Our Reporter

Special Adviser to Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Hon. Bola Ilori, has distributed educational materials to 1,500 students in Ondo kingdom to commemorate his birthday celebration.

The distribution exercise took place at the Oba Adesanoye Civil Centre, in Ondo yesterday.

Ibori, who doubles as the Federal Government Task Force on Expatriate Quota Administration in Nigeria, distributed school uniforms, bags, books and other educational/instructional materials to pupils and students of public primary and Secondary Schools across the Kingdom.

The Special guest of honour was Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN while Oba (Dr.) Victor Kiladejo (Jilo II) was the royal father of the day.

Other guests were Minister of State for Niger Delta Affair, Sen. Tayo Alasoadura; Chairmen Ondo West and Ondo East LG Chairman, Hon. Ebenezer Akinsulire and Hon. Wale Akinkotu respectively as well as religious and community leaders.

Our Reporter

The 1981 set of Loyola College Ibadan, will celebrate 40 years of leaving school this year.

In a press release issued in Lagos, Chairman of the 76/81 Set, Mr. Lookman Ismail, expressed gratitude to God for preserving the majority of the old boys, as well as the school – though he regretted the loss of a few of their classmates over the years.

Ismail also lamented the dwindling fortunes of education in the country since the 70s when they were in school and called upon the government to partner with the private sector and old students to restore the glory of iconic institutions around the country.

“It is really sad that many government and private institutions around the country are no more the reference points they used to be.

And all this is because we have not yet prioritised education in Nigeria.

“In some countries, teachers are paid better than bankers and education takes the lion share in federal budgetary allocations, we really need to reset our values in Nigeria,” he said.

The Association called on the government to return the school to its original owner, the catholic church, which is able to run the schools well.

“Loyola College Ibadan is one of the schools that should be returned to the Catholic Church, which founded the school in 1956 and laid a solid foundation for its excellence in academics, sports and discipline, “ he said.

Events lined up for the anniversary include seminars, reunion dinner and the revamping of the school’s sports complex

Ismail announced that the date of commencement of anniversary activities would be made public soon.

By Ghemisola Adesola

For the purpose of ensuring accountability, transparency and probity, the Lagos State Universal Basic board (LASUBEB) has trained workers on “Data-driven allocation of education resources and finance.”

The training had in attendance the board members, management staffs, stakeholders and invited facilitators.

Chairman, LASUBEb, Mr Wahab Alawiye-King, said the essence of the meeting is to also ensure that there is physical discipline, financial prudence, sincerity in business with customers and also making sure that all things are done in line with the law.

The lead facilitator, Mr Kunle Ajiboye, the MD and CEO of Simpliapha consulting limited said that education is the bedrock of the development of any society and the government places importance on education both at the federal and state level, funding goes into education which requires management, production of qualitative Education, and also innovation in education.

While addressing the participants, he said: “The most important thing I’ve mentioned concerning this training so far has to do with funding. Now there are operational issues around funding, alot of people do what is operationally correct and alot of people do what is expedient. howerever, does that motivation makes that action legal? are those actions actually in breech of the existing law? are there some of our conducts that appear okay and at the same time illegal? That is why we are here. At the end of the training, you must be able to decipher, you must be able to know how to take correct actions, you must be able to know when to say let me revert things to your boss, you must be able to know when to say let’s have this action properly documented.”

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One of the facilitators, Mrs Isioma Gogo Anazo CAMS, spoke on the meaning, and what money laundering is all about.

She described money laundering as a victimless crime that is not committed against one person. It is committed against the nation or against a community. Someone is not committing it to one person but putting it in a state where he or she will enjoy it. Money laundering is not a stand alone crime but can be handled as a stand alone crime.

Money laundering is a very important topic that does not stand alone and it has been in existence since 2000s. The people are to play major roles in helping the government fight against money laundering. Money laundering is not only in the banks, insurance company or capital market sectors, it happens in civil service too. In many cases, The objective of money laundering is just for the author to enjoy the money he’s trying to launder and the objective of committing the act is for someone to enjoy the profit of the money he’s trying to hide at the end of the day.

Candidates applying for the Teach for Nigeria (TFN) 2021 Fellowship will undergo rigorous selection process and training, says its Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Folawe Omikunle.

Speaking at the virtual launch of the recruitment process last Thursday, Ms. Omikunle said the Fellows, the fifth cohort, would be equipped to teach in over 150 under-resourced primary schools in low income communities for two years.

