Author: The Nation

In a bid to support government’s efforts to reduce out-of-school children in the society, Cherry Eromosele speaks on how Interswitch’s partnership with non-governmental organisation, Slum2School, is transforming the lives of less-privileged children through Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).  Excerpts of the interview by KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

What is the nature and scope of Interswitch partnership with Slum2school?

The scope of our partnership with Slum2school basically is to drive the study of STEM subjects by pupils across different ages and social categories, and also to build skills and talents based around STEM. This commitment is further reinforced by Interswitch’s social investment at the Innovation Lab. The laboratory was equipped with laptops, books and other learning materials, to enable pupils in slum communities to have access to technology education. Interswitch built and has managed the Innovation Lab since May 2018.

Read Also: Out of school children hits 16 million

 

Will the recent four-day coding programme be one-off?

Programmes like this will continue over time because it is in line with our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy where investment in Education is one of our strategic pillars, with a special focus on promoting STEM

What opportunities will the beneficiaries have to use the coding skills they have acquired?

The opportunities in coding are immense. The world is now very technology-driven, and it has been asserted in many quarters that in the next five to 10 years, practically all jobs will be technology-based to some extent. Generally, coding is an important skill needed for the future, so all interested students should have a grasp of it.

Are there plans to increase the number of beneficiaries above 30?

This is not off the table, as we progress. We are very resolute about our commitment to developing and promoting STEM education, and  amongst other initiatives we are championing in this area, we are open to exploring ways by which we can continue to enrich and consolidate this initiative with slum2school.

Are there plans to provide ICT facilities in the schools that serve Slum2School pupils?   

We are excited about the progress that is being made, and would unveil our forthcoming plans relating to the programme in the fullness of time.

 

Mind Builders School has awarded scholarship worth N9 million to six of its new students to cover part of their tuition fees for their secondary education.

A statement released by the school listed the awardees as: Enitan Bakare, Ademide Aderogba, Otitodilichukwu Uzowanne, Olufunke Fayemi, Oghenetega Kpesu, and Daisy Ekesi.

Principal of the School, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Olatunbode, noted that the awards were based on the exceptional performance of the pupils in the Entrance Examinations.

She said the scholarship, aimed at rewarding excellence while providing solid foundation for brilliant pupils,  would run through their education in the school.

Read Also: Foundation gives scholarship to 14 medical students

 

With the new award, a total of 21 pupils are enjoying scholarship in the school.

Mind Builders School began operations as a Nursery and Primary School in January 1998 and expanded to High School in September 2008.

The school runs annexes in Omole Phase 1, Ikeja CBD in Alausa and Omole Phase II.

It has produced five sets of High School graduates attending reputable universities in Nigeria and abroad and many sets of Primary School graduates who are professionals in different fields.

By Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

 

About 13 pupils from various secondary schools in Oyo State, who won a quiz competition organized by the Oyo Nexus Club, have received scholarship to further their university education.

The quiz competition was conceptualised by members of the club who schooled and grew up together in Oyo.

For the competition, four participants each from over 20 secondary schools in Oyo displayed their superior knowledge of sciences, arts, and commercial subjects.

Speaking at the venue of the quiz competition, Federal School of Survey, Oyo, President of the Club, Mr. Muideen Olatunji said the main objective of setting up the club was to give back to the society which made them, and to assist brilliant pupils from poor backgrounds to further their education.

“They did say because of funds, they cannot further their education.  We don’t want to see more of that.  Some of these kids, though from public schools, are so brilliant, and we do not want such to rot away,” he said.

The top three winners of the quiz competition, initially went home with cash prizes of N50,000, N40,000, N25,000.

The cash prizes, according to the President of the Club, were to help them to obtain forms for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination forms and also assist in buying books in preparation for the exams.

Read Also: MTN Foundation awards scholarships to students

 

Speaking of past winners, he said: “The first one was from 16 secondary schools, and from that programme, we had three students that won our scholarship. And we paid for the WAEC, JAMB, and NECO exams and we also bought books for them and they did very well in their exams.

