The Nation Newspaper

Category: Education

  • Stakeholders validate curriculum guidelines, academia-industry framework for outcome-based engineering education

    Stakeholders validate curriculum guidelines, academia-industry framework for outcome-based engineering education

    Nigeria has become a temporary signatory to washing accord, which gives engineers from member states opportunity to work in member countries without restriction or recertifications.

    This automatically puts Nigerian engineers in the international engineering market and supports the aspiration of Nigerian engineers who wish to practice abroad.

    However, retaining this privilege and converting it to permanent status requires Nigerian engineering education to become outcome-based in compliance to the requirements of this international engineering alliance.

    This made engineering stakeholders and experts gather to develop and validate curriculum, guidelines and framework for implementation of outcome-based education in engineering through two sets of workshops.

    The first hybrid workshop was organised at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Nigeria Nsukka(UNN) on August 28, which developed these educational instruments.

    The second workshop, which validated these educational instruments took place on September 22 at the Nigerian Society of Engineers’ Auditorium, National Engineering Centre, Abuja.

    The two stakeholders’ workshops featured experts from the industry, academia, regulators, advocacy groups and student representatives, and were organized by EngineeringXpress.

     EngineeringXpress is a sustainable engineering education project sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering, Lloyd’s Register Foundation and Onyia Construction with collaboration of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria COREN, Nigeria Society of Engineers and Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, APWEN and University of Nigeria, UNN.

    The workshop chairman and COREN Council Member Engr. Prof. Abdulkarim Nasir said that the workshop could not have come at a better time than now as COREN and other stakeholders are focused to implement outcome-based education in engineering across Nigeria.

    He expressed gratitude for the organizations. Also, the Director of Research, EngineeringXpress and Head of Agric & Bio Resources engineering department, UNN Engr. Prof. Chinenye Anyadike thanked the Royal Academy of Engineering and all collaborating organizations for sponsoring EngineeringXpress. She also that all the participants at the workshops.

    The Principal Investigator and coordinator of EngineeringXpress Dr. Uzor Onyia explained that unlike the disjointed structure currently in place, the introduced curriculum guidelines and academia-industry framework is designed to close the gap between industry and academia. Expanding the role of the industry in training of future engineers and ensuring that academic research projects are led by industrial emerging trends and technologies. Thereby enabling the students to acquire industry relevant skills and experience which in school.

    The Keynote Speaker and Registrar of COREN Engr. Prof. Adisa, A. Bello while acknowledging the series of work done by EngineeringXpress, thanked the participants for their commitment and efforts but also called for continued inclusive approach to outcome-based engineering education. According to him; 

    “I sincerely thank the organisers and the grant winners of the Royal Academy of Engineering aimed at identifying and developing industry relevant engineering skills for a safe and innovative engineering education and practice in developing countries. I wish to restate the commitment of the Council to work closely with all stakeholders towards engineering regulation, promotion of value creation, technology development and economic growth…Distinguish ladies and gentlemen, on June 14, 2023, Nigeria (COREN) was admitted into the Washington Accord of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) as a provisional signatory status member, placing Nigeria on the global engineering map. The implication of this is that our certificates are now internationalised and mobility of our engineers will be so recognised in all member jurisdictions like Germany, India, Britain, USA, Canada, Mexico etc. To stay on this elite global engineering map, our educational status which is substantially equivalent to the member jurisdictions, must be improved upon from time to time. This requires us to fully implement Outcome-based Education in our engineering education. OBE is about graduating engineers with handson engineering skills and competencies. This aligns with this project titled, “Sustainable Engineering Education through Innovation and Industry Based Skills Development and Practice – EngineeringXpress”. EngineeringXpress is contributing to the building and maintaining the capacity for safe and innovative engineering education and practice by understanding and closing the existing gaps between engineering education and practice in Nigeria. This will further promote the triple helix of Academia-Industry-Government.”

    President of the Nigeria Society of Engineers Engr. Tasiu Sa’ad Gidari-Wudil thanked the participants and sponsors of EngineeringXpress, the Royal Academy of Engineering. He expressed the continued commitment of the Nigeria Society of Engineers towards the full implementation of outcome-based engineering education in Nigeria. similarly, the President of Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, APWEN Engr. Dr. Elizabeth Eterigho, FNSE expressed delight at the successful development and validation of the curriculum guidelines and academia-industry collaboration framework.

