The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • SCHOLARSHIPS approaching deadlines

    Ghent Scholarships in Belgium for Developing Countries – 2014

    Scholarship Brief description:

    Ghent University offers postgraduate Masters scholarships to international students from selected developing countries who wish to study in Belgium and obtain a master’s degree at Ghent University.

    Host Institution(s):

    University of Ghent in Belgium

    Field(s) of study:

    Eligible Master Grants programmes International Master of Science in Rural Development International Master of Science in Environmental Technology and Engineering Master of Science in Technology for Integrated Water Management Master of Advanced Studies in European Law

    Erasmus Mundus: Master of Science in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

    Erasmus Mundus: European Master of Science in Nematology Master of Science in Plant Biotechnology Master of Science in Statistical Data Analysis Master of Science in Photonics Science and Engineering Master of Science in Textile Engineering Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering + 7 International Course Programmes (ICP) Master of Science in Aquaculture Master of Science in Environmental Sanitation Master of Science in Food Technology Master of Science in Nematology Master of Science in Physical Land Resources Master of Science of Nutrition and Rural Development Master of Science in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management, All residents from the VLIR-UOS country list can only apply for an ICP-scholarship (International Course Programme) and not for a Master grant. Residents from Angola, Myanmas, Niger, Pakistan, Algeria, China and Namibië can apply for a Master grant.

    Number of Scholarships:

    Each year, a maximum of 10 scholarships can be awarded.

    Target group:

    The scholarships are for international students from developing countries listed on the Master Grants country list (PDF).

    Scholarship value/inclusions:

    The scholarship is in principle paid for the total duration of the studies. The scholarship consists of an allowance of €1000 per month and the yearly tuition fee with a maximum of 80€. Once you get an installation fee of 500€. In case of increased tuition fee for the master’s programme, Ghent University will only reimburse the refundable part. Airline ticket and visa costs are carried by the student.

    Eligibility:

    Degree:

    Applicants for master’s programmes should already have obtained a bachelor degree when they submit the application.

    Nationality:

    The applicants must come from and should be nationals of one of the developing countries on the Master Grants country list (PDF). Priority, however, will be given to the categories on the country list with the lowest levels of development and income. Priority will also be given to students applying for an ICP-programme whose country is not on the VLIR-country list but on the UGent list.

    Language and proficiency:

    The application is to be made in English. The applicant should have a very good command of the English language. Click here to see the requirements.

     

    To be continued

     

     

    must include the following documents:

    ” completed application form;

    ” motivation essay of no more than 1000 words, explaining why they need a scholarship, and what they hope to gain from their studies at Charles University;

    ” two letters of recommendation from teachers, who know the student from their previous studies, including confirmation of the student’s financial need.

    Note: The current scholarship holders who are reapplying do not need to submit the two recommendation letters or write the essay. Please include a cover note and one recommendation letter from a Charles University academic who knows you from your studies with your application.

    3. Applications should be sent to Manager, International Office (at the address below). All documents submitted must be originals and written in the English language, or accompanied by certified translations.

    4. The deadline for scholarship applications is 30 April 2014. Students who will have problems meeting this deadline due to inefficient or unreliable postal services may, as a temporary measure, submit fax copies and/or scanned copies by e-mail. However, originals must also be sent, and final decisions will not be made until originals have been received.

    Selection of Applicants

    1. All scholarship applications received by the deadline will be assessed by a Scholarship Review Board, which will recommend five students to receive scholarships to the Dean of the Faculty. The decision of the Board on which students it will recommend for a scholarship will be independent of the deliberations of the Admissions Panel regarding which students to admit. However, only students finally admitted by the Faculty are eligible to become scholarship holders.

    2. In addition to the documents submitted by scholarship applicants, the Scholarship Review Board will take into consideration applicants’ results from their earlier studies. Priority will be given to students who have not previously had the opportunity to study abroad.

    3. A final decision regarding the students to be offered scholarships will be made by the Dean. The Dean will not enter into correspondence with unsuccessful applicants regarding this decision.

