Two pupils of Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, Lagos State, performed excellently in this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). It is over 10 years since such feat was achieved, DAMOLA KOLA-DARE reports.

The duo of Amuni Awwal Oladapo and Adole David Enencheje, former pupils of Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, Lagos State, have proved that hard work, determination and resilience are crucial to achieving success. Against all odds, they sat for this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and made good scores.

Amuni, 15, a native of Epe in Lagos State, has nine ‘As’ in nine subjects. He didn’t stop at that, he also passed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) with an impressive score of 351.

Adole, who hails from Benue State, had eight ‘As’ in WASSCE. But, his UTME result has not been released. He sat for the mop up test. The only ‘blot’ on the 15-year-old Adole’s result is the ‘B2’ he had in English Language.

No special preparation

In an interview with The Nation, Amuni, who was the Assistant Senior Prefect of his set, noted that, though he did not do anything special, he doubted himself at some point.

“Concerning preparation, I didn’t really do anything special. I did the usual stuff. I read to cover up the syllabus and prayed,” he said.

Various sources of inspiration, motivation

Amuni said making a good result in WASSCE was inspired by God and other sources.

“I had various sources of motivation and inspiration; my parents, myself, and expectations from other people. I just have to say a big thank you to God, because it was not easy at all. There were so many doubts along the way. But, I thank God.

“As for my sister, she was sad she didn’t do well when she wrote WASSCE (I was in SSS 1 then). So, I made a promise I would get nine ‘As’ and clear all my papers to give her some joy.

“But one thing that motivated me most was the marble slate in our hall; a marble slate where the names of every best student yearly are written. So, ever since I got here, I purposed that my name would be on the slate. I am very happy and elated not because of doing well, but because of golden opportunities that would come my way – studying abroad is a lot easier, then I can get scholarships and all that,” he said.

Challenges along the line and fear of failure

The feat didn’t come without challenges.

“I would say the major challenge was myself; since I was in junior school, everyone believed in me to come out at the top of the class, but I had doubts about myself. I wondered if it was going to be possible. In fact, I asked a friend if he could place a bet on me to achieve the feat, and he said he would bet on me with all his money. I was surprised that people really had much faith in me. But, the fear in me was if I failed to live to expectations, and that was the biggest hurdle to scale,” he said.

Preference for studying abroad

 because of ASUU strike

The last-born in a family of five wants to study Economics, but not in Nigeria. He cites incessant industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as the major reason for his desire to study abroad.

His words: “I don’t want to study in Nigeria with this result of mine because of ASUU strike. I want to study abroad because it brings more exposure, more insight into foreign culture and lifestyle.”

Asked if he would change his mind concerning studying abroad, he said: “I doubt it, even if the strike is called off, there is no assurance that there won’t be another one.”

UTME was easy

Amuni said the UTME was not difficult because of constant practice of past questions. He also covered the syllabus.

His words: “For the UTME, it was easier because I had been practising computerised past questions since I was in SSS 1. When my sister did hers then, she practised with a software. So, I started practising then too randomly. In SSS 3, I prepared very much,  I covered the syllabus and solved all past questions. Essentially, preparation for UTME was smooth.

Support from teachers, parents

 immense

Amuni said: “The support I got from my teachers was immense. Amazingly, all the teachers believed in me. It is also important for teachers to believe in their pupils and encourage them regularly.

“I thank the school management, my parents, the principal, my teachers, and all staff for giving me the enabling environment to express my knowledge.”

Hopes and aspirations for the

 future

The 15-year-old wants to change the country and influence it positively for development.

He said: “I try to envision a better Nigeria and a better world. If I become great, I would like to impact Nigeria positively, because the state of the country now is not encouraging. I want to contribute my own quota to the development of the nation.”

Advice to other pupils

He advised other pupils willing to replicate his feat not to be complacent and try to improve themselves.

His words:  “Do not judge themselves based on another person’s achievement; set targets and let them progressively get bigger. When you accomplish your goals, you get fulfilled. When you are the best, for instance, if you get 75 per cent, don’t limit yourself, don’t be satisfied with that. Push further to get like 80 per cent and above. Then, always try to improve yourself.”

Funding of education and teacher training vital

Amuni wants government to place premium on funding education. He also called for training of teachers and encouraging learners.