    She stated her optimism that the effort would improve the capacity of Nigerian engineers especially women. She thanked Dr. Uzor Onyia and Onyia Construction for their commitment to EngineeringXpress and assured that APWEN will continue to support and collaborate with the worthy course for improved engineering education and practice in Nigeria. she further advocated for change in the traditional method of teaching and assessing engineering students and called for practical and entrepreneurial based educational approach.

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    During his remark The Dean of Engineering Faculty, UNN and Director of World Bank African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power and Energy Development ACESPED Engr. Prof. Emenike Ejiogu insisted that that academia-industry collaboration is critical to make engineering education more stimulating and exciting for today’s students. He further thanked the participants, organizers and sponsors of EngineeringXpress for achieving this very important requirement of outcome-based education for Washington accord.

    It is worthy to note that the former vice president of COREN Engr. Prof. Cliford Nwoji, chairman of Engineering Curriculum Committee, UNN Engr. Prof Constantine Mabjiogu, Engr. Prof. Sikiru Ottan, Engr. Prof. Wilfred Oknokwo chaired respectively chaired the five syndicate groups to validate the curriculum guidelines and academia-industry collaboration framework. Each group further presented the recommendations for the improvement of these outcome-based educational instruments for engineering in Nigeria.

    At the end, the former president of Association of Professional Women Engineers in Nigeria APWEN Engr. Dr. Felicia Agubata thanked the Royal Academy, Lloldy’s Register Foundation, Onyia Construction, COREN, NSE, APWEN and UNN for sponsoring and supporting EngineeringXpress. She also thanked all participants and organizers for their committed effort to the full implementation of outcome-based education in Engineering.

    Event Photos click the link to access all the pictures

  • Afe Babalola varsity raises workers’ salary by 35%

    Afe Babalola varsity raises workers’ salary by 35%

    The management of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) has raised the salary of both its academic and non-academic staff by 35 percent.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde explained that the gesture was to cushion the hardship occasioned by fuel subsidy removal.

    Olarinde spoke in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State when staff of the institution stormed the ivory tower’s administrative building to show appreciation to the Founder Chief Afe Babalola.

    She said: “We have come to thank you with all our heart for the 35 percent increase in our salaries. This is a divine dream that has come to pass. We have come to express our appreciation.”

    Also speaking, a member of the varsity’s Governing Council, Supo Ijabadeniyi lauded Babalola for the gesture, adding that the pay rise once again demonstrated his unwavering commitment to workers’ welfare.

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    He added that the increment would help alleviate the financial burdens faced by its staff, saying “ABUAD is truly a pacesetter.”

    He said: “When Nigerian workers were negotiating salary increase with the Federal Government, ABUAD founder told us ‘e ma mikan’ (don’t worry),  and gave us 35 percent increase across the board. Within 48 hours, the increment appeared on our salaries. We are happy and we appreciate this gesture, sir.”

    Responding to the workers, Babalola said, said the gesture was informed by the prevailing economic situation caused by fuel subsidy removal.

    “I know people are facing a lot of hardship and I know what their suffering means especially what they spent on transportation has gone very high, what they buy from the market has also gone up.

    “On my own, I believe I should be able to keep my staff from ‘Japa’ syndrome; I want them to stay here. The best thing is to pay them something different from what they are getting at the end of the month.

    “I heard the federal government has promised to do the same for their workers, whether they do so or not, I have decided on my own to find out the percentage government want to increase the salary of workers. I put them together whether state, federal or private and I decided to make ABUAD 35 percent increase in salary of all categories of workers.”

  • Makinde’s wife seek quality education for girl child

    Makinde’s wife seek quality education for girl child

    Wife of Oyo Governor Mrs. Tamunominini Makinde has charged parents, teachers, guardians and stakeholders on the need to give quality education to girl child in the society.

    She said giving girl child quality education will protect their rights, prepare them to be leaders, and empower them for the future.

    Speaking in Ibadan at a programme organised to commemorate this year’s International Day of Girl Child, Mrs Makinde stated that quality education can open financial doors for girl child and help them to make informed decision that will make them stand out in the society.