    Financial Terms and Conditions

    1. Successful scholarship applicants will receive payment at the start of their first semester, no later than one month after they register for their studies. No money will be paid in advance of the students’ arrival in Prague.

    2. Before students receive their scholarships, they will also be required to make an advance payment in respect of their school fees for the second semester. This payment will be held as a surety until February 2015, and will thereafter be used to cover the cost of the student’s classes in the second semester. No further charge will be made for school fees in school year 2014/15.

    3. In the event that students are forced to terminate their studies for disciplinary reasons, the surety they have paid for their school fees in the second semester is not returnable. However, in the event that students are unable to continue their studies for medical reasons, an adequate refund can be negotiated.

    4. Scholarships are awarded for school year 2014/15, and may not be deferred to later years.

    5. In the event that the Faculty of Social Sciences succeeds in obtaining the necessary funding to continue this scholarship scheme in school year 2015/16, existing scholarship holders will be given the opportunity to reapply. However, any extension of the scholarship will be conditional on students achieving satisfactory results in their first year.

    6. Scholarships will not be offered for a third year of study (master’s degree) or for a fourth year of study (bachelor’s degree) under any circumstances.

    POST YOUR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION TO:

    Manager, International, Office, Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences

    Smetanovo, nabrezi, 6110 01, Praha 1,Czech Republic

    E-mail: svoz@fsv.cuni.cz (enquiries only)

    END

    TWAS-USM Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme for Developing Countries

    TWAS-USM Fellowship is a Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme for Developing Countries except Malaysia. Read all for more information.

    For young scientists from developing countries (other than Malaysia) who wish to pursue advanced research in the natural sciences at the UniversitiSains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia. Deadline 15 September.

    IMPORTANT: The following is additional information concerning the TWAS-USM Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme tenable in Malaysia. It is an integral part of the information given here: TWAS Fellowships for Postdoctoral Research.

    Applicants should be aware that they can apply for only one fellowship per year. With the exception of the fellowships “for research collaboration”, all other fellowship programmes offered by TWAS and TWOWS that are mutually exclusive.

    Programme Details

    1. TWAS-USM Postdoctoral Fellowships are tenable in the departments, institutions and laboratories of the UniversitiSains Malaysia (USM) for a minimum period of twelve (12) months to a maximum period of three years and are awarded to young scientists from developing countries (other than Malaysia) to enable them to pursue advanced research in the natural sciences.

    2. USM will provide a standard monthly allowance which should be used to cover living costs, such as accommodation and food.

    3. The language of instruction is English.

    Eligibility

    Applicants for these fellowships must meet the following criteria:

    ” be nationals of a developing country (other than Malaysia);

    ” must not hold any visa for temporary or permanent residency in Malaysia or any developed country;

    ” hold a PhD degree in a field of the natural sciences;

    ” apply for the fellowship within five years of having obtained a PhD degree in a field of the natural sciences;

    ” be regularly employed in a developing country (other than Malaysia) and hold a research assignment there;

    ” provide an official Acceptance Letter from a department, laboratory or institute at USM (see sample Acceptance Letter in the application form). Requests for acceptance must be directed to the Dean, Institute of Postgraduate Studies, USM (Prof. MuhamadJantan: by e-mail twasusm@gmail.com, mjantan@usm.my) who will facilitate assignment of a host supervisor. In contacting Prof. Jantan applicants must accompany their request for an Acceptance Letter with copy of their latest CV and a short write-up of research proposal (maximum 3 pages);

    ” provide evidence of proficiency in English;

    ” be financially responsible for any accompanying family member.

    Submitting your application

    ” The deadline for receipt of applications is 15 September of each year.

    ” Applicants should submit the acceptance letter from a USM department/laboratory to TWAS and USM when applying or by the deadline at the latest. Without preliminary acceptance, the application will not be considered for selection.

    ” Reference letters: Referees must send signed letters as attachment via e-mail directly to TWAS and USM. The subject line must contain: USM/ PDoc/the candidate’s surname. Alternatively, letters should be sent by post in sealed envelopes. Only signed reference letters can be accepted.