“Government should prioritise funding education; proper training of teachers is vital. Learners should be encouraged to go to school. People need to know why they are going to school. Most are going to school because their parents want them to. It is as if they are being forced. Someone who says school is scam wants to go into yahoo business. They are in school because they were forced to study. It would be a sad situation if 10 or 20 years from now, people who are meant to be in power are not educated to make the right decisions,” he said.

Delighted, yet disappointed

For the Benue-born Adole, he was disappointed not to have made 9 A’s.

He said: “I feel happy, but slightly disappointed for narrowly missing out on making nine ‘As’. However, all glory to God. He is behind everything. He gave me understanding. Ever since my school father graduated in 2018 with a similar result, eight ‘As’, he told me to work very hard. He could not sit for the last paper because it clashed with his UTME.  A lot hard work went into achieving that result.

“I narrowly missed eight ‘As’. I sat for the last paper, but I had B2 in English. I thought I wouldn’t have A1 in Animal Husbandry because I joined the class late. So, when I saw B2 in English, it was painful. “

Financial constraints, phobia

for Maths didn’t deter me

Adole noted that his family’s unstable financial condition and phobia for Mathematics didn’t stop him from achieving academic success.

“My family is not too stable financially.  I don’t always resume school with my mates. I resume two weeks after official resumption. With that, I lag behind. But I do extra work to cover up. Another issue was getting to like some subjects. Initially, I hated Mathematics till I got to SSS 1 when I discovered it was not very difficult.  The way people overrated Maths, it was as if one could not pass it. In fact, on the day we had Maths exam, there were many invigilators and pupils were scared.  I doubled my efforts to pass the subject,” he said.

My sources of inspiration

Adole, the third child from a family of eight, said his parents, school father, Steve Jobs and others inspired him.

“My father inspired me. He is always on us to do good things, change the world and read every time.  Reading about people like Steve Jobs and how they changed the world also inspired me too.  My father said at this level, we can change the world with our academic performance.  My mother too didn’t want us to play too much; she would tell us to go and read.

“My school father also inspired me. Then, I wanted my name on the roll call of honor. I always pray for my name to be on the marble slate where we have the names of best graduating pupils in the hall,” he said.

Determined to study in the U.S.

Just like Amuni, Adole wants to further his education outside the country.

He said: “I would love to study Computer Engineering in MIT Massachusetts or Stanford, Silicon Valley; those are the two schools of my dream.  It is either the U.S. or nowhere!”

I want to make Nigeria better

Adole wants to reposition the country by stamping out corruption and ensuring environmental sustainabi- lity.

“I want to ensure the environment is clean. I will also like to stop corruption and make the country better. Right now, dollar to naira is high. There is inflation; these are issues, we need more helpers in the country,” he said.

 Government intervention key

to education

Adole underscored the intervention of government in repositioning education.

His words: “Government intervention is key. More schools should be established, especially in the North where we have the majority of out-of-school children. It should also encourage pupils, students with scholarships because school fees have gone high.  Then, government should sit up as regards education, if we leave youths with the mindset of ‘school is scam’, they will lose interest in education. School is never a scam; education can change the world.”

Principal: we have mechanism

to check failure

For the principal of the school, Mr. Emmanuel Abodunrin, the feat is worth celebrating since it is over 10 years such was achieved. According to him, the school has an internal mechanism to check failure.

He said: “We have a culture here internally to identify failure before it happens.  Our system is such that we try to use internal mechanisms to identify weaknesses and strengths such that before the weaknesses would become a challenge or failure, we quickly fix it. That system helps us to identify the challenge that could lead to poor results.  Hence, we are able to prepare the pupils from junior secondary to senior secondary with the assurance that they will deliver good results at the end.  Besides that, we have a grading system that is not common in all schools.  If any pupil here is able to record a credit, (C4,C5 in any subject)  using our grading system in our internal examination, such pupil will get at least a B in WASSCE.  So, if a pupil continues to score B, you are sure of ‘As’ in WASSCE.”

The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, has canvassed the need for public and private schools to  rethink what they teach pupils to ensure they inculcate in them the 21st Century skills.

Mrs. Adefisayo stated this yesterday at yearly Continuous Development Training for Educators by World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP), Lagos State Chapter.

