Category: Campus Life

By Sam Ibok, UNICAL

The University of Calabar (UNICAL) has sensitised  students on how to access the $5,000 Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) grant, secured by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, under the TEF Entrepreneurial Development Programme.

Obi urged the students to take the training seriously to be self-reliant.

The VC, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration),  Prof. Mike Okom, said the TEF Entrepreneurial Development Programme was a great opportunity for   the students to sharpen their entrepreneurial skills.

Obi  said  the  programme was the first of its kind to be brought into the university, adding that $5,000 for students as start up was  huge.

She said testimonies from TEF beneficiaries within Africa show that the university was in the right direction of creating the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“We are praying and hoping that we explore other opportunities that will benefit our students. TEF is a great opportunity for our young ones to build their entrepreneurial skills and become self reliant,” she said.

Founder, TEF, Tony Elumelu  said the  entrepreneurial programme  was aimed at empowering the next generation of Africans to be entrepreneurs in various fields of endeavour.

Elumelu said the programme was also aimed at supporting 10,000 young Africans to become great entrepreneurs with  ideas that can develop the continent.

Dean of Students Affairs, Dr Tony Eyang, said TEF was coming to Calabar for the first time due to the vision, commitment and resourcefulness of the VC.

He described  Elumelu as a great entrepreneur who is lifting Africa to a higher level of entrepreneurial development.

He said the sensitisation was to guide the students on how to access the non-refundable grant.

He urged the students to take the  training  seriously because the idea was also to develop their business mindset and to guide them to be  independent after graduation.

“This programme has been designed to define your path to prosperity and sustainable growth and to uplift you to become an entrepreneur,” he said.

The sensitisation was attended by students from the Faculties of Management Sciences, Education, Social Sciences, Law, Arts, Agriculture and Environmental Science.

By Muhammad Auwal Ibrahim, ABU

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, has assured authorities at the  Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU) Zaria, of the Federal Government’s  support on sports development.

Dare gave the  assurance in Abuja last week, during a visit of  the institution’s top officers to his office.

He said this would enable the institution to compete with its counterparts across the world.

He stressed the need for ABU sports facilities to be upgraded because of the high population of students on the campus.

Dare described ABU as a great institution with a large population of influential alumni spread all over the country and beyond, adding that many members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) were the products of the university.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kabir Bala, noted that the institution was committed to connecting with its alumni across the world.

Bala emphasised the importance of sports development towards addressing youth restiveness.

The VC thanked the minister for the warm welcome given to  him and members of his team.

He told the minister that ABU Football Workers’ Club had registered for participation in the country’s football league.

Those who accompanied the VC  were the Registrar, Mallam A. A. Kundila; Director, Directorate of University Advancement, Prof. Ahmed D. Ibrahim; and Director, Sports, Dr. Ali Isa Danlami.

Others were former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Kayode Omojuwa; and Special Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor, Malam Auwal Muhammad Yusuf.

By Tunde Aderintoye and Fasilat Oluwuyi, MAPOLY

The Ogun State Government has  inaugurated Information Communication Technology (ICT) equipment worth N80 million at the Moshood Abiola  Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta.

The equipment, funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), comprised 280 computers, 30 air-conditioning units, and generators, among others.

The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, during the event at Abeokuta campus of MAPOLY, said the equipment would enhance teaching.

Arigbaju noted that the government was  committed to integrating technology into teaching and learning activities, adding that the  equipment was necessary as virtual learning has become the order of the day.

Arigbabu, who applauded the initiative, stressed the importance of technology in all spheres of human endeavour.

He said primary and secondary schools would also be provided with adequate ICT equipment to enable the youth prepare adequately for the future.

“The importance of technology in teaching and learning cannot be over emphasised.This is why the governor has given us the mandate to ensure that even at our primary and secondary schools, we should intensify the use of technology,” he said.

The Acting Rector, Dr. Adeoye Odedeji, stated that the project would boost teaching and learning in the institution. He added that the projects would also be an advantage to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations and for other academics.