    ” Applicants to the TWAS-USM Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme should send their application to TWAS and USM (by post, fax or email).

    APPLICATION FORM:

    Click on the links below to download the application form and guidelines. Before applying it is recommended that you read very carefully the application guidelines for detailed information on eligibility criteria, deadlines and other key requirements of the application procedure.

    ” PDoc Application form

    ” PDoc Application Guidelines

    Contact Details

    Prof. MuhamadJantan

    Dean, Institute of Postgraduate Studies

    UniversitiSains Malaysia (USM)

    11800 Penang, Malaysia

    Phone: +604-653-2930

    Fax: +604-653-2931

    E-mail: twasusm@gmail.com

    mjantan@usm.my

    TWAS Fellowships Office

    ICTP Campus, StradaCostiera 11

    34151 Trieste, Italy

    Phone: +39 040 2240-314

    Fax: +39 040 2240-689

    E-mail: fellowships@twas.org

    Visit Scholarships Website: http://twas.ictp.it/prog/exchange/fells/fells-pdoc/usm-pdoc

    End

    Erasmus Mundus Scholarships For Developing Countries

    Erasmus Mundus Scholarships is a European Union Scholarships for Students in developing countries to MS/PhD Degree in European Countries. The deadline for application has always been between December and January annually and the courses normally start around August/September every year.

    Scholarship description:

    The European Union offers fully-funded Erasmus Mundus Scholarships for Masters programmes and Doctorate programmes to students coming from developing countries.

    These scholarships are exclusively awarded to students that have been selected to attend one of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes at Masters or Doctorate level.

    Host Institution(s):

    European Universities/Institutions participating under approved Erasmus Mundus Action Joint Programmes.

    Field(s) of Study:

    For 2013-2014, about 139 Masters courses and 43 Joint Doctorate courses are supported by scholarships. The field(s) of study covered are: Agriculture and Veterinary, Engineering, Manufacture and Construction, Health and Welfare, Humanities and Arts, Science, Mathematics and Computing, and Social Sciences, Business and Law.

    Number of Awards:

    From the period of 2009-2013, about 5,300 Masters students and 440 Doctoral students from developing countries will be awarded with an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship.

    Target group:

    Students from developing/emerging countries who do not come from the 27 Member States of the EU and who are not residents nor have carried out their main activity (studies, training or work) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in one of these countries.

    Scholarship value/inclusions:

    The programme offers full-time scholarships and/or fellowships that cover the living costs, tuition fees, travelling and insurance costs of the students.

    Scholarship amounts can vary according to the level of studies/teaching/research, their duration (3 months to 3 years) and the grantee’s nationality (scholarships for non-EU individuals are higher than for EU individuals).

    Eligibility:

    Please note that each Erasmus Mundus Joint Programme defines its own selection criteria and admission procedures. Students or scholars should contact the Consortium offering the Masters /Doctoral Programmes for more information.

    Application instructions:

    For the academic year 2013/2014 you are advised to consult in advance the websites of each of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes (Masters/Doctorates) that interest you. There you will find all necessary information concerning the content of the course, its structure, the scholarship amounts as well as the application and selection procedures. Deadline varies from program to program. The deadline varies per programme but is around October to January annually.

    It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

    Contact information:

    Since each individual joint programme consortium is responsible for its own application and selection procedures (and timetable), interested candidates should consult the relevant website in order to take notice of these procedures. If necessary, they should contact the consortium for further information.

    You will find further information on the Action 1 of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes in the updated version of the “frequently asked questions” (FAQs).

    Scholarships Website:

    Official Scholarship Website: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/funding/scholarships_students_academics_en.php#1

    Erasmus Mundus Programme Guidelines 2009-2013 (See Chapters 4 & 5): http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/programme/documents/guide_emdec09_%20en.pdf

    End

     

     

  • Restore MAPOLY’s lost glory, Amosun urges council

    Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has charged the new Governing Council of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, to restore the institution to its glorious past.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the council in Abeokuta, Amosun urged its members to set in motion modalities for resuscitating the institution because of the importance the state places on education.

