The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Protests rock YABATECH

    Protests rock YABATECH

    For the second time in two weeks, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) has been embroiled in crises. Penultimate week, students of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) led by the Speaker of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Simiat Arikawe, in protest to the office of Man ‘O’ War on the campus over the maltreatment of a female student.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that a Man ‘O’ War cadet slapped a female student accused of stealing N30,000 belonging to her class governor, who helped a lecturer to sell textbooks. The money was kept in a bag, which was left in a class where the student was reading. When the owner returned, he discovered the bag had been opened and the money had disappeared.

    Our correspondent gathered that the owner immediately reported the matter to the cadets, who swiftly swung into action by inviting the suspect. She was dragged to the cadet office to write a statement. But the girl was said to have refused to write anything. CAMPUSLIFE gathered a cadet slapped the girl on the spot.

    A friend of the suspect reported the incident to the union. Simiat was said to have abandoned legislative sitting to stage a protest to the cadet office.

    The management could not control the crowd. In the process, the office of the Man ‘O’ War was vandalised and the cadets’ properties destroyed. This prompted the Rector, Dr Margret Ladipo, to move to the scene and address the irate students. Ladipo closed down the cadet office and ordered an investigation.

    Last Friday, students besieged the hostel of the SUG president, Afeez Babalola, carrying different placards to draw the union’s attention to their plight. The protesters complained about epileptic power supply in the hostels, scarcity of water on the campus and inadequate accommodation.

    Afeez addressed the students, saying urgent steps would be taken to remedy the situation. The Dean, Students affairs Unit, Mr O.T. Rasheed, assured that management would look into the issue.

  • Covenant Poly holds orientation

    Covenant Poly holds orientation

    The Covenant Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State, has organised an orientation programme for the newly-admitted students for 2012/2013 academic session. The event was held to help the students know the institution’s code of conduct and regulations.

    The Rector, Deaconess Bukky Nwoke, reminded the freshers that the polytechnic was a faith-based institution, which, she added, would not tolerate any form of immorality. She said the management had developed zero-tolerance for indecent dressing and misconduct.

    Nwoke said any student that fouled the dress code would be arrested by the school’s security outfit known on the campus as school marshal. She listed some of the banned dressing styles to include show back, low waist, sagging and show armpit among other. She also noted that excessive application of cosmetics by female students remained banned in the institution.

    Nwoke said the institution had strict regulation against exam malpractice, saying the management had collaborated with the institution’s Students’ Representative Assembly (SRA) to battle the vice. She stressed that any student caught in the act would be sanctioned accordingly.

    Ending her speech, Nwoke advised the students to be focus and take their studies seriously, adding that discipline was a virtue every student must work hard to acquire.

  • Council’s scholarship lifts students

    Council’s scholarship lifts students

    To fulfil from its promise to students from Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, the council’s leadership has disbursed millions of naira as scholarship to them.

    Indigenes of the council in the University of Calabar (UNICAL) under the aegis of National Association of Yala Local Government Students (NAYLOGS) gathered at the security unit of the council last week to get their scholarship.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the last time students got scholarship from the local government was 19 years ago when Greg Ngaji was the president of the association.

    The secretary of the council, Mr Boniface Okache, said: “For many years, the council has not been able to give the students bursary due to its financial challenge. But now, things have turned around for good; the present chairman has brought out blueprint and cardinal priority, which is education.”

    Okache said the council held meeting with all NAYLOGS members and came to a resolution that it would assist all Yala students in tertiary institution in Nigeria and abroad. “We engage the association so that we can get an accurate statistics of Yala students. It is on the basis of that we will know how much to pay and how much that will go round,” he said.

    NAYLOGS president, Patrick Wonah, said the restoration of the bursary scheme by the chairman of the council was commendable.

    One of the beneficiaries, Anthony Afufu, a graduating student of Pure and Applied Chemistry, appreciated the council for the gesture. “Though we expected handsome amount because for many years, we were not paid. However, we appreciate the local government for this gesture. I urge the council not to stop the scheme as it was done in the past. They should also increase the amount to a reasonable sum,” Anthony said.

  • Rector demands more investment in education

    The Rector of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, has called for more investment in youth education to enable government achieve its developmental programmes.

    He spoke at the Excellence and Leadership Award Night organised by Sunshine State Youth Movement. The event was held at the conference hall of Solton International Hotel, Ijapo Estate, Akure, Ondo State.

