In April 1970 when the Survey Unit of the defunct Interim Common Service Agency (ICSA) joined the Kaduna Polytechnic, only Certificate courses in Surveying and Cartography were offered with a total of 50 full-time students. However, on 1st April 1971 an Academic Department was established with the title "Department of Land Surveying and Allied Techniques". This department continued to run Certificate courses in Surveying and Cartography at elementary and intermediate levels.
In January 1972, the Diploma course in Land Surveying commenced with an intake of 30 introductory students, among whom is the present Head of Department. In April, 1973 a field camp at Kajuru some 64 kilometers away from Kaduna, on Kaduna-Kachia road, was established to cater fully for the practical training of students in Land Surveying. In April 1974 the title of the department changed to "Department of Environmental Studies". Thus incorporating Town Planning, Estate Management and Printing courses, in addition to Topographic Science courses.
In June, 1974, the department produced its first Diplomates in Land Surveying amongst them is the present Head of Department Surv. M.O. Sanni. In September of the same year, Diploma courses in Photogramentry and Cartography began.
On 1st April, 1976 Town Planning and Estate Management courses were removed from the department of Environmental Studies to form a new department of Town Planning and Estate Management while the remaining courses were then formed into the Department of Topographic Science. The Higher National Diploma in Land Surveying was introduced by September 1976.
In June 1977, the department produced the first set of Diplomates in Photogrammetry and Cartography. In October, 1978 the Advanced Certificate courses in Land Surveying and Cartography were established. Encouraged by steady growth of the students population and the need to train more professionals, the department sought for and recieved approval of the Academic Board, the defunct Surveyors Licencing Board (Surveyors Council of Nigeria) and Nigerian Institute of Surveyors to commence the professional diploma (Post-HND) in Land Surveying in October 1987. This was the first Post-HND programme in Kaduna Polytechnic. The Department has since phased out its elementary certificate courses in cartography (1986) and land surveying (1990).
FACILITIES
The three sections of the department each have very rich store of instruments, equipments and laboratories for training at the different levels. Recently the department acquired 6 hand held GPS recievers and a Real Time Sercel GPS set. One of its B8S plotters has been hybridized and the Kaduna Polytechnic management and staff of the department are doing all that is possible within available resources to establish a Geo-Informatics laboratory for the department to enable students cope with the training changes in surveying and mapping.
A good number of staff are being re-trained locally while some are making efforts with the cooperation of the institution's management to secure foreign scholarship for training abroad.
The department is rated the best qualified among all the polytechnics in Nigeria. Presently, the department has 14 professionally registered Surveyors and many more are in the process of securing registration.
With its three distinct sections of the department, it has one of the best structures to go into Surveying and Geoinformatics.
Under its services, the department has produced maps for the following:-
1. Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA)
2. Kaduna State Ministry of Education
3. Kano State Ministry of Education
4. Federal Polytechnic Kaura Namoda
5. Jigawa State Government
6. Kajuru Local Government (as public relations only)
The department has one of the best Survey Camps (at Kajuru) among other institution training surveyors. It is the only institution with a survey instrument repair Laboratory. Here, some surveying instruments are being fabricated in addition to maintenace and repairs. Fabrication of levelling staves, collapsible rangingpoles and other small eqiupments in its instrument repair laboratory is part of the department's speciality.
The department prides itself as the only school in Nigeria training pure cartographic students with full complements of reproduction laboratory equipped with camera and rectifier.
PARTNERSHIP
The department is in partnership with the following institutions:-
1. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
2. Federal School of Surveying, Oyo
3. Federal Polytechnic, Bida
4. Niger State Polytechnic, Zungeru
The department in conjunction with (1) and (2) above share surveying equipment when the need arises. The department even co-supervise projects with Ahmadu Bello University's Survey Department. As for (3) and (4) above they use the department's student camping site at Kajuru.
RESEARCH BREAK THROUGH
Though yet to be published, the following efforts in the sections of the department are yielding very encouraging results:-
1. Fabrication of spare parts for surveying instruments like tripods and level bubble.
2. Use of "lele" for masking in Cartography
3. Software for adjusting computations in aero triangulation titled DEMOXYZ
RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Staff and students of the department take active part in sporting activities within and outside the institution. This has resulted in the department winning trophies in football, lawn tennis, volley ball, "Ayo" and Chess.
VALUES INFUSED INTO THE COMMUNITY
The department has been able to infuse on the community the realization that survey plans are necessary before development plans are embarked upon particularly at the local government level where such awareness is low. Also the department has steadily been able to produce middle and high-level manpower for Nigeria. For example, many graduates of the department are Surveyors-General in many Northern States of Nigeria while a good number are or have been heads of departments of surveying in other polytechnics e.g. Federal Polytechnic Damaturu and Federal Polytechnic Bida.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN PROBLEM SOLVING
Recently, the department recieved two sets of computers loaded with softwares for the take off of its Geoinformatics laboratories from friends of the department. A few more people especially ex-students of the department who are in good positions rendered assistance. Though at the infant stage, the former Surveyor General of the Federation Surv. (Alhaji) Muhammed N. Yahaya through a committee known now as "Forum for Geoinformatics" is making efforts to reach well-meaning Nigerians to come out and help establish or develop Geoinformatics in some tertiary institutions in the country of which Kaduna Polytechnic Department of Topographic Science is one of such institutions.
CES - College of Environmental Studies
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