The theme of this year training is: “Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century: Inspire, Explore and Create”.

The commissioner said such skills must be integrated in learning whether in nursery, primary or secondary school education.

She mentioned a few of them, including creating creative and critical thinking, collaboration and team-work, digital literacy, personal leadership and ability to tackle challenges.

She advised teachers to teach the pupils about climate change and environmental sustainability to enable them contribute solutions to global warming, flooding and refuse disposal.

The commissioner said the state government would collaborate with the association in the areas of training and best practices for quality education.

According to her, public school teachers were sponsored to the training to enable them benefit from the programme.

She congratulated the organisation for concentrating on early child education for many years.

The commissioner said she loved their slogans, which is “Low cost, no cost” designed to make learning affordable and sustainable.

“With the training, you are looking at all sorts of solutions that can be deployed in the classrooms. So, I greet and thank you for that,” she said.

According to her, Lagos State has over 50,000 teachers in its employment and the state government is embarking on comprehensive system of education.

OMEP Nigeria President Mrs. Olatokunbo Doherty said the association is working on sustainable education, training, advocacy and fighting for the rights of children.

Mrs. Doherty appealed to the commissioner to collaborate with the association to institute better and quality education in the state.

She stated that the Nigeria’s Chapter of OMEP won an award at the association’s last international conference.

Mrs. Bola Falore, the President of OMEP Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, in her welcome address, said the training will serves as platform for educators to learn and acquire new skills on early childhood education and also gain the professional knowledge required to progress in their careers.

“The training will cover some interesting and insightful topics such as Exploring 21st Century Skills in the Early Childhood Education & Primary through Reflective Practices, Classroom Assessment Techniques in Early Childhood and Primary Education Perspective and Crisis Management in Modern School Environment.”

“The challenges faced in our education sector are numerous but within these three days, we will strive to proffer solutions to some of them.

“To do justice to the topics, I have earlier enumerated, OMEP Nigeria Lagos State Chapter has been careful to select seasoned and tested educationists to handle each of the sessions,” she said.

Executive Chairman of Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) Wahab Alawiye-King advised the teachers to implement in the classroom what they were being trained.

With the insistence of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on payment of members’ five months’ salaries and resolution of other contentious issues, it seems university students may stay at home for more days. Assistant Editor BOLA OLAJUWON reports.

When the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and other Associated Institutions (NASU) recently called off their strike, parents and university students heaved a sigh of relief. They thought logical reasons had come to prevail. But, from the war drum being beaten by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for the payment of their over five months’ salaries and alleged failure of the Federal Government to accept many of their demands, students may have more days to stay at home.

This came as sources confirmed that lecturers may embark on an indefinite strike after their National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Sunday.

Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu, while speaking after SSANU and NASU signed the deal calling off their strike for two months, said the Federal Government had made a lot of concessions to move the education sector forward. He said what is left is the issue of “no-work, no-pay” policy.

As part of moves to end the strike, the Federal Government approved an additional N100 billion for the university sector in accordance with the understanding during the re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement. Besides, N50 billion was equally approved to be shared by the university-based unions as earned allowances.

The four university-based unions that have been agitating for the payment of earned allowances are ASUU, which calls its own Earned Academic Allowances, SSANU, NASU and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

It was learnt that about N57 billion were approved for polytechnics and colleges of education. Unconfirmed report added that the government also approved 35 per cent increase in professors’ salary and 23.5 per cent increase for other lecturers.

ASUU chapter tackles minister

However, ASUU, Bayero University, Kano, branch on Tuesday slammed Adamu over claims that the Federal Government had resolved the contentious issues, except the payment of the six month’s withheld salaries.

The union, which described the minister’s claim as misleading, maintained that none of the contentious issues have been addressed.

A statement by the union’s Chairperson, Haruna Musa, and Secretary Kabiru Haruna Isa, accused the minister of diverting attention of Nigerians from the government’s failure to resolve the issues to blaming the union for the prolonged strike.

“More worrisomely, the Minister of Education has resorted to blatant disinformation and cheap blackmail in order to deflect attention away from the Federal Government’s failure to resolve the contentious issues that led to the current strike action.

“In his media briefing held on 18th August, 2022, the minister mischievously misinformed Nigerians that all contentious issues have been resolved, except the payment of the six month withheld salaries.