    In his paper titled Leadership and youth development: The critical nexus, Ajibefun stated that investment in education was investment in future, stressing that education was crucial to socio-economic transformation and nation building. He noted that some developing nations were not releasing money to fund their tertiary education system, stating: “achievment of a functional education system requires heavy investment.”

    Ajibefun, however, praised the resolve of the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, to provide fund for education at all levels, pointing to emergence of mega schools across the state and the massive infrastructural development going on in RUGIPO and state-owned institutions.

    He noted that youth development was a policy perspective that emphasised provision of services and opportunities to support young people in developing a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and empowerment, which education must play a key role.

    The Rector said availability of opportunities for youth would help them navigate through the social, political and economic realities of the 21st century. He also recognised honour, honesty, courage, integrity and loyalty as values required for youth development. According to him, the values remain the platform to pilot youth vision for their future.

    The award night was attended by dignitaries among who were the wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs Olukemi Mimiko, representative of the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof Tolu Akinbogun, Chief Rotimi Olusanya, Asamo of Akure Land, who represented the Deji of Akure, Vice-Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Prof Femi Mimiko, and Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju.

  • Students get entrepreneurship, ICT training

    Students get entrepreneurship, ICT training

    A firm, Wisdom Computer Technology, in collaboration with National Association of Information Technology Students (NAITS), Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) chapter, has held an Information and Communication Technology summit and entrepreneurship workshop for students.

    Tagged 21 computer secretes that give money in the 21st century, the seminar, held in USB Lecture Hall 3 in the School of Management Technology, was geared towards making students self-reliant and productive after graduation.

    For students to achieve prosperity in the absence of white-collar jobs, Francis Uzor, a guest speaker, said the solution was to embrace entrepreneurship while in school.

    Uzor said information technology was widely acknowledged as jobs dispenser. He urged students to take advantage of abundant human and natural resources in Nigeria to enhance their living standard. He explained that the biggest economies in the world achieved growth through the utilisation and development of small-scale medium enterprises, adding that it was vital for Nigeria to embrace such a concept to enhance its own development in the Information technology (IT) world.

    To address the problem of unemployment in Nigeria, Uzor urged the students to embrace Information Technology, which he said was capable to drive job creation to power the engine of the economy.

    The programme was attended by members of the NAITS executive among who included Christian Esomofor, president and Uche Agomuo, Financial Secretary. The staff adviser of the association, Mr Cosmos Nwakanma also graced the seminar.

     

  • Rededicating students for excellence

    It may not be wrong to assert that Nigerian students are disadvantaged to be studying in the country’s unorganised education system. The sincerity of this opinion is reinforced by a statistics that stated that over 71,000 Nigerians, who are studying in Ghana pay about N155 billion annually to benefit their host country’s economy.

    This amount is more than Nigeria’s annual budgetary allocation to the education section. It is, therefore, clear that to attempt to make progress without a well-planned education policy for Nigerian institutions and students will always end up in futility.

    Students are major stakeholders and, as tomorrow’s leaders, the inheritors of whatever institution, be it political or educational, to which any nation lays claim. Therefore, government must take steps to reform education system and draft new curricula to replace the old syllabi most of our higher institutions still use to teach students today.

    Meanwhile, analysts have said the quality of education being received by students in Nigeria cannot make them compete with their peers from other countries because of the advanced techniques being employed to teach in those countries.

    According to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a world university ranking body, only University of Cape Town, ranked 156, is capable to effectively teach science and technology in Africa. Is this not a damning verdict against Nigeria’s education system?

    Also, the Network of Migration Research on African (NOMRA), a research body, said over 10,090 Nigerians were granted visa into the United Kingdom (UK) in 2009 and they all paid N42 billion to their host country. The fact remains that Nigerian students do not enjoy to qualitative education.

    This, perhaps, informs why Nigeria’s literacy level is low. A large percentage of the population do not have knowledge of what the nation’s Constitution say about education, let alone charging the government to deliver those ideals.

    But this is government’s fault; what about students? The curricula of Nigerian schools do not focus much on morality, character-building, innovation and entrepreneurship. In most cases, schools’ syllabi are loaded with what is called “general studies”. Not subject or course for students to diversify to other area to be independent after school.

    Large number of students are keen about making quick money, which has led most of them to commit crimes such as Internet fraud, cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping and social media crime. They cruise around in exotic cars, visit clubs to drink with girls and deal in all sorts of hard drugs. All this, sadly, will not take students anywhere.