“And followed up until we were sure they got admissions into the universities. So, we sponsored them, as they won our scholarship. And as at today we still follow them up. The three of them did very well in their university.  In their first year, the least one had 4.3, the others had 4.7, 4.8 GP.  Last year we did the second edition and we had four winners.

“And today is our third edition, and we are hopeful to have more beneficiaries coming out of today’s programme too to join other students already enjoying our scholarship.”

 

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

The Lagos State government on Wednesday introduced the Eko Excellence in Child Education and Learning (EkoEXCEL) education programme to stakeholders in the education sector at the Anchor Event Centre, Agidingbi, Lagos.

Parents, school administrators, unions, quality assurance officers and others learnt that the EkoEXCEL would utilise technology to support teachers to improve their classroom delivery and monitor learners’ performance.

Speaking on the programme modelled after the EkoBest initiative for public school teachers in Edo State, Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, said tablets would be given to teachers as working tools that contain learning materials.  With the tablets, he said teachers could be monitored.

“The tablet is to assist us to monitor – because that tablet will be geo-referenced.  It will determine the coordinates of where you are.  So the moment you turn it on, as the head teacher or as somebody that is monitoring, you see the teacher is within so-so coordinates and what the teacher is teaching,” he said.

The Deputy Governor added that the tablet would enable teachers teach learners at their own pace.

He also said the tablet was designed to be durable and could last two weeks once fully charged.

In his speech, the Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB) Wahab Alawiye-King, said teachers would be trained to use EkoEXCEL in three phases beginning from December 2019.

Read Also: Lagos introduces online verification of vehicle number plates

 

“Teachers are at the heart of successful learning. If we want improved outcomes for pupils, the starting point must be the continuous improvement of teaching practices, leadership practices and organisational practices. In other words, our literacy rate will not grow without having teachers who are equipped to teach pupils born in the 21st Century.Through EkoEXCEL model, teachers would be able to deliver standardised learning to pupils in public primary schools in line with global standards,” he said.

Also speaking, the Education Commissioner, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, said the tablet would be uploaded with the curriculum and lesson notes.

“The tablet is a device that would support what they are teaching in the classroom. What we try to look for is appropriate technology.  We loaded our curriculum on it; we loaded lesson notes; we loaded how the teacher would teach each topic.  It is not that we will give teachers the tablets and leave them.  There would be people who would be coming to monitor them. We are going to work with the community, parents’ forum and the school-based management committees so that they  go on this journey with us,” she said.

The EkoEXCEL would be launched in 300 schools with 4,000 teachers trained.  In all, 14,000 teachers are expected to be re-trained under the programme.

 

By Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

The Kano State government has procured about 1million assorted text books for distribution to public schools in the state.

This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Education, Malam Muhammad Sanusi Sa’id Kiru, during the 2019 Annual General Meeting of the Dala Old Girls Association (DOGA) held at the Afficent Event Centre, Kano.

The commissioner said the provision of the text books would go a long way to facilitate better learning for pupils in primary and secondary schools across the state.

He further disclosed that 3,000 schools have been identified and would be provided with furniture under the supervision of the Schools Based Management Committees (SBMC’s).

Sanusi Kiru added that the government had also procured 1,400 tablets to facilitate pilot study for e-learning in some select schools across the three Senatorial zones of the state.

He noted that the government had also made arrangements for the renovation of some girls secondary schools including the ones in Gaya, Dambatta, Kwa, Kabo and Dala.

“Very soon, the state government will perform the taking-over ceremony of a secondary school building donated by Hon. Ali Sa’id  at Dakatsalle in Bebeji Local Government Area, and it will be converted to girls boarding secondary school,” the commissioner noted.

While thanking the DOGA for their commitment towards seeing to the betterment of their alma mater, he said that the government would do its part in assisting the school.

