Seeks tech-driven administrative culture in polytechnics

The Ondo State Head of Service, Segun Odusanya, has urged registry professionals in tertiary institutions to embrace digital transformation and professional excellence as essential requirements for meeting the evolving demands of modern education administration.

According to Odusanya, the call became imperative at a time when Nigerian polytechnics were grappling with the need to modernise administrative processes in response to rapidly changing technological landscapes.

The HoS gave the charge in his keynote address at the Registry Staff Retreat of the Federal Polytechnic, Ile-Oluji, yesterday, themed “Enhancing Digital Skills and Professional Excellence in Registry Practice for Polytechnic Education in the 21st Century.”

The retreat brought together registry members of staff from across the institutions to deliberate on strategies for repositioning administrative functions in an increasingly digital era.

Odusanya said that the retreat’s theme reflects an urgent and unavoidable necessity to transform registry departments into technology-driven and professionally competent administrative hubs capable of effectively supporting the changing realities of tertiary education.

He said that the traditional approaches to registry practice could no longer adequately meet contemporary challenges, noting that digital technologies have transformed the way organisations operate, communicate and deliver services.

The HoS, who described the Registry as the institutional memory and administrative engine of any higher institution, stressed that its responsibilities span admissions, student records, examinations, staff documentation, policy implementation, correspondence, and data management.

He said that the functions of the Registry must evolve to remain relevant and effective in serving the needs of modern polytechnic education.

Odusanya, therefore, urged registry professionals to embrace electronic records management, automated workflows, digital correspondence, online student services, data analytics, virtual meetings, and secure information storage systems as critical tools for improving service delivery and reducing bureaucracy.

On his part, Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ile-Oluji, Dr Ademola Iyanda Ebeloku, described the retreat as a platform for renewal, capacity building, and institutional transformation rather than a routine annual event.

Ebeloku encouraged participants to actively engage in discussions and apply the knowledge gained to improve registry operations, service delivery, and institutional performance, emphasising that the retreat represented a strategic investment in the institution’s future.

Similarly, Deputy Registrar in the Division of Academic Affairs, Oluyemi Bamidele, emphasised that student records management and registry operations remain critical to the effective administration and growth of the institution.

He noted that accurate information management, secure technology, ethical conduct, and competent personnel are vital to ensuring efficient and transparent registry services that would uphold the institution’s academic integrity.