    “Out of all our cardinal programmes, education is the most important. It drives all other sectors and that is why we must get our tertiary institutions right as it is the bedrock of development,” he said.

    He charged members of the council, which has school proprietor, Alaba Lawson as Chairman, to bring to bear all their experiences in the discharge of their duties towards the development of the polytechnic.

    “As a government, we will support you to succeed. We do not need to get involved, except on few occasions when we need to interface with each other,” Amosun said.

    He explained that the government had to delay the constitution of the council in order to search for credible people that will turn around the fortunes of the institution.

    Responding, MrsLawson assured the governor that the Council would work hard to return MAPOLY to the good old days of academic excellence.

    The new Rector of the institution, Prof Oludele Itiola was until his appointment a Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan.

     

  • Group holds seminar for Youths

    Minds and Moments Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, has held a motivational seminar for youths with the theme: Setting the track. It held at Royal Bird Hotel, Akure, the Ondo State capital.

    Some of the facilitators, who spoke at the event included Dr Wilson Thomas, Olusola Amusan, Awi Ayodele and Michael Malomo.

    While challenging youths to be creative and not rely on government for jobs, Dr Willson said: “It is only in Nigeria that we have people relying on the government to put food on their table and that is certainly not possible. The development of every nation is a collective responsibility of every individual. Without the people, there can never be a nation. The people make the nation.’’

    Olusola Amusan, a staff member of Orange FM in Akure, challenged youth to take positive steps in moving the country forward.

    “If every individual can take positive steps towards bringing about positive changes, the change we need will eventually come. In Nigeria, things are the way they are simply because people have refused to take responsibility and that has made them to be a liability to the nation,” he stated.

    Awi said: “For Nigeria to develop, certain principles, beliefs and mindset need to change. Youths must rise up to take necessary steps that are geared towards bringing the needed change. We must be ready to contribute our own quota towards the development of our country.”

    Malomo, a presenter with Adaba Fm in Akure, identified leadership as the bane of the present Nigeria.

    He said: “It is our duty as youths to choose passionate and selfless leaders in different leadership positions. We need leaders that truly understand what leadership is all about. We need leaders that can distinguish between serving people and serving their personal interests.’’

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, the convener, Joel Adeniyi, said: “The event was organised to change the mindset of the youths prepare them for the task of nation building,”

     

  • Improving reading culture

    Improving reading culture

    A few days ago, I listened to a phone-in programme on the radio with the topic: The youths do not read. In the sentence, the word “read” refers to academic materials. With such a sensitive subject matter, it is easy to predict who the respondents would be. Your guess was right – most of the callers were elderly people, who believed the reading culture is diminishing.

    Opinions were divided among the respondent, some of whom believed that the youths are lazy and do not want to suffer for anything except to enjoy life. Others emphasised that youths are being distracted by entertainment, sports and other trivial issues.

    When the programme ended, there was an agreement of opinions among the callers that, which could simply be paraphrased as follows: youths don’t want to read again.

    Let us now get down to the crux of this discourse. Who is a youth? Why is he not reading? I might not be able to explain the term “read” from all perspectives, but there is one perspective that is responsible for why the youths are not good readers, especially from the academic angle.

    On personal observation, I believe there are different categories of youth. Some come from an affluent background and do everything with ease. They do not have to struggle for whatever thing they may need in life. This set of youths does not want any challenge to bother them. So, asking them to read to discover and learn or to provide an answer to a puzzle would be their least concern.

    In second category are youths from privileged background, who have all resources they need. Despite the riches of their parents, they still want to explore the world. They read not only to be informed, but also to provide answers to questions. For them, their parents’ riches become an advantage.

    The youths in the third category are from average families, which do not have everything but has enough to be comfortable in life. This set of youth does not want to stress themselves to get what apparently seems unachievable. They do not want to be in the uppermost class; they prefer an average life. They may not bother about getting advanced education; they are modest in everything.

    The fourth category has youths who are also from average families, but are not satisfied with their life. Hence, they would use their meager resources to shoot themselves up to affluence, without difficulty.