Read Also: Firm donates textbooks to pupils in Ondo

 

In his remark earlier, international business mogul and elder statesman, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, admonished the Old Girls to continue with the good work of assisting their alma mater.

He presented a cheque of N10 million to the association, promising to make the same donation for a period of five years.

“Even if I die, I am leaving it as will for my family to ensure compliance,” he said.

Dantata also pledged to construct five boreholes in the school as well as ten blocks of toilets.

In her speech, the National president of DOGA, Hon. Sa’udatu Sani, called on all and sundry to collaborate in assisting the education sector, which she said, is in a sorry position.

 

In matters of correct usage and misusage, there will always be something to talk about. The reason is, too many things are taken for granted and perhaps often ignored as unimportant. Yet, the mastery of such matters, as we have remarked many times in this column, tends to mark off the tutored writer from the slapdash, instinctive writer. If you are going to be counted among the tutored writers, you would do well to pay attention to little matters that matter. Consider this week’s selection and see what we mean.

Compound adjectives

We begin with a few examples of simple compound adjectives which many do not know how to handle correctly, namely: two-man team/five-day training. “These compound “adjectives are formed by combining two words with a hyphen to modify the noun that follows. But it tends to get tricky when figures are involved as in examples (a) and (b) below. If the figure comes first, the second word in the compound adjective remains singular” (“Pop” Errors). But when writers get into a quandary about using such adjectives, they commit the type of misusage demonstrated in the defective sentence below:

(a). . .A two men team from the company held talks with county officials.

The issue here is the wrongly rendered compound adjective two men, instead of two-man. Obviously unaware of the rule that where the figure element in the compound adjective comes first you retain the second word as singular, the author of that sentence has erroneously used the plural word men to complete the formation. To make ourselves clear, we provide the correct usage in the context at issue, thus:

A two-man team from the company held talks with county officials.

In (b) below is another misused compound adjective of a similar construction:

(b). . .The five days training focused on the development of by-laws.

We will simply treat this as (a) above by just forming the compound adjective concerned like this: five-day, and apply accordingly:

The five-day training focused on the development of by-laws.

Kindly note, however, another way to treat this kind of compound adjective: Do not hyphenate the words five and days, retain them as separate words with days still plural, and add an apostrophe to days. And here is the outcome of that exercise:

Read Also: Sundry Misusages XXXVI: Sire . . . plus more

 

The five days’ training focused on the development of by-laws.

Wrapping up the foregoing discussions, “Pop” Errors, our writers’ companion, opines that “it is correct to say, “The two-man team conducted the five-day (or the five days’) training session for civil-society participants.” Note, however, that you cannot say five boys’ team; the apostrophe treatment applies to time only: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, centuries, and the like. Thus, you can write a thirty seconds’ (or thirty-second) exercise; in three minutes’ time (or five hours’, two days’, three weeks’, six months’ time).”

So far, we have considered two-word compound adjectives. But compound adjectives can have more than two words; it all depends on the craftsmanship of the writer. So, let us consider another compound adjective of a similar construction, but one which has more than two words, thereby introducing another dimension to the problems some writers may have in handling such. This one says:

A 40 years old man, accused of raping a 13 years old girl, was arrested.

You would do well to begin by noting the three elements in each of the two wrongly formed compound adjectives in this sentence, namely: 40 years old and 13 years old. “The rule is to hyphenate the three elements with the second element rendered in singular. Thus, we say: 40-year-old and 13-year-old. And the whole sentence now pans out like this:

“A 40-year-old man, accused of raping a 13-year-old girl, was arrested” (“Pop” Errors).

Uncle Tom/Uncle Sam

No doubt, Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam are familiar metaphors. The question, however, is whether we always use them correctly, conveying what we mean without befuddling the reader, as in:

Military experts suggest that after America, the next 25 countries combined do not possess the martial superiority of Uncle Tom.