    According to her: “Educating a girl child is a driving force for positive change in their live, education will give them confidence to fight for their right and inspire them to become whatever they want.”

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    “Let’s encourage our girls to be dedicated to their studies, parents, teachers, guardians must support girls education either formal or Informal.”

    “When we protect and educate our child, they can achieve their potential and become great in their respective fields, this event is to tell our girl child that they can have equal opportunity and right as their make counterpart.”

    She however urged the girl child to always speak against anyone who violate their rights, adding that it a collective responsibility to protect the girls from violence.

  • Reforming Lagos Scholarship Board for better efficiency

    Reforming Lagos Scholarship Board for better efficiency

    The Lagos State Scholarship Board, in the last one year, has been working to achieve greater efficiency through a number of reforms, OYEBOLA OWOLABI reports

    Established in 1968, the Lagos State Scholarship Board has been steadily fulfilling its mandate of awarding scholarship and bursary to indigenes of Lagos State in tertiary institutions across the country. The board, currently led by Abdur-Rahman Lekki, is, however, working to achieve greater efficiency in its functions, especially to conform to the THEMES+ Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

     Data and documentation

    On documentation, the board sought to do things differently, especially since Lekki’s appointment in July 2022. The first step was to ensure proper documentation of beneficiaries’ data. 

    “It was difficult because we didn’t have enough, though we had a list of beneficiaries. But, today, we can boast of data of any demography of our beneficiaries. We have everything that will help us make informed decisions and curb fraud because no one person has the same identifiers, such as matric number, LASRRA number, e.t.c. We have every unique identifier for every beneficiary,” Lekki said.

     Automation of Administration

    The board is also automating its administration to simplify the application process, ensure transparency, and curb revenue loss. Before now, it was a herculean process from registration to verification. Students in and outside Lagos came to the board’s office to obtain the form, and staff members travelled to schools outside the state for verification. This tedious process also resulted in revenue loss.

    But, today, the process has become simpler and done in lesser time. Everything from application to verification is done online. And it has curbed revenue loss since the application fee now goes directly into the government’s TSA account.

    “We have got government’s approval to automate the entire scholarship/bursary administration. We also understand we might not be able to deliver everything at once, so it will be done in phases. But we have fully digitised the application process end to end. Hopefully, before mid-next year, we would have completed the whole process. This has helped to curb revenue loss, and save time because everything is done online and payment is made to the government’s TSA account. Before now, the students had to come to our office, obtain a teller, pay in the bank and return to verify the payment, after which the form is collected and returned to us. But this has changed now and everything now happens online,” he said.

    Before now also, students had to travel to Lagos or a member of staff travel to their school to verify their status. But the automation has changed this.

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    “We introduced the virtual verification where students outside Lagos connect with us through zoom and everyone is attended to. This helps our system to have some level of integrity. Before now, verification entailed students bringing their results to our office, but we understand how easy it is to manipulate things. So, now, verification is done by the schools directly. We write to the schools to send us a list of their students. This has helped to fish out those who graduated already and those who are not even students.

    “In fact, some schools have told us they are API ready once we complete our automation process. This means that verification will be done directly on the system because our system will be connected to that of the institution. Once a student applies online, the system sends the information to the institution which then sends a confirmation to us, this is the level we want to go with our automation. The Lagos State University (LASU) has expressed readiness for this. With this, applicants can know if they qualify or not in one week because all of those processes will be done seamlessly,” Lekki added.

     Partnership and Assessment

    The board, to further make its administration more transparent, established the Partnership and Assessment Department. This department now handles student verification, and is also in charge of building partnerships with the private sector and non-governmental organisations. Now, the board has three approved technical departments – Scholarship, Bursary, Partnership and Assessment departments.

    “Before now, we had the Scholarship and Bursary departments separate and each processes the application it receives, up to the four levels of verification required – indigeneship, studentship, academic status and assessment, before the final approval. But we decided to separate the verification levels by creating the Partnership and Assessment Department to screen, assess and verify the applications. This was done to make the process tidier, separate functions and powers, and ensure credibility. The department has been fully approved by the Office of the Head of Service.

    “The department is also in charge of building partnerships with the private sector and non-governmental organisations. We are doing this because we know the budget is not enough to take us anywhere. Our budget for 2022 was N1.95 billion, and that is paltry if we actually hope to get something meaningful out of education funding. That is why we decided to create a structure that will relate more with the private sector,” Lekki added.

