Bali poly in darkness 10 years after establishment

A decade after its establishment, the Federal Polytechnic, Bali, in Taraba State, is still in darkness, while seeking to be connected to the national electric grid.

Electricity that ought to be one of the factors that ought to make the institution effective was observed to be lacking in the school.

Though facilities such as e-library and standard mechanical workshop, among others, are in place, the failure of the authorities to link the school to the national grid has begun to tell on the institution.

A visit to the institution, yesterday, by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), revealed that all is not well with the school.

Added to the power problem is the inability of the authorities to compensate owners of the land where the school is sited.

The Acting Rector, Dr. Mohammed Usman, said the institution would have been competing favourably with other institutions across the globe, but for the failure of the authorities to get the school connected to national grid and compensate the landowners.

Umar, who conducted the journalists round the school premises, said all plans to erect additional structures in the school were frustrated by the landowners who vowed to debar the school from erecting structures until they were duly compensated.

Calling on the government to come to the aid of the school, the rector lamented spending over N3 million monthly to ensure conducive learning environment.

The NUJ leadership, who had earlier called on the school authority to establish Mass Communication department in the school, urged the management not to be discouraged, as the union would work round the clock to draw the attention of the authorities to the plight of the school.