“We want to make it unequivocally clear that contrary to the minister’s claim, none of the contending issues has been addressed by the Federal Government. The claim was a play to reduce our struggle to save Nigerian university system to the issue of withheld salaries.

“ASUU-BUK vehemently condemns the Federal Government’s mishandling of the protracted industrial dispute that has kept Nigerian universities shut since February 14th. As the strike enters the 7th month, the FG has continued to demonstrate insincerity and lack of commitment towards resolving the impasse.

“Therefore, the Federal Government should be solely held responsible for unnecessarily prolonging the avoidable strike action,” the union however stated.

The beginning of a prolonged strike: ASUU’s demands

The current strike took its root after ASUU National Executive Council meeting at the University of Abuja on November 13 and 14, last year. Its President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, after the meeting, lamented that despite meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, on October 14, 2021, on the union’s unresolved grievances, none of them had been met.

The issues include funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS); promotion arrears, renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, and the inconsistencies in Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System Payment. He warned that the union might consider resuscitating its suspended strike.

Following the threat, the former Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, promised that the union would be paid. A few weeks after, ASUU suspended the planned strike, as N22.1 billion earned allowances were paid to lecturers in federal universities.

The lecturers threatened to embark on another round of industrial action following alleged government’s unfaithfulness in the implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MoU) it signed with the union, leading to the suspension of the 2020 strike action.

The union embarked on a month warning strike on February 14, and has been rolling over the strike till date. The other three unions, starting with NAAT, downed tools in March.

While ASUU insisted that its members should be paid through its preferred platform, UTAS, the non-teaching staff, especially SSANU and NASU, designed their own payment platform, the University Peculiar Personnel and Payroll System, U3PS. The decisions of the four university-based unions to go on strike led to a total closure of many universities.

Fed Govt’s ‘no-work, no-pay policy’

But, after no breakthrough for weeks and following President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to Adamu to discuss with the striking unions, SSANU and NASU, through their umbrella, the Joint Action Committee (JAC), on Saturday, signed agreement to suspend the strike for two months. ASUU has remained adamant, insisting that the government should pay its members the withheld five months’ salaries before it would suspend the six months strike. But, the government said its ‘no-work, no-pay policy’ remains the only barrier to the ongoing negotiation between the two parties.

The parties met last Tuesday at the end of which ASUU President said the government agreed to adopt the UTAS. Osodeke, however, said the agreement was far from being sufficient to call off the industrial action as the Federal Government vowed not to pay the salaries for the period the varsity teachers were on strike.

On his part, Adamu on Thursday during the 47th State House Ministerial Media Briefing organised by the presidential communications team, said: “All contentious issues between the government and ASUU had been settled, except the quest for members’ salaries for the period of strike to be paid, a demand that Buhari has flatly rejected.”

Adamu, who appeared to be in a war mood too, said: “The stand the government has taken now is not to pay the months in which no work was done.  I think there should be a penalty for some behaviour like this. I think teachers will think twice before they join a strike.  The government is not acting arbitrarily.  There is a law, which says if there is no work, there will be no pay.”

He expressed displeasure at the union’s decision to go on strike despite the N2.5 trillion invested in the education sector by the Buhari administration, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund)) and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

According to the minister, the government turned down ASUU’s request for payment of the unpaid wages for the previous five months because it felt there should be consequences for their behaviour. The minister said the discussions on when to end the strike were still taking place among ASUU members.

Fed Govt’s appeal to lecturers

The Federal Government, last weekend, called on ASUU to consider the plights of students, who have stayed at home for six months and call off the strike.

Minister of State for Education Goodluck Nanah Opiah, while fielding questions from reporters in Owerri, said the Federal Government had met all the demands of ASUU. He added that the only issue on the table was the government’s “No-work, no-pay” policy.

He said the government believed that the lecturers, who did not go to work for six months, should not earn salaries. He assured that the government had mapped out N50 billion for the payment of earned allowances.

Opiah said: “ASUU should consider the plight of our children and return to school. A lot of us have our children in public universities here and the lecturers also have their children in schools in Nigeria. We don’t feel happy to return home each day and see that the schools are still locked, and I wonder how the lecturers whose children are in public universities feel when they return home each day and see that their children are still at home.