    We also have youths from the lowest class, who grow up with little or nothing. They blame everything on fate. They see their peers from rich homes as an enemy to loathe.

    There are also youths from the lowest class, who grow with nothing and do not accept their condition as fate. Rather, they see themselves as a victim of a nation with lopsided wealth distribution. They fight their way to position where the wealth of the nation is shared.

    From the analysis, one could tell why the reading culture drops among the youths. However, youths in category two and four would read more without undivided attention. They are focused and not interested in any trivial issues. You know why? They do not only have the resources they need in readiness, they will also secure jobs with ease in their discipline.

    How? They have ‘connections’ because of their influential parents, friends, relatives and groups. The probability that they will get jobs before graduation is high.

    The subject of this discourse is youths in the last category. They are the ones losing interest in reading, because they does not have a certain aim but still want to make money and be counted as one of the influential people in the society. In their manners, they are rough and tough.

    This set of youth seldom has a target. They may be studying Medicine, Accounting, Law or other professional discipline, but we should not surprise if they tell us they are not building their future on that. While they study, they will be looking out for where to make money.

    The average Nigerian youth would not be interested in reading abstract textbooks of how two elements became a compound, neither would he be interested in why Shakespeare was the most important writer in the Elizabethan Period.

    He wants substance, he wants something that will trigger his thinking, something physical and concrete, that would be of help to humanity and not absurd formulas.

    In fact, majority of the present day achievers belong to the last category of youths. Older people need to know that there is a new trend. Things were different in their time because they had access to free education, countless scholarship opportunities, good libraries with updated books and good economy.

    But, the youths of today feel unsecured; their attention is divided. They are demoralised by conditions of their uncles and aunts, who read hard but ended up taking dirty jobs with meager salaries. The youths of today do not want to join this league, hence they try to find solution by not putting all of their eggs in a basket.

    Solution? Yes, let the nation, which does not appreciate education, provide a healthy standard in our education system and create equal opportunities based on merit, let us see how the youths would not take their time to study.

    •Temitope is a student of English, UNILAG

     

     

     

  • Alumni rally for alma mater

    To boost the learning of information technology in their alma mater, old pupils of Owu Community Comprehensive High School, Elere Adubi in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, have set up an Information Communications Technology (ICT) Centre to be launched on Saturday during a reunion programme in the school.

    The school’s old students’ association will be inaugurated same day.

    According to a release by one of the old students, Mr Jimoh Ayinde, endowment of the centre is another move to check the tide of neglect and under-funding of the school by the government.

    Ayinde added that the old students plan to give the school a facelift and also impact the pupils by volunteering to teach, especially the science subjects.

    “We want to stimulate enthusiasm for the physical sciences, and also provide scholarship for the pupil with the best result in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination,” he said.

    He spoke of plans to upload a website and establish an e-library to give the school access to academic resources of international public schools.

     

  • ASUU: Same old battered road (II)

    I ended last week’s piece with the directive from the government that local unions (in 1996) were to henceforth negotiate with their respective varsity councils in a kind of deregulated collective bargaining structure. The goal was to break ASUU. But as expected, the directive was resisted by the union while the strike continued.

    One of the major problems Nigeria faces is that of noble ideas and initiatives, in essence, we suffer from “paucity” of ideas. I deliberately used the word paucity in inverted commas because those in authority often choose ideas and initiatives that stand logic on its head. How else can one describe an idea that has been used by the military more than a decade ago which was clearly unpopular then as it is now?

    The same script is being played out today notwithstanding the fact that the universities have neither the resources nor even the available pool of qualified teachers to fill more than 40,000 vacancies already existing if the strike threat is followed to the latter. How would force resolve a problem that neither logic nor diplomacy was able to resolve in the past six months?

    It is instructive to note that despite of all these – in the 1990s – the strikes lasted for more than six months! Is this not supposed to have drawn the attention of someone in authority that these are battled scared ‘soldiers’ who have fought in some of the toughest trenches of all – under the military where decree after decree held sway – yet the pulled through? So why would a “democratically elected” government choose this path? That will be issue for another day.