She said TFN, a non-profit organisation focused on expanding educational and life opportunities for low income children.

She said TFN Fellowship programme continues to serve as a private-sector-led solution. Through the exercise, she said some of Nigeria’s most promising future leaders from varied disciplines have contributed their quota to close the educational gap that exists.

“Education plays a major role in determining the future outcome of any individual as it positions them to access opportunities to make a living and improve their personal economies and the world at large. Primary education is also as important as it equips children with foundational knowledge to build their character. However, Nigeria continues to experience a huge educational deficit, statistics published by the Ministry of Education shows nearly 60% of primary six pupils cannot read at all and 25% drop out of primary school in Nigeria,” she said.

The fellowship is open to outstanding young professionals including non-teachers and existing teachers interested in being part of the movement  to end educational inequity in Nigeria.

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In his Keynote speech, Banky W, Ambassador, TFN, said: ” I am a product of the hard work of my parents and a concerned teacher who believed in me and pushed me to explore my creativity and talents. We need to understand that when it comes to fixing the problems in Nigeria, no one can do it all. We need to do it together. We need to exercise collective efforts to rebuild our own parts of the world, rebuilding Nigeria- one child, one community, and one mind at a time. As a teacher, your voice matters and I am a living proof of that.”

Speaking further, Omikunle said: “The pandemic showed the important role played by every individual and stakeholder. We saw how the power of collective efforts played out in the educational sectors as parents, private sector organisations and government aggregated  to ensure continued learning. We recognise that everyone’s voice is required in the fight for equity and we are mobilising the country’s most dynamic, passionate and resilient leaders to join in this fight.”

The programme will also invariably bridge the unemployment gap by providing youths with an opportunity to develop skills and experiences that will be useful to deliver during the fellowship programme and beyond. The fellows will be better positioned to access opportunities and deliver innovative solutions for the educational sector.

Teach for Nigeria launched the Fellowship program in 2017 with its first cohort of 45 Fellows. Over the years, Teach for Nigeria has enlisted more than 400 fellows and have impacted over 45,000 students. In addition, Teach for Nigeria has built a strong network of alumni who build on their experience during the fellowship, to continue to drive long-term systemic change across the education ecosystem. Fellows have proceeded to innovate and execute social impact projects to address educational challenges identified in their communities.

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

Worried by the absence of the fun and fanfare that characterise Children’s Day celebrations in many Lagos State schools on May 27 of every year, Sterling Homes is perfecting plans to revive that tradition in a local council development authority (LCDA) of the state.

Kunle Adeyemi, the company’s CEO, told journalists that the gesture was part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).

“We are taking off this year and we are starting with 27 primary Schools in Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA of the state.  We want to revive this tradition by giving back joy and value to the children,” Adeyemi said.

“It is our  plan to celebrate this year’s Children’s Day in grand style, involving all 27 primary schools in the community,” he said, recalling how the Day in his time was a day of celebration for children as they looked forward to the March Past and other fun-filled activities.

When Adeyemi visited the Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA Chairman, Razaq Olusola Ajala, to discuss his intention, Ajala thanked the CEO for choosing his community, expressing excitement about the initiative.

The company’s decision to organise the Children’s Day celebration is coming on the heels of unveiling its new brand identity which, according to the CEO, is one of the many steps to their next level of excellence-driven service and product delivery.

He said the company hopes to reverse the housing deficit in Nigeria.

The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has condemned the remittance of its members’ check off dues to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

In a statement, its National Coordinator, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, said members from all CONUA branches complained that union dues deducted from their salaries were being remitted to ASUU even though they were CONUA members.

Sunmonu said CONUA had written the Accountant General of the Federation to request for stoppage of the remittance of its members’ check off dues to ASUU with the hope that the matter would be urgently investigated and addressed.

He said that the leadership of ASUU, through its president unilaterally withdrew money running into millions of Naira in 2017, from the account of the OAU branch. This illegal act necessitated the request to stop check off dues deduction.

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Sunmonu urged the Accountant General of the Federation to also ensure the refund of what had been deducted from CONUA members, adding that it is inappropriate and against the tenets of the law to deduct check off dues of CONUA members for a union they do not belong to.

“CONUA is an independent academic staff union in Nigerian universities. Hence, remitting CONUA members’ dues to another union is tantamount to an attempt to financially strangulate CONUA. It should also be emphasised that Nigerian workers have the right to either belong to an appropriate union of their choice or not to belong to any union; and that this right should always be respected and protected,” he said.