IMT Enugu and the quest for degree awarding status
There are
now strong hopes that the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, will soon be uplifted into a degree awarding institution. The school was founded as far back as 1973 with the major objective to train professionals needed to industrialise the South-East aftermath of the devastated effects of the Nigeria’s civil war.
now strong hopes that the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, will soon be uplifted into a degree awarding institution. The school was founded as far back as 1973 with the major objective to train professionals needed to industrialise the South-East aftermath of the devastated effects of the Nigeria’s civil war.Far beyond the original concept and initiative of the founders that the school will serve only the South East, IMT garnered general interest from every part of the country within the first decade of its establishment, with increasing intake of students from various parts of the country.
The institution over the years obviously lived up to its expectations in producing graduates in Arts, Management and Engineering fields that are well fitted into both private and public organisations cut across the country and beyond. With the creation of Anambra and Ebonyi states in 1991 and 1996, Enugu State inherited the school as one of the state’s owned higher institutions.
But the good thing going for the institution remains the fact that it has retained the standard it attained in terms of quality of products since inception. Secondly, it is situated at a large expanse of land that has permitted expansion of all the needed infrastructural facilities.
The movement of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, (ESUT) to its permanent site at Agbani became a blessing in disguise for IMT. The Institution recovered all the infrastructures it lent out to ESUT and also gained those that were built by ESUT management while they stayed within Independence layout campus of IMT.
In addition, IMT benefitted massively from Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) projects under the administration of ex-President, Goodluck Jonathan.
This huge availability of both human and material resources currently at the institution informed the reason for the clamour for it to be upgraded into a degree awarding institution. The state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has since heeded to this call and has set actions in motion for realising the objective.
Precisely, in his maiden Democracy Day broadcast to the people and residents of the state, the governor revealed that upgrading IMT into a degree awarding institution is among the projects his administration will give serious attention.
Ugwuanyi stated that his administration had set in motion the processes and machinery for the upgrading of IMT into a degree awarding institution and also intervened in rescuing IMT from the crumbling weight of salary arrears and resultant low morale of members of staff.
The committee set up to the effect is already working assiduously for the objective to become a reality. The State House of Assembly has also given its nod to the move. The state legislators at a recent plenary session passed the bill upgrading IMT into a degree awarding institution with multiple campuses.