“The Ministry of Education is critical. It is a large ministry that has so much in stock for the future of this country. The education sector is a very critical one and government takes this seriously. That was why the government had to bend backwards to settle all the grey areas made by ASUU. What is the issue now is that government insists that it cannot pay for the six months the lecturers did not go to work. The policy of “No-work, no-pay” is a global practice and not a witch-hunt of the lecturers.”

The minister also called on ASUU not to politicise the industrial action. According to him, the call by union on the students whom they forced to stay at home to use their votes to remove the All Progressives Congress (APC) government has brought the lecturers into the political arena.

NLC, Falana back ASUU

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has, however, supported ASUU’s insistence on the payment of the withheld salaries of its members as a condition for ending its strike. The union said it was unfair for the Federal Government to invoke a “no-work, no pay rule” on university teachers, who, it said, were not the architects of the lingering strike.

NLC Head of Information, Benson Upah, who spoke on behalf of the union, urged the government to “tone down its rhetoric and be more accommodating”. He warned that its threat to embark on a nationwide strike over the lockdown of the universities had not been ruled out.

Also, a human rights activist, Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the Federal Government cannot afford to ignore the funding of higher education while spending trillions of naira on other projects.

Falana said: “Truly, enough is enough for keeping students at home. Don’t hurt the next generation for goodness sake.”

The senior advocate, in his statement, said the “claim of the Federal Government that it lacks the financial resources to fund university education has been taken with a pinch of salt by Nigerians”.

“Having regard to the way and manner huge public fund has been expended on other projects, it does appear that the Federal Government has not prioritised higher education,” he said.

CSOs to mobilise against lecturers

But, two civil society organisations (CSOs) have thrown their support behind the Federal Government. The CSOs – the Nigerian Project Initiative (NPI) and the Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD) – chided the ASUU for demanding the payment of six months’ salaries while keeping students at home during the union’s strike.

The CSOs, in a joint statement, expressed outrage at the action of the lecturers who they said have kept university students at home while asking for salaries they did not work for.

“The demand by ASUU to be paid for the months its members were on strike is hollow, self-centred and vexatious,” NPI Chairman Mohammed Umar Salihu and ISD Chairman Akinloye James said in their statement.

“It is particularly provoking that other unions in the academic community pursuing almost the same goals have decided to go back to work, but ASUU members, rather than follow suit, are demanding payment for work that they did not do.

Is Presidency planning to prescribe union?

Multiple sources in the Presidency and the Ministry of Education were quoted by a news report that if ASUU refused to reciprocate the Federal Government’s gesture by calling off the strike, the government might consider the option of prescribing the union.

The news reports quoted sources who spoke on condition of anonymity

The sources said the Federal Government had many options before it, which include prescribing the union.

The government has, however, denied plan to proscribe the union.

Parents to ASUU:  take Fed Govt’s offer

Parents, under the aegis of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), have called on ASUU to take the offers by the government first, while pending issues are being addressed.

NAPTAN National President Alhaji Haruna Danjuma said though the expectations of the striking workers might not be fully met, it is better to have something to hold on to than having nothing.

“I have got information about what the government is offering, regarding salaries and payment of allowances. As our children have been at home for all this while, their future is of essence. The Briggs Committee proposed higher salary, in the region of over one million naira monthly for a professor, but what is being offered is short of that. The truth is that all the sides cannot get everything they want.

“We are losing lecturers to other nations, while valuable time is wasted on strike. There will always be a mid-course to take and my suggestion is that ASUU should take the offers first while other issues are being sorted out,” he said.

Will ASUU NEC meeting give succour to varsity students?

The National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of ASUU will hold on Monday to decide on the offers by the Federal Government for it to end its ongoing strike. The meeting promises to be a decisive one and may determine whether the government would axe the union as being contemplated.

Will the NEC meeting ask the lecturers to go back to class or dare the Federal Government? Will the meeting ask members to go on indefinite strike? Parents, students and the concerned public are waiting to see who blinks first.

The Anwar-Ul Islam Model College (formerly Ahmadiyya College) Old Boys Association, Agege (ACAOSA), Lagos has rolled out the drums for a retired principal of the school, Alhaji Jimoh Adisa Gbadamosi, with the launch of an endowment fund for a yearly symposium in his honour. The event was held at Eko FM, Ikeja, Lagos.