Odedeji praised the government in promoting education in the state.He assured that the institution would continue to produce worthy ambassadors for the state.

 

By Emmanuel Ochayi

Former Military Administrator in Plateau and Niger states Col. Habibu ldris Shu’aibu (retd) has urged the Kano State Government to grant automatic employment to graduate students of Aminu Dabo College of Health Sciences and Technology (AD-COHST), Kano.

The former governor noted during a visit to the Proprietor of the college, Dr Aminu Dabo, that the excellent performance of the students deserved automatic employment in the state.

He noted that the graduates, if given opportunity, could contribute their quota towards ensuring effective healthcare services delivery, particularly in primary healthcare services to the communities in the state.

He praised the efforts of the college proprietor for establishing the college.

The former governor further stated that he was overwhelmed with the state-of-art infrastructural facilities, science equipment and administrative excellence provided in the college for effective learning and teaching.

” I am highly impressed with the set up of the college facilities which are in good shape and well maintained,” he said.

Dabo expressed happiness over the visit, noting  that the college had since inception graduated hundreds of middle level cadres in various fields of healthcare programmes that also passed their national examinations and secured professional licences to practise in any health facility in the country.

 

By Zainab Ahmad, BUK

Rector Kano  State Polytechnic  Dr  Kabir Bello Dungurawa has said the institution is  collaborating with the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) to introduce six new Bachelor of Technology, (B. Tech) courses.

Dungurawa, at the weekend on campus, said it had approached the university to seek affiliation to run the courses, namely Automobile Tech, Building Tech, Electrical and Electronics, Metalwork Tech, Woodwork Tech and Drafting Technology.

The Rector also said the institution is awaiting accreditation of 49 of its courses by the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE.

He said:  “Based on the handing over note or report I received, it is worth noting that, of the 64 courses that we run in the institution, 49 are due for accreditation this year, 2021. While we have another nine that requires resource verification.

“After receiving the report, we took it up and visited National Board for Technical Education, NBTE to intimate them about the accreditation process of the courses and find out their level of readiness and cost implication for the courses to be accredited.

“Once we have new courses, it will pave way for more citizens to get admission into Kano polytechnic,” he said.

He  noted that he was committed to his administration’s seven-point agenda,which he said,were his guiding principles in  running the institution.

“Upon assumption of office on November 2, 2020 as the Rector, I unveiled a seven-point agenda to guide the administration and smooth running of the institution and all efforts are geared towards actualising these agenda.

“The seven-point agenda include, transparency and open-door policy, equal opportunity for staff development, enhancing the quality of the academic programmes by getting them prepared for accreditation, reaccreditation and introducing new programmes.

“Similarly, ensuring a conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning with particular emphasis on modern technology, harmonious working relationship with all members of  staff and their unions, sustaining the existing collaboration and linkages with sister institutions and protection of students welfare with emphasis to speedy marking, compilation, processing and release of results.

“To ensure a conducive atmosphere for learning especially in this era of technological advancement, talk about the issue of ICT. We have to ensure that we align our teaching and learning into this dimension. The era we are now in is like a global village whereby people from different part of the world can easily get connected. We have to enhance network connectivity across the unit schools.

“For the student welfare, the era of delay in the result of the students is also a thing of the past under this administration,” he said.

The rector, however, noted that shortage of academic staff, construction of enough students’ hostels, among others,were some of the challenges faced by the institution.

 

 

By Sam Ibok and David Peter, UNICAL

Vice Chancellor,  University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Florence Obi has intensified efforts to reposition the institution’s entrepreneurial education to ensure  students become enterprise-driven.

Speaking during an entrepreneurship workshop to address challenges faced by youths and create employment opportunities, the VC stressed the importance of entrepreneurial studies.

She noted that there had been a paradigm shift from an analogue path to a digital system in the institution, adding that the university’s syllabus has changed to a modern and more practical one.

She also said the university’s entrepreneurship centre was remodelled to ensure graduates who passed through the centre would have added advantage in the labour market.

