By IBRAHIM DALHAT
The two captions I read in the Sportseye.ng e-newspaper on the proposed conversion of part of the Department of Printing Technology facilities caught my attention. The editor described the proposal as an “unwise” idea.
Those reports prompted me to share my personal views as an academic in the Department of Printing Technology.
In my view, the proposal requires careful reconsideration, consultation and dialogue with relevant stakeholders before any decision is taken.
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Converting the machinery and facilities currently used for teaching and practical training into a revenue-generating commercial operation could have serious consequences for the academic programme.
From the information available to me, I am not aware of any federal or state tertiary institution in Nigeria that has converted the entire facilities provided for an academic programme into a commercial operation at the expense of students’ teaching and learning activities.
The proposal to use the Department of Printing Technology’s machinery, or part of its facilities, as a revenue source for Polytechnic management therefore raises serious concerns.
If not properly planned and managed, it could disrupt the academic activities of the department and eventually affect the quality and sustainability of the programme.
We all know that the primary objective of polytechnic education is to produce middle-level manpower with strong practical skills. This requires adequate facilities where students can acquire hands-on experience relevant to small- and large-scale industries.
Combining commercial production with students’ practical training within the same facilities could create operational difficulties. The two activities have different priorities and demands, and without proper separation and scheduling, one could inevitably affect the other.
Several questions need clear answers before such a plan can be implemented:
- How would students conduct their practical classes during the hours allocated to them?
- When and how would the commercial printing activities take place?
- Would students have access to the machines during commercial production hours?
- Would commercial production stop whenever students need to use the machines for practical classes?
- How would the commercial operation meet clients’ deadlines if the same machines are required for students’ practical training?
- Would students have direct and adequate access to all the relevant machinery for their practical training and other academic activities?
- Who would provide the consumables required by students during practical classes?
- Would the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) accept such an arrangement during the accreditation or re-accreditation of the programme?
If the proposal is implemented without proper planning and clear separation between academic and commercial activities, it could create several challenges, including:
- Major structural and operational risks.
- Conflicts between academic requirements and commercial demands.
- Threats to the quality of practical education.
- A shift from educational priorities towards market-driven demands.
- Health, safety and environmental risks.
This raises a fundamental question: when commercial production and students’ practical training require the same facilities at the same time, which should take priority?
While I have concerns about converting the existing teaching and practical facilities of the Department of Printing Technology into a commercial operation, I believe the establishment of a separate in-house Polytechnic Printing Press would be a welcome and strategic development.
Such a press could generate revenue for the institution while providing opportunities for the Polytechnic to produce its own publications and other printed materials.
Many universities in Nigeria have established university presses that publish academic books, journals, conference proceedings, abstracts and other scholarly materials. Examples include University of Ife Press, University of Nigeria Press, University of Lagos Press, Ahmadu Bello University Press and University of Port Harcourt Press.
In Kano State, Bayero University, Kano and Yusuf Maitama Sule University also have university presses. Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Kumbotso, similarly operates a college press for internal publications and commercial printing.
These examples show that an educational institution can establish a printing press without turning its academic training facilities into a commercial production centre.
It is therefore within the responsibility of Polytechnic management to establish ventures that can contribute positively to the institution’s development and financial sustainability. An in-house printing press could be one such venture.
The idea should not be viewed negatively. What matters is how it is structured, funded, managed and supervised.
Interestingly, despite the important role printing has played in university administration and academic publishing, printing technology is not commonly offered as an academic programme by universities in Nigeria.
If Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Kumbotso, can establish a printing press that supports the college’s internal activities and generates external revenue, there is no reason Kano State Polytechnic, which has had a Printing Technology Department for decades, cannot establish a properly structured Polytechnic Printing Press.
If successfully established and managed, such a press could become an important achievement for Kano State Polytechnic and the state.
A properly established in-house Polytechnic Printing Press could provide several opportunities, including:
- Revenue generation: It could serve both internal and external clients.
- Financial sustainability: Revenue could support selected institutional activities.
- Reduced operational costs: The Polytechnic could produce some of its printing materials in-house rather than relying entirely on external printers.
- Practical training: Students of Printing Technology could gain additional hands-on experience under proper supervision without compromising their academic practical sessions.
- Data security and confidentiality: Sensitive institutional documents could be produced under controlled conditions within the Polytechnic.
- Cost-effective mass production: Academic materials, journals, conference proceedings, examination materials and other institutional publications could be produced efficiently.
- Institutional branding: A professionally managed press could enhance the image and visibility of the Polytechnic.
The issue, therefore, should not be about whether Kano State Polytechnic should establish a printing press. I believe it should.
The important issue is whether the commercial press should take over facilities primarily meant for students’ teaching and practical training.
The Polytechnic can pursue both objectives by establishing a properly equipped and independently managed printing press while also upgrading the facilities of the Department of Printing Technology.
This approach would allow the institution to generate revenue without compromising the practical training of students.
I therefore hope the Polytechnic management will consider these opportunities in the interest of the institution’s long-term development.
I also appeal to the management to consider other practical ventures, including welding, fashion design and woodwork, as possible areas for generating additional revenue while providing useful practical opportunities for students.
Dalhat is a lecturer in the Department of Printing Technology, Kano State Polytechnic.