President-General ACAOSA, Alhaji Lawal Pedro (SAN), said the symposium is a bi-yearly programme to honour Gbadamosi, who turned 95 on March 18. He described the retired principal as a mentor, role model and disciplinarian, ‘’who never joked with our education’’. He said years after they left the school, Gbadamosi was still in “touch with us”. “He was the first person to call me after I was conferred with the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title,” Pedro, a former Permanent Secretary/Solicitor-General, Lagos State, recalled. He enjoined his colleagues to donate generously to the fund to keep alive the legacies of Pa. Gbadamosi.

Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Musiliu Adeola Smith, a retired Inspector-General of Police (IGP), described the event as a landmark “because we are honouring an icon, a role model and shining example to humanity. We see Pa Gbadamosi as our father. He came to the school in 1960’’. Smith, who was represented by Mr. Ajibade Braimoh, praised ACAOSA for Gbadamosi celebrating ‘’a hero in his life time”.

Guest speaker, Prof Muritala Bidmos described Pa Gbadamosi as education personified. “We know his role in education in Lagos and Nigeria,” he said.

Bidmos, former Dean of Art, University of Lagos (UNILAG), commended the event’s theme, “The role of education in nation-building”.

‘’I appreciate it,” he added. But faulted the country’s education system, saying: “It’s for self-actualisation. It doesn’t give room for development. Today, people talk about restructuring the nation. Tell them to stop that. Rather, they should restructure the education system.’’

Also, Prof Khalid Adekoya of UNILAG noted that Gbadamosi is an epitome of discipline, punctuality, thoroughness, honesty, and mentoring. Adekoya asked: “Where did we get it wrong with our education system? How many of us did not go to this event on time? If we have taken education seriously, we will not be where we are today. Many first class graduates are no longer willing to remain in the university because the varsity’s conditions of service do not appeal to them.’’

Dr. Ola Ogunjobi described the problems in the education system as “serious”. “Go to the universities and see the level of rot. There is a need to redesign the curriculum and address the problems. Do not listen to what the politicians are doing to divide us. To develop or have an egalitarian society, we need to bridge the gap between the rich and poor,’’ he said.

Representative of Prof. Wahab Elias, Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC, Academic), Lagos State University, (LASU), Dr. Adedeji Oyenuga, said: “We change our education system, but we do not drive the change. You don’t change for change’s sake. Education is for life. Why change from UBE to 6-3-3-4 and then to 9-3-3 system? What’s wrong with each system?’’

He condemned the placing of more value on money over education as shown by Reality Shows like BBNaija.

He said: “This year’s winner will get N100 million for playing and having fun for 90 days. How much does a professor earn? Students should be made to know the essence of education. Our socialisation system must change.’’

The Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) has unveiled its N50 billion endowment fund logo.

This was done on the college campus last week.

The fund is aimed at addressing infrastructure deficit in the institution. Rector of the college, Mr.  Femi Omokungbe, said,adding that the  event was the first phase of the launch of the endowment fund.

He noted  that since the government could no longer adequately fund education, it was imperative to rescue the college from collapse.

“The endowment fund was, therefore, conceived out of our desire to address the challenges of infrastructural deficit, obsolete and non-functional equipment confronting the college.  “I want to call on all well-meaning Nigerians to support our course and partner the college by investing in the Endowment Fund,” he said.

Special Guest of Honour and Chairman, Sifax Group, Taiwo Afolabi, hailed the college for the endowment fund.

Afolabi, who was represented by the group’s  Executive Director, Mr. Bode Ojeniyi, urged the  alumni association of the institution to be at the forefront of  providing more for the institution to take it to enviable levels. He promised to support the college. Chairman, College Endowment Fund Committee, Mr. Ubong Inyang-Udo, who is also the Deputy Rector (Administration), stressed the need to improve access to quality education.

He said: “We in Yaba College of Technology have decided to do something to improve and sustain the legacy of education in the college through this N50 billion Endowment Fund launch, which takes the form of cash donations, legacy projects to provide more classrooms, lecture halls, workshops and laboratories as well as books and scholarships with the intent to taking out more of our youths off the streets and making our products to be more globally competitive.”