    Foreign scholarship support

    Though the government has since suspended foreign scholarships, the board continues to use its network and partnerships to help students get funded foreign scholarships.

    According to Lekki, it is still to government’s accolade if its indigenes get opportunities to study abroad, especially programmes and courses not offered in Nigerian institutions.

    Lekki said: “We found out that there exist so many funded admissions outside the country, in fact in billions of dollars, so the board thought of how to help our students benefit from this. We might not fund, but we can find a way to facilitate them, especially for some special courses. So we partnered with a foreign NGO that helps to facilitate foreign scholarships. The NGO pays every kobo required up to the visa level, supports on mentoring and how to identify universities that offer applicant’s preferred course and the funding. It also guides on how to write Statement of Purpose (SOP). Once the visa is obtained, the funded scholarship programme takes over, pays for the return trip and every other thing. And from statistics, they have about between 90 to 95 per cent conversion rates, meaning that when they present 100 students for admission; between 90 and 95 students get it.

    “In their last application cycle, about 1,500 Nigerians applied; 200 were screened, but they could only fund 70 because of their budget. Of the 70, four were Lagosians.”

    Looking forward: Social inclusion

    Despite the low funding however, the Board is looking to give greater inclusion to persons with disabilities and the overtly poor. According to Lekki, the Board intends to create a special scholarship category for students with disabilities, the vulnerable and multi-dimensionally poor. This, the Executive Secretary said, is to further support and encourage them to strive for more.

    Lekki added that many of the requirements to qualify for scholarship will be relaxed for them as well. For instance, qualifying for a scholarship requires a First Class or a minimum of Second Class Upper (2.1), but this will not be necessary for the special scholarship category.

    He said: “We are working in line with the THEMES+ agenda of social inclusion, so we have come up with a special scholarship for people with disabilities and the multi-dimensionally poor and vulnerable. We have sent this to the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget (MEPB) and, hopefully, there will be budgetary allocation for it this year.

    “This means that these set of people will get special scholarships to support them because some of them don’t even have money to obtain the form for scholarship, they may even not know when the application process begins. So we created this category to help them. We have also fashioned out a way to identify them through the social register domiciled with the MEPB. And if possible, we will visit their homes.

    “We are also working with the Office of Disability Affairs to ensure this succeeds. We will also be relaxing many of our requirements for qualification. For instance, you must have a First Class or 2.1 to qualify for scholarship. But for persons with disabilities and the poor, it will be relaxed. This is because poverty may impede someone’s intellectual capacity. There are also many other reasons why these persons may not make a 2.1, for instance access to classrooms. Not because they are not brilliant, but sometimes because of the conditions they found themselves. So, we’ll deliberately relax those rules to encourage them.”

    The board is also considering setting up a loan’s board to allow students benefit more from education funding.

    “Funding is the major problem of higher institutions is funding, so if loans are available, it will be a veritable opportunity for the poor. We are still working on it because the law has not been promulgated, but at least it’s an idea that we are considering.

    “We hope to offer interest-free loans where students will pay at their convenience, for say 10 years or more. Benefitting from the loan will, however, be conditioned upon whether you have a job or not, as well a certain limit of income per month. We are still working on the details, with the state’s Law Reforms Commission to see how to review the laws to accommodate all of that,” Lekki added.

  • UNILAG, groups seek enhanced engineering education

    UNILAG, groups seek enhanced engineering education

    African Engineering Education Association (AEEA) and the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO), in partnership with African Engineering Dean’s Council (AEDC) and University of Lagos (UNILAG), have reiterated the need for engineering lecturers to be armed with skills through enhanced education.

    They made the call at the opening of a four-day conference, which held at the Arthur Mbanefo Digital Centre, UNILAG.

    The theme of the programme harped on “Strengthening engineering education in Africa through innovation collaboration.”

    The forum provided a platform for educators, industry leaders and professional organisations to discuss and proffer solutions to problems in engineering education.

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    It also emphasised on innovative collaboration among stakeholders, as an effective strategy for the training of 21st-century engineers that would transform industrial landscape in Africa.

