Nigeria (Federal Polytechnic Oko) Federal Polytechnic Oko commences ICT training for her staff

No fewer than 220 senior staff of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko were recently trained on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by the ICT unit of the institution in partnership with a global networking expert, Cisco Networking Academy. This year’s training which comes in batches at the institution’s ICT Academy Complex was initiated by the Governing Council and the management of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko.

About 107 Deputy Registrars (DR) and Principal Assistant Registrars (PAR) have already been trained while training of 120 Chief Accountants, Assistant Chief Accountants, Senior Assistant Registrars (SAR), Assistant Registrars and Chief Executive Officers (CEO) will follow. The week-long training which was purely practical oriented covered areas such as computer appreciation, desktop and file management, Microsoft word, Microsoft Excel and data management.

The aim of the training, according to authorities was to speed up service delivery, reduce information leakages and equip the senior officers on data analysis and electronic file management.

One of the Participants Mr. Dominic Onuoha, expressed joy over the training, saying that the Council’s thoughtfulness to initiate the capacity building for the senior staff was highly commendable and a step in the right direction. Onuoha noted that Mallam Kale Kawu led Governing Council has by this gesture demonstrated strong desire to fast track development and staff welfare in the Polytechnic.

Another participant and the Head of Department, Students Record and Statistics, Mr. Alexander Onyewuchi Anukam, while pouring encomium on the Council and the management over the training opportunity, added that analogue handling of documents is no longer in Vogue. “I had said earlier that the idea of digitizing the entire system is the best as analogue system is no longer in Vogue in most tertiary institutions.

Speaking on the development, the Chairman of the Governing Council and the initiator of the training, Mallam Kale Kawu expressed satisfaction at the level of compliance of the categories of officers slated for the training, adding that senior officers in this 21st century should be able to master how to retrieve information, records and files fast by querying a data base.

Kawu pointed out the need for continuous training and retraining of staff especially in ICT to equip them on how to make advance searching of information through the internet noting that the whole world was tilting towards Information Communication Technology which, he said, informed the reason for the council to initiate the staff training.

“I also commend the management of the Polytechnic led by the Rector, Engr Dr. Francisca Nwafulugo for taking the giant strides of sustaining a high-class ICT center and skilled staff that are conducting this training” Kawu said.

In her remarks, the Rector, Engr. Dr. Nwafulugo noted that other categories of staff would join the training by next week, promising to provide conducive atmosphere for more professional training.

She further revealed that her administration had provided opportunities for various trainings  both internationally and locally for many staff through Tetfund sponsorship. “Last year, we trained over one hundred staff of the Polytechnic which aimed at equipping them to gain in-depth knowledge on the best practices of using ICT to support education.

“Therefore, this year’s training, the Governing Council and the management of the Polytechnic expect the staff to develop ICT skills, exchange ICT best practices for administrative purposes. “It is only by regular acquisition of knowledge, training and re-retraining especially in modern technology that the institution would grow. I will make sure I combine this with my desperate push for staff and students’ welfare.

In his remarks during the opening ceremony of the training, the ICT director, Engr. Ken Nnamani said the need for staffers to meet up with the 21st century digital world was what compelled the Governing Council and management of the Polytechnic to initiate the training for the staff, stressing that the world has gone beyond manual handling of documents.