She said: “We are remodelling our entrepreneurship development centre, such that any student who graduates from the university would not just pass through the  centre, but would actually gain skills.

“Also, students will be recommended to the entrepreneurship centre for skill acquisition to enable them become marketable.”

Obi also said the curriculum was already structured, noting  that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) had been signed with the centre  to train the varsity’s students and ensure advancement in the labour market.

By Taofeek Ayangbemi, LASU

The Acting Dean of Students’ Affairs, Lagos State University (LASU), Dr Tajudeen Olumoko, has told fresh students of the Open and Distance Learning and Research Institute (ODLRI) of the institution to obey the rules and regulations contained in the Students Handbook.

He noted that they would be awarded certificates based on good character and learning.

He spoke at the matriculation ceremony of the institute held on the campus in Ojo, Lagos.

Director of the institute, Prof. Sena Bak’re stated that the  distance learning programme was rich in content and not part time.

She said: “Matriculation number is your identity. With the Matriculation exercise, officially, you become a LASU student. This programme is not part time and you are not a part time student. You are not inferior to the regular students”

Bak’re said ODLRI remains a course of convenience, especially for housewives, the working class, entrepreneurs and others who desire higher education.

“The classes are not regimented. You study at your convenient time. You are now world class students of a world class university. I wish you the best. I welcome you to LASU, congratulations,” she said.

Dr Joseph  Ayeni, the Deputy Registrar, urged the matriculants to take  the opportunity to achieve great things. He told them that they would face four challenges, adaptability, isolation, procrastination as well as lack of motivation. These, he said, were peculiar to regular students and they must overcome to achieve academic success.

“You have to adapt to the environment. Do not be isolated when reading. Avoid procrastination. Always believe you can do it , that is motivation. You can get to the top. See you at the top. This is a great opportunity for you. I wish you the best,” he said.

Then, the Registrar, represented by the Deputy Registrar, Exams and Records Division, Mr. Olabode Akinrinmade, presented the freshmen for matriculation. The matriculants, together recited the matriculation pledge, while one of them, on behalf of the others , signed the matriculation register.

Mr Ismail Bariu of the Information, Communication and Technology Department, stressed the importance of course registration and the need to get familiar with the university website. Furthermore, he enjoined them to complete their bio data registration.

He advised the students to always do their weekly assignments, online and submit, too.

By Ayomikun Sanusi, FUNAAB

The Federal University  of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) is set to tackle epileptic power supply on campus.

The institution’s Director of Works and Services, Mr. Olawole Akinyele stated this in an interview with CAMPUSLIFE.

As a result of power outage being faced by the university, Akinyele noted that FUNAAB was ready to install an 800kVA generating recently purchased.

He said the new generator was one of the 2018 digitalised technology models, which would require in-house training for operators.

“ I have discussed with the Head of Electrical  Department to give me four names of the operators that will manage it. I have to train them internally so that the generator would be able to serve the university for a long time,” he said.

Akinyele added that with the new generator, the powerhouse, which had been neglected for many years, would be back to life.

He praised the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kolawole Salako,  for  activating  the powerhouse by purchasing the 800kVA generator to address constant power outage.

He said : “This administration has taken the bull by the horns by activating the powerhouse. Over the years, the place has been neglected. ‘’We have a generator of 1984 edition in the power house and we have that of 2002.  But this one will go a long way to relieve  tension.”

The Director said  the old generators would be repaired to serve  students in the night to elongate the life span of the new generator.

He noted  that the installation would commence in due course.

Akinyele advised members of staff and students to make judicious use of electricity, adding that where it was not necessary, they should not put the lights on and that all appliances should be put off at the end of working hours.

He said this was necessary to manage power consumption because the electricity bills sent to the university in recent times had been outrageous.

Fresh graduates of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) who protested the delay in their mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) by authorities of the institution now have cause to smile. Reason: Their grievances have been attended to, reports FASILAT OLUWUYI (MAPOLY).