    Chairman, AEEF Organising Committee, Prof. Funso Falade, noted that the forum was set to address different collaborative strategies to promote quality engineering education and identifying various methods of bridging the gaps between industry and academia.

    This, he said, is to make engineering programmes more relevant to national/regional development.

    “We all know that without engineering, there cannot be any state-of-the-art-technology and therefore, no meaningful development can take place. Any nation that fails to give engineering its dues will remain permanently underdeveloped.

    “Therefore, a lot of commitment is required by stakeholders to provide quality engineering education to make it more meaningful to the citizenry,” he said.

    A don, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, called for innovative collaboration among engineering professionals. He also sought for synergy between Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Education.

    “Nigeria needs to change the narrative in terms of engineering education. We need to consolidate through effective collaboration. We need to take attempt to develop our human capital skills. Lecturers of engineering should acquire education degree to be able to impact the students well,” he said.

    President-elect, World Federation of Engineering Organisation (WFEO) Mustafa Shehu, an engineer, said: “While we are trying to be recognised internationally, let us first of all recognise ourselves in Africa. There is need for recognition of Nigerian engineering certificate globally, irrespective of country or continent.”

  • ‘Give back to alma mater’

    ‘Give back to alma mater’

    • 92/98 ApolloGrams gives renovated classrooms to school

    Chief Executive Officer of Aerofield Homes Limited, Armstrong Akintunde, has advised old students associations of Christ Apostolic Grammar School (ApolloGrams), Iperu-Remo, to give back to their alma mater.

    Akintunde, who is also the chairman of 92/98 ApolloGrams, gave the advice during the 25th anniversary and reunion of the set.

    The old students handed over to the school newly renovated block of four classrooms and offices.

    Akintunde said the quality of education given by the school has helped them a great deal to navigate the journey of life.

    “We all know the impact of early education usually given by the primary and secondary school in the life of an individual and I want to say that the quality of education we all received while at our great school, ApolloGrams, has really helped us to be who we are today. In a way, we can’t separate our greatness from this school and that is why we have deemed it fit to have a get together 25 years after our graduation.

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    “We want to see what we can also do to move the school forward because we know that the humongous challenges in the education sector should not be left for the government alone.

    “We should see it as point of duty, especially as old students, to give back to these schools that played very significant roles in what we have become today.”

    Akintunde remarked that it was surprising that 25 years had gone since he and his other mates left the school.

    The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress appealed to his mates to join hands with him in adding more value to their alma mater.

    The old students during the reunion, presented items such as freezers, washing machines, generators and dryers to some of the teachers who taught them and some  residents of Iperu community who came to rejoice with them.

    Former Deputy Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Orisalade Adetunji Taiwo, who doubles as the National President of the Old Students Association, Christ Apostolic Grammar School, lauded the old students for adding value to the school.

    “The government can’t do everything, I want to commend the efforts of the sets that are celebrating this year, both the old students and the parent teachers associations all have their roles to play in developing education in our society,” he said

    The Principal of the senior section of the school, Mrs. Onasanya, who could not hide her joy over the thoughtfulness of the old students,  said their donations for the progress of the school was unprecedented, praying the Almighty God to continue to bless them all and preserve them for greater service to humanity.

    Oba Lukman Adebambo Salami Ebi of Idena, Iperu Remo, expressed happiness over the contribution of the set to the development of the school.

     “This is, however, not the only school in this community, I encourage other old students across various secondary schools to emulate this kind gesture, which will no doubt help to add greater values to our education sector.”

  • When Ekiti governor’s wife offered community service at state varsity

    When Ekiti governor’s wife offered community service at state varsity

    Ekiti State Governor’s wife, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji during the week temporarily left the comfort of her office in the Government House to offer community service to students in the state university’s classroom, Rasaq Ibrahim, Ado-Ekiti reports

    Ekiti State Governor’s wife Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji for about two hours on Monday taught students of Education Management in the Ekiti State University (EKSU) students who were excited to listening to her lecture.

    Dr. Oyebanji, a senior lecturer at the University of Ibadan and presently awaiting her associate professorial title, said she was excited to be back in the classroom at EKSU, where she started her career in the academia and taught for 12 years before relocating to Ibadan.

    The third year (300 Level) students in the Department of Education Management at EKSU were thrilled and excited to see the governor’s wife in their class to teach them “Leadership in Formal Organisations”, in which she dwelt on “Theories of Leadership” and entertained questions from the appreciative students.