    During the recent matriculation ceremony held for freshmen admitted into Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), the Rector, Dr Margret Ladipo, reiterated her administration’s stance on misconduct such as consumption of alcohol by students and its sale on campus. She assured the freshers that any students caught in such act would be shown the way out.

    For students to be rededicated to knowledge, the country must have to instill morals and characters. This may have the reason YABATECHA bans the sales of alcohol on campus. There is no student that will concentrate on his study if alcohol is in his system.

    Other institutions should emulate this example so that the needed change can be generalised. The ban on alcohol should also be applicable to teaching and non-teaching staff too. If anybody wants to take alcohol, let the person do that in his house and not on campus.

    The government and private sector should assist in the campaign to re-orientate students and make them do away with intoxicants. This will enhance a better life and make graduates of our higher institutions complete human being. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should also assist in this direction.

    While urging the government to formulate a policy that will make willing students to work during their studies, it is my candid opinion that effort to rededicate students towards excellence is a collective responsibility of parents, teachers and the society.

     

    Mark, 300-Level School of Technical Education, YABATECH

  • ICAN pledges support for students

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has pledged N500,000 in aid to PhD students, who are its members and Accounting students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL).

    Its National President, Mr Owolabi Adedoyin, made the pledge when he led an ICAN delegation to visit Vice-Chancellor, Prof James Epoke.

    Adedoyin said the body observed that some students were hindered in their academic pursuit by financial challenges, a situation that made ICAN to decide to encourage the indigent students, especially those in their final years of study and postgraduate.

    The 48th president of ICAN used the occasion to disclose that there would be a scholarship scheme for students who make First Class in the discipline and other related courses, who registered as bonafide members of ICAN. He explained the rule that all Accountancy and Accounting students must have credit pass in Mathematics and English in either WAEC or NECO was to ensure proper regulation of the profession.

    He praised the management of the university for the excellent performance shown by its graduates of Accounting, while equally thanking the VC for the warm reception accorded the ICAN team.

    Responding, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof James Utsalo, who spoke on behalf of Prof Epoke, expressed appreciation to the body for its choice of UNICAL as one of the universities to benefit from ICAN’s scholarship scheme.

    Utsalo said the Accounting programme of the university was vibrant because of the demands placed before the students, which included orderliness from staff and students.

    The chairman of Calabar District of ICAN, Mr Tony Ayie, said it was the body’s pleasure to choose the university among institutions to be accorded the honour of courtesy visits by the ICAN national leaders.

    The highlights of the visit were the presentation of copies of academic journals to the Vice-Chancellor.

  • ‘Ghost’s protest’ stuns students

    ‘Ghost’s protest’ stuns students

    IT sounds incredible, but those who witnessed it claim it is true. It all happened in the Gross Anatony Laboratory of the Benue State University College of Health Services where 200-Level medical students were dissecting a cadaver. A cadaver is a dead body used for medical training.

    All of a sudden, a student rushed out, screaming, “ghost,” “ghost”. He said “a ghost that was not happy with the way its body was being dissecting had protested.” Another student, who claimed to be at the session, told CAMPUSLIFE: “We were in the lab this evening, having a dissection exercise. There was a stiff cadaver on a slab, with students standing round it. They were playing with the cadaver and insulting it. I cannot verify this because I was at a different table where dissection was going on.

    “Insects were coming out of the cadaver because it was decaying and I cautioned them that they could be infected if they were bitten. Peter was busy snapping the cadaver. When he was checking the pictures, everybody noticed he was shaking terribly. I didn’t understand what was going on and since some staff were around, we had to continue with dissection.

    “Later, a colleague called me that the picture Peter took had a ghost in it. I didn’t believe it at first. When I saw the picture, it was shocking and strange. You may feel you want to see it but I tell you, it is not something you want to see.

    “The ghost was wrapped in a white cloth and turban, and its face was black. Peter nearly passed out because of fear. At the time, one of our classmates, who had the courage to hold the phone, would not let people collect the picture through Bluetooth because they could upload it on Facebook. I agreed with him, but the way people are checking the picture, I believe they would delete the picture. I cannot even read now, because whenever I sit down, it is just the ghost that I see.”

    There was a debate over the veracity of the claim. Benjamin Kondom, 300-Level student, said he did not believe the image was a ghost until he saw the picture. He said people could manipulate graphic images to look real but argued that it was likely that the student saw the ghost. Patrick Etunke, 400-Level and immediate past president of the Christian Medical and Dental Association, (CMDA) told CAMPUSLIFE he could not explain it.