The event had in attendance principal officers, staff and friends of the college.

Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, has given the assurance that teachers to be deployed in the smart schools being constructed will receive intensive training similar to that offered to their counterparts in Korea.

He spoke while receiving a six-member team of Korean experts led by Prof. Youngwoo Park, when they visited him at the end of their two-week visit to Nigeria at the UBEC headquarters.

According to him, the Smart Schools initiative would boost use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching and learning, saying this becomes necessary to ensure that Nigeria competes favourably in the world of technology.

He emphasised that one of the best ways to achieve the milestone was to introduce children to e-learning from the moment they enrolled in school.

“In many parts of the world e-learning is an integral part of learning. Some private schools have been into this business for some time now.

“For public schools, we are pushing hard to ensure that we offer this opportunity to every Nigerian child, regardless of whether they can afford the expenses or not,” he said

He expressed satisfaction at how soon  the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between KOICA and UBEC in last October  was beginning to bear very positive fruits in the smart schools project in the areas of infrastructural development, training of teachers and content development.

Country Director of the Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA), Mr. Son Sungil, stated that the six-member team was mainly made up of school teachers and capacity development experts and had been in Nigeria since August 3, 2022.

The Team Leader, Prof. Youngwoo Park, thanked the UBEC Executive Secretary for the warm reception and collaboration they had received from the commission during their stay.

He noted that the meetings and interactions they had with key stakeholders were extremely beneficial to both parties.

Also, the National Coordinator of the Smart Schools Programme, Prof. Bashir Galadanci, stated that during their stay, the Korean team of experts had shared their experiences on operating smart schools, participated in a workshop on the finalisation of training materials for teachers and education managers, and attended a meeting with SUBEB directors overseeing smart schools in their states.

He explained that UBEC had benefited tremendously from their expertise and wealth of experience.

Some of the 37 smart schools being constructed by UBEC in 36 states of the Federation and the FCT are scheduled to begin operations during the next academic session.

A former board member of Eleganza Industries and philanthropist, Hajia Maimunat Olubando-Okoya has advocated for more investment in education to safeguard the future of youths.

Olubando-Okoya, who is the founder of Alrasheed Almajeri Foundation that caters to the less privileged in partnership with other NGOs spoke recently in an interview.

She said the situation of the country is very worrisome and governments have to quickly find solutions to raising the living standards of Nigerians.

“If things continue this way, then there is no hope for the youths because they are the future of this country. Government must take good care in molding them to be useful citizens for the country by giving education priority.

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“ASUU has been on strike for more than six months now, and most of the youths have been at home. This is not good for their development and also for the country. We must engage the youths. There are different types of education, we should allow and encourage the youths to take part in improving their capacity.

“We need to train our youths toward self-reliance and creativity, and vocational education to be more creative. We need to encourage and embrace science and Information technology for better economic recovery.

“IT development for youths is the key to greater Nigeria look at Japan, China, Singapore etc we need a good driving force which is the Youths Development towards information technology,” she stated.

Olubando-Okoya advised the government to invest more in education and also create more job opportunities for the graduates.

The Institute of Educational Leadership Practitioners of Nigeria (IELPN) has inducted 30 members, urging them to advance transformational teaching and learning through the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT).

The institute, known for infusing ICT into learning to boost enterprise, held the induction at its Second Annual Conference in Lagos.

Tagged: “EduTECH 2022”, it has as its theme: “Educational Technology Accessibility and Equity in Teaching and Learning”.

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The conference exposed participants, mostly school administrators, to digital innovations that could drive learning.

The people were encouraged to explore the potential in the digital sector to enhance their fortunes.

The keynote speaker, Prof. Osaretin Ebuehi, said teaching trend has transcended hearing to visual.

Ebuehi, who doubles as the Deputy Provost College of Medicine, University of Lagos, hailed the Lagos State Government on students’ access to digital learning.

The university don, described EduTECH as systematic application to the teaching and learning, stressing that people learn quicker from what they see than what they hear.

According to him, digital teaching and learning through the use of data and its associated devices have made knowledge impacting and assimilation smart and exciting.

The institute’s President, Prof. Sunday Osaat, said over the years, the institute had been committed to excellent performance.