector said.

“We had 16 students when we started, but this year, we have admitted 63 so far, so we have a total of 79. So, invariably, we have performed more than the school that started 12 years ago. Now, we have a total of 132. We took over the students and staff of ITM,” he continued, although the chairman corrected the rector’s numbers, clarifying that the total was 142 students.

A committee member voiced concerns about the institution’s spending, calling it a “waste” and unsustainable. “It is high time we tell ourselves the truth. If you have 142 students, that’s like an elementary school. In my village, we have a primary school. The students there are more than 500. A Polytechnic, a federal Polytechnic for that matter having 142 students and your personnel is N496 million, almost N500 million, for a school that has 142 students. Your overhead is N159 million, for a school that has 142 students. Your capital is N25 million. What is the justification for all these spendings?”

Chairman Laguda also expressed disappointment at the poor presentation by the institutions.

“We called schools from South-South for an oversight and… Not one of the schools met the required requirements or did what was expected. Considering the fact that you had over a week notification,” he said, adding, “But you’ve been aware over two months ago that your turn was going to come. Because we’ve been doing this oversight function for a while. Out of seven schools, one of the schools is not even here today.”