    “I was told the picture has been deleted and I felt very bad. I don’t know how to explain this. I went to Peter’s house but he was afraid that the authorities may punish him because students have been warned not to take photograph in the anatomy lab. This probably is the reason why he deleted the picture.”

    He believed in the existence of ghosts but wondered why a spectre could be captured in the picture. “Is it that the camera is sharper than the eye? What the eye could not see, the camera picked. This is my surprise,” Patrick said, adding: “It is spirits that should be afraid of us because they can’t operate in this realm. Otherwise, that ghost could have slapped the guy if it had the power.”

    Another student, who also was in the lab when the incident happened, said: “Usually, each class has its own cadaver. When we went there, we saw another cadaver. It was smallish and we were seeing it for the first time. Some of our mates made certain statements about the cadaver. At the time though, I did not think they were disrespecting the cadaver. But when we came out and saw the ghost, I then reflected on what they did to it and realised the ghost was not happy and that is why it was protesting.

    “I saw the ghost standing beside its body. It was covered in white cloth like Father Abraham-kind of clothes. His whole body was wrapped but its hands were folded across the chest. Peter was afraid that the authorities may not be happy because already, phones are not allowed in the gross lab, so he deleted the picture.”

    When our correspondent spoke to Peter, whose picture sent the college into frenzy, he denied the ghost story, saying it was just a joke that went beyond his control. He explained that his phone had an application that enabled him to snap pictures and cause certain images to appear alongside the main image.

    Asked why he deleted the picture, Peter said when the joke began to go beyond his control; he feared that it might get to the college’s authorities, which might take disciplinary action against him. “I came to class today and told everyone that it was all a joke. But they didn’t believe me,” he said jovially, adding: “I am surprised by the way even our senior colleagues were worried by the story. We are in the medical school, and do you believe a camera can capture a ghost?”

  • Poly trains artisans

    Poly trains artisans

    The management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO) has floated a workshop to train artisans in a skill acquisition programme to educate them on effectiveness and efficient service delivery. The Rector, Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, dropped the hint during the maiden lecture of Sunshine State Youth Movement (SSYM).

    The programme was held last Thursday at Solton International Hotel, Akure. The Rector said the initiative was to provide functional education and make skill acquisition the focus of students.

    Ajibefun said the institution’s focus on the practical programme was to provide skilled manpower in special areas of societal needs. He said the polytechnic was moving towards the provision of skilled students, who would be independent after their graduation.

    The first set of candidates admitted for the programme will commence their training in the first week of March, he stated.

    According to the Rector, the full implementation of the vocational programme would make students of the polytechnic to acquire practical skills in, at least, one area before graduation. He noted the skill acquisition remained solution to youth unemployment ravaging the nation.

    Ajibefun praised the Ondo State government for supporting the programme. He, however, stressed that the success of the programme would depend on availability of electricity.

  • FG goes tough on satellite campuses

    FG goes tough on satellite campuses

    The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai, said in Kaduna on Monday that the government will no longer condone activities of some unscrupulous Nigerians who indulge in illegal activities of operating unlicensed schools in the name of satellite campuses and outreach centres.

    The minister, who spoke at a consultative meeting between the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Rectors of Polytechnics and Provosts Colleges of Technology in the country, was furious that such activities are often aided by some heads of government institutions.

    She said that henceforth, nobody will be allowed to brazenly compromise the future of Nigerians and mortgage the nation’s development, adding that government will continue to protect the integrity of the education system in the country from the activities of these undesirable elements at all time.

    She said further that the government will remain steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that standard of education is not compromised, saying “why we desire to open access, we shall not compromise the future of Nigerians and mortgage our national development. Quality will be jealously guarded.”

    The minister said further that as part of the four- year strategy for the development of the education sector, the government has planned a new approach for Technical and Vocational Education Training, making it a key area in the efforts to enhance skills.

    This, she said explain the huge investment by the government in equipment, laboratories and infrastructural facilities in 51 states and federal government owned Polytechnics, adding that an additional N2 billion has been approved for the second phase of the project.

    In addition, she disclosed that the government is planning to invest about N6 billion as special intervention in the science and technical colleges across the country, adding that government is not only providing equipment, rehabilitating laboratories and infrastructures, it has taken some steps to ensure that members of staff are motivated to continue to play a pivotal role in driving the transformation agenda of the present administration.

    She asked the Rectors to adopt global best practices in the management of their institutions, stressing that transparency and accountability must be their watch word while eschewing the culture of impunity that forced government into doing away with the services of two Rectors recently.