    Suffice it to say that at the end of the day – if these issues are finally resolved and lectures go back to work – what would we say has been the benefit of this strike? What are the various narratives that were thrown up and lessons learnt? It would not be out of place to say this is one of the most discussed ASUU strikes of all time. Reasons for this are not farfetched; back in the 1990s there were no internet and social media, these mediums heightened discussions and elongated the narratives enacted.

    These set of narratives ranged from the government accusing ASUU of playing subversive politics with its leadership referred to as a group of militant minorities. Some commentators have labelled this action as executive recklessness. Parents, students and Nigerians also joined the narrative and in the process, most lost sight of what the real issues were as emotion took over reason with insinuations that it is part of a larger 2015 script!

    In all, I find the Parents narrative quite instructive and depressing at the same time. Most parents I spoke with are only interested in the varsities opening and their children and wards “finishing their degrees and moving on with life”. Why – I ask – would you have parents who would stick to their guns that their children or wards must attend fast decaying universities and would frown at any group that consistently demands that they are made better?

    Note that a university degree in Nigeria is like a meal ticket and is one of the most significant symbols of societal relevance. So if it is this relevant why would parents care less how and where these degrees are acquired?

    As I try to sift through this narrative, I discovered that some parents are angry with ASUU “as if they can change Nigeria.” All they have been screaming is that they want their wards back in school, Period! As far as they are concerned, ASUU should return to class, rotten infrastructure and half-baked education notwithstanding. This is rather unfortunate and a most shocking development.

    So what do we make of this? Should we leave the universities the way they are and keep on churning out unemployable graduates – like the system is doing presently – or systematically overhaul the entire curricula and the system to conform to current global realities?

    With all its perceived flaws, it is the consistent struggles of ASUU over the years that has frustrated governments objective of commercialising and privatising university education. If this is achieved, a substantial portion of the population would not have access to university education.

    Was there a deliberate plan by successive governments to deliberately underfund university education with the aim of weakening these institutions and surreptitiously pushing the argument that it can no longer fund them, with the ultimate ploy of privatising them? ASUU members think so that is why they are insisting on having a written communication on the N200 billion the government said it had lodged in the Central Bank. Adequate funding of the varsities will thus be the next battle that will be fought.

    Now, to the constituency that matters most; the students: what are they saying? It will shock many that it is only a few students that understand what the issues are. Most are only concerned – for obvious reasons – with the “sins” of ASUU members; sex for marks, sale of handouts, favouritism in awards of examination marks, elongation of stay of uncooperative students etc. To this set of students, their lecturers are on strike mainly for increased remuneration and not for the university system. As I’ve written in the past, there are definitely some bad eggs within ASUU ranks, but I believe that most of the things they are fighting for are noble.

    Ordinarily, the students’ narrative should be shocking, but it is not. Fast gone are the days when NANS can stand and take a unified position on issues of national importance like this. We have a fractured NANS today which is only interested in paying courtesy calls on politicians to curry favours.

    Those who watch international news channel would not have missed the massive protests of students in Brazil demanding a reversal of government cut in university funding. This was at the same time with our own strike! Within the same period too, students in Chile also protested. In the United Kingdom- where more than 10,000 Nigerian students are studying – students took to the streets protesting unfriendly policies on university education. Egyptian students have been at the forefront of months of protest to force out the military adventurers who toppled Mohammed Morsy, even though they do not support his Islamist agenda.

    What I find quite revealing is that these are students in universities with facilities far better than ours, yet they remain unrelenting in demanding a better system. It is all predicated on the prevailing consciousness in those countries and the culture of values that the older generation had succeeded in transferring to the younger ones, a culture in which you consistently demand that which is right. Unfortunately we cannot say that of Nigeria where almost everything has ethnic, regional or political colouration blindfolding us from achieving a glorious future that has been laid out for us.

    We only need education here as far as it can give us any job without having a clear cut aspiration of what we want to attain in life. We would rather pursue a career in music even if we do not know how to play a single musical instrument or understand the basics of harmonics, than acquiring the knowledge of dialectic reasoning or logic. This is not to say music in itself is bad, but it is largely seen as an escape route to “success” by most of us even though it is glaring that our talent does not lie there.