Peace has returned to Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta campus, following the mobilisation of the 2019 set of graduates for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Trouble had started on Friday, march 5, 2021, when the 2019 graduates gathered very early, carrying placards with various messages such as “Mobilise us now, MAPOLY we are tired of staying at home since 2019, MAPOLY let us go,” among others, to protest their delayed mobilisation for youth service.

.They had prevented vehicles, students and visitors from gaining entry into the school premises.They expressed their displeasure to the polytechnic management for failing to mobilise them on time.

 Protest on Twitter

Before embarking on the protest, the ex-students took their agitations to Twitter for three days, calling on the institution to mobilise them for the next batch of prospective corp members.

With various hashtags such as “Free us MAPOLY, Send the available ones,” they wrote on Twitter, urging the management to urgently address the issue.

@wunmzy04 wrote: “We are tired of sitting at home, stop wasting our precious time#freeUsMapoly, #sendtheavailableones.”

@officialyhemyte wrote:  “Mapoly free us o,please upload our names and let’s move on with our respective lives.”

Another ex-student tweeted: “#Mapolyfreeus ooooo, my parents think I didn’t go to school since those whom we entered school together same year don go service…#MAPOLYFreeUs.”

After getting no response to their agitations on Twitter,  the graduates told CAMPUSLIFE they had to embark on a physical protest to press home their demands.

 

MAPOLY delaying our future,

say ex- students

Some of the ex-students, who spoke with CAMPUSLIFE during the protest, lamented that the delay in mobilisation had caused them serious problems.

One of the 2019 graduates, Theresa Shogbaike, said she had been waiting to be mobilised since 2019.

“Since I graduated in 2019, I have not been posted to serve. Now you’re telling me to wait again before I serve. They should send the list to NYSC and mobilise us today,” she said.

Also, Olaitan Ogunnaike, another ex- student, blamed the management  for failing  to upload the list of the students to NYSC portal.

” We are MAPOLY graduates set for 2019 and, over a year now, we are yet to be mobilised for the NYSC. After pasting the Senate list, they failed to upload it to the NYSC portal for us.

“They are saying not everyone has registered and they want to upload everything together. We want them to send the ones that are available on ground,” he said.

The incumbent Assistant-General Secretary of the National Association of Ogun State Student, NAOSS, MAPOLY chapter, Showole Abiodun, accused the management of delaying their future.

” Since 2019, we are yet to be mobilised. All our colleagues in other schools,  with whom we finished together, are done with their NYSC. How would we be able to plan our lives? How do they expect us to work when we don’t have NYSC certificate, yet they are telling us not to protest? It is our right,” he noted.

Ridwan Adeyemi, another graduate, charged the management to keep to its promise of mobilising them.

He said: “We want validation that our name will be posted today. I had to stop working, I came from Lagos. They should help us out. What we want is let us register today, we only have till Sunday to register. If we don’t register before Sunday that means we are not going.”

Olusayo Adeniran pleaded with the management to upload their names to the NYSC portal.

“Upload our names to NYSC portal; give us the opportunity to serve our fatherland, it’s our fatherland we shouldn’t beg to serve our fatherland,” he said.

Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE after the protest, Marcus Adeniyi, a Microbiology graduate who was a key player in the protest,  stated that they had missed the 2019 batch of NYSC hoping that they we’ll get mobilised with the 2021 batch.

“We graduated in 2019, and after graduating as expected, we’re supposed to embark on one year mandatory service, before the pandemic started. It delayed many  things, but after sometime, some schools actually mobilised their students for service.

“We concluded that MAPOLY’s calendar was clumsy at times, we graduated in 2019, we missed service that same year; we were waiting for 2020.  We realised later that we couldn’t go with 2020 set again,” he said.

Adeniyi said though the NYSC started its registration very late, they were expecting that once the NYSC portal opened, MAPOLY would have uploaded their names, but they were unable to register.

He said: “To our greatest surprise on March 3 when NYSC opened their portal for registration, we were unable to register. We’ve seen our results since last year. We’ve done our part on submission of documents.”

He also stated that the group of concerned students sent delegates to the management, asking that they mobilise them but there was no positive  response hence, they decided to embark on a physical protest.

