...Advocates Support For Polytechnic Education
The Federal Polytechnic Ilaro has produced a Solar Powered-tricycle to support the federal government's advocacy on green energy and lessen the effects of the PMS hike on Nigerians. This is also part of the Polytechnic way of joining force with the federal government to end environmental pollution, and enable green energy.
This development is a prompt step forward for polytechnic education, thereby calling on the FG to make a paradigm shift, by focusing on adequate foundry to support technical education for an improved application of theory to practical.
The admonition was made by Dr. Mukail Akinde the Rector of the Polytechnic during the official launching of the e-tricycle, held at the Polytechnic premises Ilaro Ogun state.
Akinde urged the government to pay premium attention to polytechnic education, lamenting that the importation of materials needed for manufacturing would do no good to the nation's economy.
He maintained that the country needed to move forward and attention must be given to the foundry.
“ So what we are saying is that for the country to move from where we are, our attention must be given to the foundry.
"Foundry is where we cut iron to precision for example the motor driving the tricycle was designed here but when it got to the issue of cutting iron to precision we sent our design abroad for them to cut it. If we had a good foundry here we wouldn't have taken it anywhere, we would have made it here."
He asserted that focusing on polytechnic education is another way to Nigeria's development of solutions.
"Polytechnic education is the way to go if China can convert a lot of their universities to polytechnic do you think as big as they are they don't know what they are doing? Going to Europe you would see that a first-degree PHD is meaningless the attention should be on technical education that will give us productivity.
"PMS and Diesels have their limitations in not being too friendly to the environment but we want clean energy and campus and that is what we are trying to solve".
"How come we import a lot of things in this country it is because we do not pay good attention to the polytechnic a lot of things we do import can be manufactured locally".
The solar tricycle was started on Monday and completed today. We are still working on it to add additional features and that is not the only innovation we have, we have the biometric device machine which is used to take attendance and we used the fabrication fund for Tetfund to do that machine".
Also speaking at an event the national President of the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE) Engr Felix O. Olu, FNIEEE, acknowledged the innovative effort of FPI.
He added that Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, has achieved a remarkable achievement of developing an electric automated tricycle.
Olu was represented by Engr. Abolaji O. ILORI, Ph.D Chairman, Abeokuta Chapter admitted that innovation, born at the institution’s Innovation Hub, represents a significant milestone not only for the Polytechnic but also for the broader landscape of technological advancements in Nigeria by providing an eco-friendly and cost-effective transportation solution.
"Polytechnic’s role in shaping the future of Nigeria’s transportation sector, and indeed, contributing positively to the fight against climate change.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Center for Innovation Engr. Jide Soyemi PhD, disclosed that the e-tricycle can convey a maximum of 7 passengers and can run 50 kilometers per hour.
He acknowledged that technology is evolving whereby many people are moving toward electric vehicles which is why the FPI key into the future as a polytechnic.
Soyemi noted part of what the polytechnic is working toward is keeping her students abreast of innovation and preparing them for employability and the industrial part of education.