“Pop” Errors observes that: ‘There is confusion here; what is intended is Uncle Sam, not Uncle Tom. From the drift of the statement, the writer’s focus is America whose appellation is Uncle Sam, an early 19th century coinage “said to have arisen from an expansion of the letters US.” Uncle Tom, on the other hand, is used to refer to “a black man considered to be excessively obedient or servile to whites.” Uncle Tom originated “from a character in the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe” (OALD). So, we call Uncle Sam by the correct name:

‘Military experts auggest that after America, the next 25 countries combined do not possess the martial superiority of Uncle Sam.’

Vacuum

We need to master certain expressions for what they are, if we will use them correctly. Many are idioms and others are English standard expressions. The rule is that you use them as they are supposed to be used, without adulteration. Below is an example of careless misusage:

You do not create anything in vacuum.

Just the omission of the article a has changed the intrinsic character of an otherwise elegant English idiom. The idiom is in a vacuum. Citing the dictionary, “Pop” Errors says: “To be in a vacuum is to exist “separately from other people, events, etc. when there should be a connection.” Let us just note that the article a is part of the idiom and never dropped.” Correct usage is:

You do not create anything in a vacuum.

 

The perceived inability of some first class graduates to secure employment has raised concerns about how equipped they are in terms of entrepreneurship and employability skills.  However, academics highlight factors that may be responsible, reports DAMOLA KOLA-DARE.

Why is it difficult for those graduating in first class in the Universities to fit into important jobs in the country?

Finishing with a First Class is the highest level of academic attainment for a student.

In the opinion of  Pro-Chancellor and Dean of the College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, University of Derby, United Kingdom, Prof Kamil Omoteso  lack of entrepreneurial skills, and being ill-equipped to get ahead after graduation are those causes. He urged institutions to introduce employability skills into the curriculum.

Every year, tertiary institutions churn out thousands of graduates into the labour market. Between November and December alone, Lagos State received 4,372 corps members mobilised to serve in the Batch C for national service.

Among the thousands are the few who distinguished themselves while in school. Why some  of them are finding it difficult to get jobs has become troubling.

A lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, UNILAG, Dr Oloruntola Sunday, frowned at the notion and stated that a lack of employment could not be linked to lack of basic entrepreneurial skills.

“I strongly disagree with such a sweeping statement. Go to international organisations and find out. Our graduates, not even first class are in international organisations such as Ernst and Young, KPMG, Pfitzer and Deloitte among others.And even in reputable agencies or media houses.

“Our first class students are getting scholarships all over the world.

“While the statistics of employment in relation to the number of graduates we produce is not positively skewed, it is not necessarily because of lack of basic entrepreneurial skills,” Sunday noted.

On his part, Dr Tola Olujuwon, a Chief Lecturer in the Department of Educational Foundations and Administration, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Ijanikin, Lagos, said that over theorising, poor funding and lack of motivation for lecturers, the admission quota system, and others were some of the major problems that inhibit quality such that first class graduates are said to be unemployable.

He said: “The essence of education is for the educated one to be useful to himself and the society. It is expected of such a person to use effectively what he has learnt in the world of work. The major problems which affect our graduates are: the curriculum of our educational system contains too much theory instead of practical; then poor funding and lack of motivation for lecturers to build the capacity of students.”

He added: “The goal of the African traditional education system is to develop the latent skill a child possesses in order to be able to solve problems. Sadly, the majority of Nigerian youths these days have entitlement mentality.They believe when they finish school, they will work in the oil industry or be musicians. For example, the BB Naija show rewarded the winner with millions of naira, but when it comes to quiz competition, what is given to the winner is sickening.”

According to Dr Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju of the Department of English, University of Ilorin, academic training is quite different from entrepreneurial training. He also noted that Nigerian graduates were excelling in different countries of the world despite the declining standards of education in the country.