“We were expecting that after March 3, we were going to get it but we didn’t see anything and we sent the past SUG executives to meet the management  and we didn’t hear anything.

“At my end, I tried communicating with the school on Twitter, giving them reasons we were supposed to be mobilised on time. At least if something is wrong, we have a Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the school, that can communicate with us and let us know what is going on.

“It  has really affected everybody that made people ask every time if we truly  graduated. I tweeted out of anger and I just noticed that it started having alot of engagements from my colleagues who were also affected.”

He said he made efforts with other concerned students to visit the mobilisation centre in the school,  where they were told not all of them will be going for service in 2021, stating that if MAPOLY is to send names to NYSC it will only be once per year as directed by NYSC.

He stated they were also told that some students have not submitted the necessary documents and the school wanted them all to go together.

“They now want everyone to go together, but some students through their own negligence have not been able to meet up with the registration process by not submitting their JAMB regularisation details. It means we’ll now have to wait for them so that they’ll collate everything together and submit at once,” he said.

At first, I bought into the explanation, but when we got home we put the summary of our discussion on our group and people started bringing up different suggestions, opinions and ideas.

He continued: ” It was there that someone contacted NYSC on Twitter. It was through the question NYSC answered that we got to know that it’s not possible for a school to send only one list. It was there we also gathered that over 40, 000 students of other schools have registered and it is not possible for NYSC to mobilise them all on the first stream,  that means some set of students will go with a different stream that has registered.Again, it  means a larger percentage of MAPOLY students will have to wait till next year for service; thus we decided to protest.”

 

 Protest brings desired result

Reacting as to whether or not the protest yielded positive results,  Adeniyi told CAMPUSLIFE that  the protest was fruitful, adding that some of his colleagues were already on their way to camp. Others who are yet to go  have seen their names on the NYSC portal to go with the next batch.

“To the glory of God, the protest was very fruitful as some of our colleagues are already on their way to  camp. The Rector came out trying to calm us down, assuring us that they will mobilise us on that day and that  they were considering other students.

“He said we should give him some time .From there, we waited  an hour, two hours,then we visited the mobilisation centre.

“We waited till they finished uploading the list. We were with them till night at the mobilisation centre in school, when people started calling us that they had  seen their names on the list.

” I don’t have the total number of our colleagues going with batch A stream 1, but I’ll say a little number out of those that have registered. And our protest was successful. I  believe when it is time for the others going by May 18, it will be hitch-free,” he noted.

 

‘Unfortunate our students had to protest to get mobilised’

Reacting to the protest, the Head Public Relations and Protocol Officer of the polytechnic, Mr. Yemi Ajibola, said it was quite unfortunate that the ex-students  had to embark on a protest to press home their demands to be mobilised  for the NYSC.

Ajibola said  the delay in the mobilisation was due to the crises the polytechnic faced in 2017, problems from NYSC and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

When asked if there was no form of communication to the ex- students regarding their mobilisation, Ajibola said: “They’ve been coming, though I have not seen them. I have seen their comments online which we have been attending to.

“The mobilisation officer was at a workshop in Abuja and I had to be wary of what  to tell them. I was aware that the Director of Students Affairs was at one or two meetings with them.

” We didn’t want to say anything contradictory, we had to wait for the  Mobilisation Officer to give us valid information to disseminate to them. The Mobilisation  Officer  came and ,met them at the gate where they were protesting. The woman told them not to worry but they weren’t ready to listen.”

He said the ex-students weren’t given any particular information on the mobilisation  because they( School Officials)  were NYSC staff.

The PRO also faulted the NYSC for suddenly changing the closing date for mobilisation, adding that the ex-students did not exercise patience.

“Yes, we can not give them any particular information, students will react if they want you  tell them tomorrow or today. But that will not be possible when we’re not the NYSC,” he said.

Ajibola also said the former students weren’t patient enough, though some of them hadn’t submitted the necessary documents before the protest. However, they were assured those who were  ready will get mobilised.