More than half of the undergraduate students at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) are currently forfeiting, unwittingly, their statutory ₦15,000 federal industrial training stipends due to widespread ignorance and unsubmitted documentation.

The Director of the university’s Industrial Training Unit (ITU), Prof Mellitus Omemgboji Ezeamenyi issued this urgent wake-up call during an exclusive interview with ESUT Monitor, disclosing that thousands of students are unknowingly blocking financial payouts meant for themselves, their departmental supervisors, and the university management by failing to return their signed logbooks.

Speaking on the strategic restructuring of the unit, Professor Ezeamenyi revealed that the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) pays these non-repayable allowances directly into verified student bank accounts, prompting an aggressive new awareness campaign in partnership with the Student Union Government (SUG) to clear the backlog and secure the funds.

Brief Profile

Professor Prof Mellitus Omemgboji Ezeamenyi is a distinguished scholar, widely travelled academic, and seasoned administrator at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). Renowned for his transformative leadership, Professor Ezeamenyi has consistently demonstrated a track record of driving structural growth, academic excellence, and institutional progress across multiple strategic units of the university.

His administrative career at ESUT is marked by unprecedented achievements and a commitment to setting new benchmarks in university governance. He has successfully led a faculty and three major directorates within the institution with remarkable track records thus in August 2026, Prof Ezeamenyi was appointed the Director, Industrial Training Unit, ESUt.

Bringing his signature excellence and vision to his current role, Professor Ezeamenyi is focused on revolutionizing the Industrial Training Unit to better serve students and the broader socio-economic landscape.

Linking Town and Gown: The Role of Industrial Training

A persistent challenge in developing economies is the production of university graduates who lack practical, hands-on experience. The Industrial Training Unit (ITU)  ESUT was established specifically to bridge this gap—effectively linking the “gown” (academia) with the “town” (industry).

Through well-structured industrial attachments, students step out of the classroom and into specialized industries related to their fields of study. This experiential learning equips them with critical workplace competencies, ensuring that they are insulated from the severe unemployment crisis plaguing the nation.

Unemployment serves as the incubator for various societal vices, including insecurity, kidnapping, and theft. By prioritizing rigorous industrial training, universities can shift the paradigm from producing mere job seekers to nurturing visionary job creators and employers of labor, ultimately building a safer and more prosperous society.

Strategic Vision for the Industrial Training Unit (ITU)

To optimize the impact of the ITU, Professor Ezeamenyi has designed a proactive roadmap centered on institutional synergy and enhanced communication: we will establishing direct, consistent channels of communication with Heads of Departments (HODs) and faculty members across the university to ensure full alignment with the mandate of the ITU.

Under this plan, we aim to reposition the ITU to be highly visible, approachable, and responsive to student needs, ensuring seamless navigation of their training requirements.  

Partnering with department leads to guarantee that students are properly guided, mentored, and actively engaged in their practical industrial postings, leaving no room for administrative gaps.

Financial Benefits for Students and Supervisors

A critical yet frequently misunderstood aspect of the Industrial Training (IT) programme is the financial compensation provided by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

Every eligible student who completes their industrial attachment is entitled to a non-repayable stipend of ₦15,000. Unfortunately, ESUT is losing millions in this regard.

To ensure transparency and eliminate bureaucratic delays, the ITF bypasses university administrative accounts entirely. Funds are deposited directly into the personal bank accounts provided by the students.

Let me emphasis that the submission of student logbooks triggers a domino effect of payments. When a student fails to submit their documentation, their institution-appointed supervisors and the university management also lose out on the statutory allowances allocated to them by the Federal Government.

Why the Stipend is Non-repayable

The ₦15,000 allowance is entirely funded by the Federal Government as an investment in national human capital. The organizations and industries hosting these student interns contribute directly to the growth of the Nigerian economy. Therefore, the stipend serves as a government-backed support system to offset student logistics during their service to these industries.

Bridging the Information Gap

The primary roadblock to successful stipend disbursement within ESUT is a stark lack of awareness. Many students treat logbook submission casually—unaware that neglecting this single step results in a forfeiture of ₦15,000 and risks delaying their final graduation clearance. Currently, more than half of the eligible student population has yet to return their logbooks.

To resolve this bottleneck, the Industrial Training Unit is launching an aggressive communication campaign:

Partnering with the Student Union Government (SUG) to blast information across all digital student platforms, raising awareness about the financial and academic rewards of timely logbook submission.

Ensuring students understand the mandatory protocol—submitting their physical logbooks duly signed and stamped by their Heads of Departments (HODs) alongside accurate bank account details directly to the ITU office for verification and inventory taking by visiting ITF officials.

Administrative Infrastructure and Resource Mobilization

The ambitious drive to increase logbook submissions and scale up student participation will naturally place a heavier operational burden on the ITU workforce.

Currently, only two dedicated staff members manage the entire student body navigating the Industrial Training Unit—a structural strain that risks operational fatigue. While these current personnel are highly experienced and fully understand the nuances of ITU processes, scaling the unit requires structural backup.

To safeguard staff welfare and maintain administrative efficiency, Professor Ezeamenyi is initiating a formal appeal to the University management for the immediate deployment of at least one additional experienced staff member. Expanding the core team to three personnel or more will optimize the processing timeline, support the incoming rush of student registrations, and effectively sustain the unit’s new momentum.

Let me also inform you that we have already dispatched letter of invitation to the ITF headquarters in Jos requesting them to come and take inventory of our IT students for the past three sessions. We are hoping to hear from them and we believe that through ESUT monitor and other channels of communication in ESUT, the HODs and students will do the needful.  

The post EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Prof Ezeamenyi Unveils Plans for ESUT ITU, Reveals How Lack of Information is Costing ESUT Students, Supervisors Millions in Federal IT Allowances appeared first on ESUT Monitor.