    The students listened with rapt attention as Dr. Oyebanji dissected five theories considered during the EDM 303 class which included Trait Theory, Behavioural Theory, Situational Theory, Contingency Theory and Path-Goal Theory.

    -Urging the students to feel free and bare their minds during the lecture, Dr. Oyebanji said one of the aims she wanted to achieve with teaching the course was to inculcate the art of public speaking in the students, especially the female ones, noting that public speaking is an ingredient of leadership and effective communication.

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    Speaking with reporters after the lecture, Dr. Oyebanji said she was fulfilled to be involved in a community service at the state university teaching students. She described her interaction with them as worthwhile. She added that she is contributing her quota to moulding the character and shaping the personality of future leaders in her community.

    She said: “I started here as a Graduate Assistant and I worked in this university for 12 years before I relocated to the University of Ibadan, where I was before we came to office. This is my own community service and I am fulfilled to give it for free in our state university.

    “I have taught all my life and I want to teach here while in office to share from my experience with these students. This is a course that I have taught for over 20 years. When I was given the course to teach, I said, ‘why not? It’s part of my community service’. We lecturers have three major areas: teaching, research and community service. So, what I am doing is community service to my dear state.

    “Since assuming office, it’s not that I am totally disconnected from academic activities. Recently, you followed me to UI when I went to attend to my Ph.D students and within one year of my assumption of office (as First Lady), I have gone to UI and I have graduated four of my Ph.D students.”

    One of the students who attended the lecture, Ismail Abdullahi, said he gained a lot from the various perspectives and true life experiences of Dr. Oyebanji, which she shared.

    “Some of the examples and experiences she gave will make her lecture to be unforgettable and I am happy to have gained a lot and I’m returning home with many takeaways from the lecture of today,” he said.

  • IT firm grants foreign scholarship to 14 Nigerian students

    IT firm grants foreign scholarship to 14 Nigerian students

    Over 5,000 Nigerian students attended this year’s Aptech Career Quest, held recently by the IT firm across 15 Nigerian cities.

    The cities were Umuahia, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Ota, Owerri, Osun, Ojodu, Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Enugu, Asaba, Calabar, Abuja, and Abeokuta.

    In Lagos, where the International Business Head for Middle East and Africa, from Aptech Computer Education, Mumbai-India, Mr Seetam Thakuri, superintended the event, 14 of 34 students were given scholarships to study in Middlesex University. Each scholarship is worth 7,500 pounds.

    According to statistics, National Bureau of Statistics, Information and Communication Technology Sector in Nigeria contributes to about 18.44 percent  of the nation’s GDP as of 2022.

    Aptech has over 23 years contributed to this, by training more than seven million students globally and over 100,000 in Nigeria at its 45 centres. It has also made investment impacts in the lives of over 10,000 Nigerians and Africans, through training in infotech and Hitech.

    The firm is the first IT Training and Education company to get its certification for Education Support Services in 1993, Aptech Computer Education has globally trained over 6.5 million students. It also has a presence in more than 40 emerging countries through its two main streams of businesses; Individual training and Enterprise Business.

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    Upon completion of Aptech’s Flagship Career Programmes: Advanced Diploma in Software Engineering (ADSE) and Aptech Certified Network Specialist (ACNS), students are offered the opportunity to study abroad, during the final year of their BSc. Degree at Middlesex University London’s campuses. This enables students to pursue an international degree through a credit transfer facility.

    Mr. Singal noted that Aptech’s main objectives are to teach, deliver and train students in order to make them become computer literate.

    He added that the basic reason for doing this is to make the students industry-relevant so that they’re able to do well in their education and chosen careers.

    “We prepare students and the candidates that we have so that they meet the industry standards.

    “Our main focus is to deliver, create and train students in the best, the latest and contemporary IT technologies. That’s our main focus and objectives at ApTech, which we have been doing for over 23 years now.”

  • UNILORIN wins LEAP Africa debate

    UNILORIN wins LEAP Africa debate

    LEAP Africa’s Youth Leadership Debate 2.0 has been held at the Platform Nigeria for the second consecutive time.

    LEAP Africa is one of Africa’s foremost non-profit organisations focused on youth leadership development.