He said: “Entrepreneurship is about investing or engaging in profit making ventures. Academic training is different from entrepreneurial training, just as theoretical knowledge is different from practical skills or technical know-how. Academics receive training in knowledge systems, in theoretical postulates and scientific knowledge of the behaviour of specific phenomena or species. They also receive training in research and in developing research capabilities, but the application of research results is often left to other arms of engagement.Entrepreneurial training, whether formal or informal, is different. The person who invented the telephone may not necessarily be a good speaker, marketer or investor; the person who invented the gun may not be able to shoot well, etc. We, therefore, need to appreciate that these are different specialisations or paradigms.”

Read Also: 29 graduate with first class at Oduduwa varsity 7th convocation

Oloruntoba-Oju also said the declining educational standard was not limited to Nigeria.

“On the issue of declining educational standards, it is not helpful to make sweeping generalisations about standards based on a relatively small sample. For example, there are reports of Nigerian graduates doing well in higher institutions, in work places and businesses abroad. On the other hand, we also hear of decline in the UK and the US too, even though there is some relativity involved. Here the situation may be worse due to corruption, inadequate facilities and poor management.”

He also noted that standardization of programmes across institutions was a challenge.

“Furthermore, degrees are not necessarily standardised across institution types (e.g Federal, State and Private Universities) or across the institutions themselves. The performance output of particular first class students therefore depends on the source institution or the amount of rigour that goes into the classification of degrees in the affected institutions. A lot also depends on the amount of rigour applied in admission or recruitment processes.Institutions and employers do not admit or employ solely on the basis of class of degree but on the basis of different and cross-matched assessment criteria. First class graduates should therefore not expect that degree is the be all and end all of career development.”

Beyond the issue of entrepreneurship or employability skills, Dr Dele Ashiru, Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UNILAG said the country lacks the enabling environment for start-up entrepreneurship.

He said: “The essence of university of education is not to make somebody employed. If you want to start a job, you must have years of experience to be qualified. I think when it comes to issues like this we should look at everything holistically.

“The way Nigeria is today, it is not encouraging any entrepreneurship. For instance, I want to set up a company, where will I get power to run it efficiently?

“All first class graduates that I know get scholarships to study abroad and they perform excellently anywhere.  University education is not about employment alone.  There are people who finish from the university and don’t seek employment.”

Immediate past Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Dr Mahfouz Adedimeji  said graduates are not employable not because of certain skills but because of bad governance and lack of proper planning.

He said: “The postulation to me is a mere academic exercise and an attempt to swim with the tides since entrepreneurship is another buzz word in our contemporary verbiage. The question is: what entrepreneurial skills did the graduates of the 60s and 70s and 80s have that made them employable? Entrepreneurship as a concept was not even trending then, if it existed in the public domain at all and they were not taught in school!”

With the increased demands for entrepreneurship and other skills, Abiodun Akinpelu, a professor of Educational Technology at the Lagos State University (LASU), said institutions are beginning to address the problem.

He said the National Universities Commission (NUC) had started reviewing university programmes with a view to incorporating entrepreneurial skills acquisition in them and developing the capacity of students to be employable. He also cited the ‘Ready Set Work’ Initiative of the Lagos State government as a platform to enhance the employability of graduates.

Akinpelu said: “Most of our colleagues abroad are soaked in illusions as per what is truly happening in Nigerian universities. NUC is busy instructing and supervising the injection of not only current developmental concepts into different university programmes but also ensuring a meaningful stress on entrepreneurial skill acquisition to enhance employability.

“I have attended accreditation exercises in tons of Nigeria universities and I can confirm that the story in our universities has changed drastically.

“The Ready Set Work initiative introduced about four years ago by the Lagos State government in all tertiary institutions in the state is aimed at heightening employability of our graduates, and now being replicated in other states.  I can say without mincing words that those declaring our First Class Graduates inferior to their foreign counterparts must be dwelling in the past.

“Have you also heard that Lagos State University is introducing ‘Stream B Admission’ which is totally built on Entrepreneurial Skill Acquisition Programmes?”

Also,Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu recently noted that the curricula of all tertiary institutions were being reviewed and developed to accommodate Entrepreneurship Education and Skills Acquisition to put the nation in the comity of technologically advanced countries.