The Federal Polytechnic Nekede Imo State has acquired a special software called Turnitin to check incidences of plagiarism bedeviling the academia.
This development has made the institution the first polytechnic East of the Niger to deploy the technology which could detect academic fraud within five minutes.
Reacting to the development, the Rector of the polytechnic, Michael Arimanwa expressed the commitment of the institution to bequeath a culture of excellence and integrity through the deployment of the anti-plagiarism software.
The rector who spoke on Wednesday at a seminar organized for members of the Anti-Plagiarism Committee of the polytechnic said the successful deployment of the software is in consonance with the culture of excellence which his administration has enthroned.
According to the rector, “The idea of the software is to check all forms of dishonesty in publications and intellectual enterprise.
“It will contain the recurrence of intellectual theft amongst academics. The software is also programmed to identify the source of any copied work with the aim of exposing the people involved.”
The polytechnic chief executive advocated the setting up of an institutional repository to contain the published works of lecturers in the institution.
This, according to the rector, will make it easy for scholars to put their works online to test or protect their integrity.
The rector condemned the menace of plagiarism, saying it undermines hard work amongst scholars.
He cited the case of a reader in a university whose papers failed the anti-plagiarism test, prompting the university to demote him to the rank of lecturer I, in addition to his forfeiting promotion for five years.
He therefore warned that lecturers must imbibe the culture of hardwork so as not to be caught in the web of plagiarism.
The rector hinted that all lecturers would henceforth be required to send digital copies of their works so that they could be published online.
He also promised to deploy the Turnitin software in the areas of continuing education and distance learning.
“This will enable people who cannot leave their locations at any material time to receive lectures while some distance away,” the rector concluded.
Arimanwa also enjoined members of the committee to work hard so that they would in turn train others in the community.
He thanked them for their commitment over the years to the anti-plagiarism fight, promising henceforth to deploy the technology on any work that would be sent for external assessment.
The climax of the ceremony was the presentation of the evidence of the anti-plagiarism software registration to the rector by the Polytechnic Librarian, Dr. Chris Enyia.
Enyia expressed joy that the institution had successfully subscribed to the latest version of the software.
He lauded the rector for his vision in repositioning the polytechnic for excellent strides.
The Turnitin software aims at ensuring integrity in global education in order to improve learning outcomes.
Records show that over 90% of performing universities globally have deployed the software.
The Federal Polytechnic Nekede is the first polytechnic in the Eastern region to deploy the technology and the third in Nigeria after Yaba College of Technology and Federal Polytechnic Ede