    While the average Indian, South Korean, Taiwanese or Chinese kid is rooted in the discipline of voracious knowledge acquisition with his counterpart in Europe, ours is either a social media loafer without the realisation that these are avenues that their counterparts chart to make millions for themselves.

    I will like to conclude with this: is strike the only weapon that is effective with the government and university authorities in Nigeria? The younger generations of university teachers are divided on this. Those for often emphasise the fact that historically ASUU has never gained any concession from the governments through dialogue. Those against said it is high time new strategies are used. These two perspectives have led to speculations of a generational conflict among the academic staffs of Nigerian universities. Time will tell how it will play out in the future.

     

     

     

  • UNICAL wins varsities’ debate

    UNICAL wins varsities’ debate

    The University of Calabar (UNICAL) has won the All Nigerian Universities Debate Championship (ANUDC), which it hosted.

    The theme was: Corruption, insecurity and national development.

    Nine universities participated in the competition. The Dean of Students, Prof Eyong U. Eyong, who is the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, said many schools could not participate in the contest because of the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

    On the first day, a training session was held for the debaters. It was chaired by the Speaker, Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. Larry Odey.

    The convener, Prof Eze Bassey, praised participants for putting up for the competition. He encouraged the debaters to be bold during their presentations. He said the aim of the event was to promote the spirit of debate and dialogue, noting that they were vital to solving societal problems.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof James Epoke, said the university was committed to promoting teaching and learning by exploring avenues that will boost the exposure of the students and give them opportunities to participate in national and global competitions.

    The ceremony featured the formation of the Nigerian Debate Council (NDC), whose membership was drawn from the participating institution.

    It had six rounds, quarter final, semi-final and grand finale. Team UNCIAL emerged the best in three rounds while the University of Port Harcourt contingent won the fourth.

    The debate topic for the grand finale was: This house shall take the decisions of the national conference to the National Assembly for ratification.

    After the grand finale, Archibong Emmanuel and Aka Augustine, both of Team UNICAL, won the first position with 1980 and 1978 points. Team UNIPORT and Imo State University (IMSU) were first and second runners-up.

    The University of Lagos (UNILAG), Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Cross River State University of Science and Technology (CRUTECH), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU)and University of Uyo (UNIUYO) won fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh andeighth positions.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Nkemakolam Agommuo of Team MOUAU, said he had problem with the style of the debate.

    “The parliamentary debate format is new to us. It is not readily in use in this part of the world. We are not used to it. I hope that next time, we shall have enough time to develop more on the format,’’ he said.

    Aka Augustine of Team UNICAL described the debate system as an international.

    He said: “The format is an international standard. In UNICAL.

    It is the standard we use to train our debaters. Universities need to invest in the intellectual development of their students by adopting international best practices just as we do here in UNICAL.”

  • Experts move to curb climate change impact

    Experts move to curb climate change impact

    Officials of the Open Society Foundation (OSF) from the United States have visited the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) to sensitise farmers on how to insulate their farms from the effects of climate change. INYA-AGHA EGWU reports.

    How to stop flooding on farms to boost food production dominated discussion when delegates of the Open Society Foundation (OSF) in New York, United States, visited the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

    The delegates, who were in the university to assess the level of work done in building a trans-disciplinary climate change capacity for the school and its environment, were received by the institution’s Centre for Climate Change Adaptation Initiative.

    The Director of Centre, Prof Anthonia Achike, called for proper information dissemination on climate change to enable farmers manage the issue of flooding and boost food production.

    He noted that the flooding witnessed in the country last year would have had a lesser impact on farmers had they been given adequate information on ways to prevent flood prior to the incident. She said: “Farming is weather-dependent, especially in Nigeria and other African sub-Sahara countries. If a farmer cannot predict the weather accurately, he would plant at wrong time, use wrong seed and harvest at the wrong time. The climate determines the output of farmers and the quality of what they produce.”

