As at the time the post on this page was being composed, there were four NBTE recognised polytechnics in Rivers State. Rivers did not quickly respond to the call for the establishment of schools that will train their students to acquire technical skill. We can say this by considering the date when the first polytechnic was established in the state in relation to when the state was created.
The first polytechnic to be established in Rivers State was in 1988 and it is Ken Sarowiwa Polytechnic, Bori. That was about twenty-one years after the state was created. Rivers was created in 1967, one of the oldest state in Nigeria. There is not even a record to show that Bayelsa State that was carved out of it inherit any polytechnic which is older than Ken Sarowiwa Polytechnic. In fact Bayelsa did not inherit any polytechnic from Rivers.
So, since 1967 until now there are four polytechnics in the state known as Rivers. There is one federal polytechnic, two state polytechnic and one private polytechnic.
Some states not as old as Rivers parade more polytechnics, even among the states that they are together called South South states. See the number of polytechnics in Akwa Ibom, see the polytechnics in Delta.
Private organizations are not so much participating in providing polytechnic or technical education to the students of the state. It is them that account for more polytechnics we recorded in other states as mentioned above. It could then be said that private organization have a large vacuum to fill by establishing more private polytechnics in Rivers state. With over six million population (six most populous state in the country) and about half of that number youths, there will always be students applying to gain admission if more of the schools are established.
Below is the list of all the existing NBTE approved polytechnics in Rivers State.
The first polytechnic to be established in Rivers State was in 1988 and it is Ken Sarowiwa Polytechnic, Bori. That was about twenty-one years after the state was created. Rivers was created in 1967, one of the oldest state in Nigeria. There is not even a record to show that Bayelsa State that was carved out of it inherit any polytechnic which is older than Ken Sarowiwa Polytechnic. In fact Bayelsa did not inherit any polytechnic from Rivers.
So, since 1967 until now there are four polytechnics in the state known as Rivers. There is one federal polytechnic, two state polytechnic and one private polytechnic.
Some states not as old as Rivers parade more polytechnics, even among the states that they are together called South South states. See the number of polytechnics in Akwa Ibom, see the polytechnics in Delta.
Private organizations are not so much participating in providing polytechnic or technical education to the students of the state. It is them that account for more polytechnics we recorded in other states as mentioned above. It could then be said that private organization have a large vacuum to fill by establishing more private polytechnics in Rivers state. With over six million population (six most populous state in the country) and about half of that number youths, there will always be students applying to gain admission if more of the schools are established.
Below is the list of all the existing NBTE approved polytechnics in Rivers State.
- Ken Sarowiwa Polytechnic, Bori (State)
As stated above the polytechnic is the first to be established in Rivers State in 1988 during the administration of military Governor Anthony Ukpo.
- Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny (Federal Government)
The institution was established to train and develop oil and gas labour manpower locally as required of the OPEC member countries.
- Eastern Polytechnic, Port Harcourt (Private)
This school happened to be the first private polytechnic in Rivers State. It was established in 2015. It is a private polytechnic approved by both National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) and Federal Ministry of Education (FME)
- Captain Elechi Amachi Polytechnic formally Port Harcourt Polytechnic, Rumuola (State Government)
This is the only state own polytechnic in Rivers State. It started out as Rivers State College of Arts and Science. The school was upgraded to polytechnic status in 2016 and so it's name was changed to Port Harcourt Polytechnic. The name Elechi Amachi was adopted in 2019.