By Ikenna Orioha
Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, Rev. Engr. Michael Chidiebere Arimanwa, has called on students to avail themselves of the COVID-19 screening going on in the school.
The Rector, who spoke to journalists in his office last Saturday while refuting a media report which accused him of sacking more than 200 lecturers of the institution, disclosed that the institution only battled with challenges of simultaneous engagement of over 600 lecturers for part-time and evening programmes. He said that 400 academic and no-nacademic staff have been employed in the institution.
Similarly, Arimanwa has informed that the school has kicked off free COVID-19 screening for management, students including host communities, stating that the exercise was because of some students who reportedly fell sick.
“We have cases of incessant fever hitting some of our students in some of the departments and we cannot fold our hands watching the situation get worst.
“We have directed the affected students to subject themselves for screening as part of our precautionary measures. Poly Nekede is the first institution in the country to organise a comprehensive free COVID-19 screening. I have been tested. And the screening team has been deployed to different departments within the school premises”, he said.
Arimanwa noted that letters have been written to heads of host communities for them to get ready for the exercise, saying cost of COVID-19 test in some places is #38,000 or #40,000, assuring the school was ready to screen those who make themselves available free of charge.
He said “federal government does not sponsor part-time and evening programmes in the institution. It is our responsibility to take care of the lecturers. Hence, we have over 600 lecturers for part-time and evening programmes in our data base and we cannot engage them at the same time. We consider the number of staff to be engaged in each semester as some will be engaged in the next semester.
“We spend over #100 million annually to pay the part-time and evening programmes lecturers. Any staff who claimed to have been sacked by Federal Polytechnic Nekede should publish his or her sack letter”.