    She explained that the Centre had engaged farmers through outreach programmes conducted in collaboration with the UNN’s Faculty of Agriculture and other agencies, noting that there had been radio sensitisation and round table discussions. She stressed the need to make information on impact of weather available to farmers to prevent food crisis.

    On the strategy adopted to monitor weather conditions, Achike said the club was in collaboration with the Department of Geography, Metrological Engineering and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to identify weather-related problems.

    She added: “Those of us driving the programme do not have all the knowledge required in different areas affected by Climate Change; what we do is to identify the problems and get experts in the area to proffer solutions to them.”

    The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Malachy Okwueze, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bartho Okolo, noted that Nigerians were unserious with climate change despite the reality of its negative impact. He expressed happiness that OSF had chosen the university as a base to launch its Climate Change Adaptation campaign.

    Okwueze explained that the institution had mobilised experts from different fields to work on the project to show its commitment to drive the campaign.

    The Deputy Director of Higher Education Support Programme, OSF, Katalin Miklos, said the organisation was committed to sponsoring climate change awareness programmes in Africa because of the need to educate the people on the impact of weather and how to cope with its challenges.

    She said Africa remained at the receiving end of the impact of climate change even though the continent contributed little to the problem. “Because of low emission in Africa, the continent contributes very little to the problem of climate change, yet it suffers the most. It is probably the continent that suffers the most floods, drought and hot weather,” she noted.

    Miklos said fighting the problems in Africa was a task because of lack of capacity and low scientific knowhow to tackle the challenges in the continent. She, however, expressed satisfaction with the level of work done by the UNN Centre for Climate Change Adaptation Initiative, and praised the commitment of the Vice-Chancellor towards achieving the dream of the club.

     

     

  • 503 students take oath at RUN

    503 students take oath at RUN

    No fewer than 503 students of The Redeemer’s University (RUN), Mowe in Ogun State, took the oath of matriculation on Tuesday last week.

    The new students were spread across the school’s college of Humanities, Management Sciences and Natural Sciences.

    Speaking at the university’s ninth matriculation, RUN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Z. Debo Adeyewa, congratulated the students, noting that they had been chosen through a “keenly contested and rigorous selection process.”

    He said: “In the few months or weeks that you have spent at this university, you would have observed our zeal for academic and moral excellence. By this event, you are being formally acculturated into the traits, culture and the systemic values of the Redeemer’s University embedded in our vision and mission statement. Your enthusiasm and willingness to imbibe our values will be a pointer to how far you would go to achieve the vision of the university.”

    Adeyewa, who christened the new students ‘divine champions’, urged them to emulate the Biblical David by being courageous, passionate, diligent, swift and faithful. According to him, these attributes would empower them to win the battle of life.

    “I want you to always remember that in a university system, you hold your destiny in your hands. What you would achieve within the next four years and beyond is solely determined by you. God is ready to take you to great heights and the Redeemer’s University is equipped with top-rated academics, state-of-the-art facilities, a sound curriculum and an enabling environment to engage your minds and give you the knowledge you require in your chosen fields.”

    One of the matriculating students, Michael Oyewole of the Department of Economics, said: “I believe this is the beginning of a good foundation for me. I chose this university because my research showed that RUN graduates do not find it difficult to get jobs. Also, I prefer this university because it has high moral and academic standards.”

    A parent whose child was one of the matriculating students, Pastor Goke Kuti, gave reasons for picking the institution.

    “I do not want my daughter to waste time. I chose this school because the academic calendar is stable. I know there is nothing that will hinder her from finishing her studies within four years, Kuti said.”

     

  • Don’t underrate yourselves, says VC

    The Vice Chancellor of Fountain University in Osogbo, Osun State, Prof Bashir Ademola Raji, has urged students not to underestimate their capability to succeed. He advised the students at the maiden edition of the Role Model Day organised by Okanlawon Science Academy in Osogbo.

    Raji while identified passion, focus, proper planning and prayer as key qualities for anyone who wants to succeed in life.

    Highlights of the event, included a playlet, interactive session and presentation of awards to deserving persons.