    The Youth Leadership Debates, which began in 2022, is a pillar of the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF), an initiative of LEAP Africa. It is a platform for young Nigerians in tertiary institutions across the nation to lend their voices to topical issues that affect Nigeria through the art of debates.

    Participants were taken through courses on self-leadership, active citizenship, sustainability and advocacy. At the end of the learning process, 32 teams from 19 tertiary institutions in Nigeria qualified for the debates. After two virtual elimination rounds, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, University of Ilorin and University of Ibadan made it to the grand finale at the Platform Nigeria.

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    The finalists were tasked with debating the topic, “Nigeria’s Long Standing Position as the Giant of Africa is no longer tenable”. The University of Ilorin emerged winners and went home with a cash prize of N2.5million; University of Ibadan placed second and received N1.5million,while the third place winners, the University of Lagos, went home with a cash prize of N1million.

    Speaking about the debates and the role of youths in birthing the Nigeria we want, LEAP Africa’s Executive Director, Kehinde Ayeni, said: “Youth voices and youth-led actions are very critical to nation building and this is one of the key propellers of our efforts to activate youth voices across Nigeria. Young people should not be silenced, however, they should be guided on how to leverage their voices and the right channels for advocacy that will lead to sustainable change.”

    Also speaking on the importance of the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund initiative, the Project Lead for NYFF at LEAP Africa, Ikenna Ogbudimkpa, said: “The Nigeria Youth Futures Fund initiative was launched as a catalyst for youth voices and to amplify the efforts of young Nigerians towards the Nigeria We Want. It has become apparent that the Nigerian youth are ready to advocate for the change they desire in Nigeria and the brilliant arguments of the debaters in this season are proof of that.”

    The Youth Leadership Debates 2.0 was organised through strategic partnerships with organisations and institutions like MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Future Work Africa, Lagos State University (LASU), LASU Student Union (LASUSU), LASU FM and LASU Sustainable Development Goals Centre and Club (LASUSDG), University of Lagos Radio Station (UNILAG FM) and the Platform Nigeria.

  • TETFUND inaugurates N4.5b projects in Gombe varsity, FCE

    TETFUND inaugurates N4.5b projects in Gombe varsity, FCE

    The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) has inaugurated 12 new structures worth over N4.5 billion in Gombe State University (GSU) and Federal College of Education, Gombe.

    The structures included the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, faculty of education, faculty of arts, social and management sciences, faculty of law, 250 capacity drama theatre, university clinic and female hostels III and IV among others.

    The Executive Secretary of TETFUND Sonny Echono, said Gombe State University, which was established in 2004, was enlisted as a beneficiary of TETFund’s interventions in 2006.

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    According to him, from 2006 to this year, the university allocated N15 billion for various interventions.

    He lauded the university management for the judicious utilisation of the resources in the provision of requisite facilities, which are prominent structural features on the campus.

    “No doubt, projects undertaken with these funds have remarkably impacted on the mandate of the university in facilitating teaching, learning and research.

    “I, therefore, wish to commend the management of the university for assiduously monitoring and ensuring the successful delivery of the various intervention projects executed from inception, some of which we are assembled here to commission today.

    “The projects to be inaugurated today are 11, and are those of the Special High Impact intervention, Special, Annual and Zonal interventions for which funds were allocated between 2014 and 2021, and completions successfully achieved between 2021 and 2023. The total cost of these projects amount to N4,591,813,389.70, all delivered successfully in line with the TETFund guidelines,” he said.

    Earlier, the executive secretary had inaugurated four new projects at the Federal College of Education, Gombe.

    They include the early grade reading resource centre, early childhood care education complex, female hostel block and 4,390-capacity lecture hall.

    The university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Aliyu Usman El-nafaty, expressed appreciation to TETFUND for its various interventions in the institution, saying they have contributed to the latter’s growth.

    Governor Inuwa Yahaya, who inaugurated the projects alongside the Minister of Transportation, Sa’idu Alkali and other top federal and state governments functionaries, lauded TETFUND for disbursing funds to build structures for the ‘baby institution’ and the school’s management for the good use of the money.

    Yahaya stated plans to establish another campus for the faculty of environmental sciences of the university in Dukku Local Government to expand the institution and its programmes.