The Rivers State Government has approved the employment of 128 staff for the Rivers State College of Arts and Science (RIVCAS), Rumuola Port Harcourt.
Similarly, the government has also approved the sum of N142 million for the payment of eight months’ salary arrears of the recently recruited staff of the College.
The Rector, Dr. Hillary Wordu, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with newsmen in his office in Port Harcourt, also debunked allegations that the institution is a glorified Secondary School.
Wordu said that more than eight courses have been accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NABTE), while the institution has also been acclaimed as a centre of academic excellence nationwide in terms of quality of teaching and learning.
He said that students of the institution have also proved their mettle across the universe.
Meanwhile, the management of the Rivers State College of Arts and Science (RIVCAS) has called for the change of the name of the College to reflect its new status as a Polytechnic.
The Rector of the College, Dr. Hillary Wordu told The Tide in an interview that the change of name is necessary to enable the institution gain full admission into the comity of Polytechnics in the country.
He also said that the present name of the institution has denied it the opportunity to access some external funding such as, the Education Trust Fund (ETF) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
The Rector also said that the management has reached an agreement with Ecobank for the construction of a female hostel on the campus.
Also speaking, the Director, School of Management Sciences, RIVCAS, Mrs Jummah Modume said that a lot of positive developments have taken place since the inception of the present management.
She said that the school has now obtained full accreditation for all its courses, while students are now being enrolled for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
She also called for a change of name of the College to reflect its current status as a Polytechnic.
