By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

 

With the pandemic affecting jobs, the Lagos State Coconut Development Agency (LASCODA) is training about 100 youths, retirees and women to use coconut shells in art and craft to earn income.

The training, begun last week for the first set of 20 beneficiaries at the Farm Service Centre, Oko-Oba Agege, would last for five weeks that it would take to upskill 100 participants.

Speaking at the opening of the training last Monday, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, represented by the General Manager, LASCODA, Mr Dapo Olakulehin, said the beneficiaries were among 15,000 youths and women to be trained this year in agricultural-related businesses.

She said: “This is one of many agricultural empowerment, training and skill development programmes lined up by the Ministry of Agriculture for year 2021 with the overall objectives of creating job opportunities for more than 15,000 youths and women before the end of the year.

“This is the first batch of the training that is commencing today, under the Coconut sub-sector of Agriculture which is therefore a sub-set of the main objective of Ministry of Agriculture to produce  more than 15,000 agri-preneurs by building their capacity and empower them  not only to become economically independent but also employers of labour.”

Speaking in his capacity as LASCODA GM, Olakulehin urged the participants to take the training seriously as it had the potential to change their finances for the better and make them employers of labour.

“The training is all about converting waste to wealth – that is making use of coconut shell which we normally consider as waste to make creative things.  A lot of creative works can be getting out of this – like picture portrait, pen holder, bangles, necklace and others.

“Today, because of the COVID-19 protocols, the capacity of the hall is 75 but we are just training 20 people and because the batch is 100 and the implication is that in the next five weeks or so we will continue the training of 20 people per session and we hope it continues till the end of the year, for this batch we are looking at 100 but for this session it is 20 in other to align with the COVID-19 protocols,” he said.

Assistant Director, Planning, Monitoring and evaluation, LASCODA, Mr. Olatunji Hamzat, said in addition to learning the craft, the beneficiaries would also be taught how to run successful businesses.

“Part of what we are going to do is entrepreneurship development where they will be engaged by people and officers from Agric business.  They will not only be acquiring the skills but learn what do you do with the skills and how do you get resources to finance such from peasant level to a larger level where they can become employers of labour,” he said.

 

By Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

 

No fewer than 400 students of various tertiary institutions in and outside Sokoto State from across the 11 wards of Rabah Local Government Area of the state benefitted from N2 million bursaries disbursed by Deputy House Leader in the state assembly, Abdullahi Zakari Rabah.

Each of the students got N 5,000 to augment their upkeep in school.

The students were drawn from Shehu Shagari College of Education, Umaru Ali Polytechnic and College of Nursing Sciences, all in Sokoto, as well as College of Agriculture, Munki-Wurno and Sultan Abdulrahman School of Health Technology, Gwadabawa, among others.

Speaking, Rabah, who represents Rabah Constituency, said the gesture was aimed at alleviating the suffering of the students and to enable them pursue higher education.

He lamented that, poverty was inhibiting most of the indigent youths from acquiring higher education.

“Education is the best legacy anyone can bequeath the youths, as they are the future leaders of the country.

“How can they diligently discharge this arduous responsibility if they are not properly and adequately educated?,” Rabah, asked. The lawmaker further disclosed plans to empower 200 unemployed youths soon as he recalled that, he recently empowered 200 of his constituents.

In his remarks, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Rabah Local Government, Alhaji Lawalli Muazu Rabah, praised the lawmaker for the gesture, urging other officials from the council to emulate him.

He also appealed to the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money.

Replying on behalf of the beneficiaries, Secretary General of the Rabah Undergraduates’ Forum, Nura Yusuf Rabah, thanked the lawmaker for the gesture and promised to use the funds for the purpose they were meant for .

 

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council have launched the new Igbo and Yoruba early grade reading materials entitled: Ka Anyi go! and Je Ká kawe!.

These resources expand the availability of quality local language teaching and learning materials for reading in Nigeria, targeting all Igbo and Yoruba speaking primary grade 1 to 3 learners in the southern regions.

“Teaching children to read in a language they understand equips them with a powerful tool for lifelong learning,” said USAID Mission Director Anne Patterson during a virtual launch last weekend.

“Building foundational reading skills accelerate English language acquisition and other skills and contribute to developing a new generation of leaders equipped to help Nigeria meet the challenges ahead,”  she added.

Developed by the Research and Development Council with support from the USAID Northern Education Initiative (NEI) Plus activity, the new Igbo and Yoruba curricula will be available for any interested state to adopt, print, and distribute with their own resources.

The curriculum is tailored for a 21st century audience of emerging readers, rich with culturally relevant stories, colourful pictures, gender-balanced representation, and a clear sequence of content that gradually builds upon the abilities of each learner as new skills and proficiencies are acquired.

“Let’s Read” promotes active learner engagement, comprehension and critical thinking through three levels of instruction that ensure learners develop critical skills necessary for all aspiring readers: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

The comprehensive curriculum package includes learner textbooks and workbooks, teachers’ guides, and storybooks for practice in school or at home, all available at no expense for download.

Praising the books, Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba said at the launch: “I commend all these laudable achievements and reiterate that the Ministry of Education will continue to partner with USAID to provide basic education services that promote self-reliance. We are ready to consolidate and sustain gains made by USAID’s NEI Plus project beyond the two states of Bauchi and Sokoto.”

Bauchi and Sokoto were the first two states supported by NEI Plus, which other states can learn from.

Since October 2015, NEI Plus has delivered over seven million teaching and learning materials to more than one million primary grade 1 through 3 learners in 2,500 formal schools.

 

 

Many public schools may be in a bad state. However, School Based Management Committees (SBMC) have been told to quit complaining, roll up their sleeves and find solutions report KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

 

When asked to list the issues bedeviling schools in their communities, members of School Based Management Committees (SBMC) that attended a training by the Human Development Initiatives (HDI) last week in Lagos, reeled off problems after problems.

Hands were raised in all parts of the expansive hall at the basement of the R&A Hotel, Allen as the SBMC members struggling to catch the attention of the facilitator, Mr. Johnson Ibidapo, a Programmes Manager with HDI, for an opportunity to publicly put on record the problems of schools they serve in their communities.

Dilapidated facilities, lack of toilets, insecurity, lack of perimeter fencing, menace of hoodlums, inadequate teachers, were common problems highlighted by the SBMC members.

Mrs. Abosede Tijani said that Jamatul Islamiyya Primary School, Sabo Ikorodu had no fence and as a result suffered insecurity such that all its fans and windows had been stolen by hoodlums; while Mrs. Omolade Kalesanwo said Christ Central Primary School, Mushin was in such dilapidated state that roof was about  collapsing.

“Jamatul Islamiyya Primary School does not have a fence and toilets.  As a result, there is a lot of insecurity.  Hoodlums have stolen all our fans.  Iron windows that were installed have also been stolen.  Every day when we resume we pack human waste and condoms. They defecate all over the school.

“Christ Central Primary School Mushin lacks teachers.The building is dilapidated. The roof is falling down,” Mrs. Kalesanwo said.

Mrs. Bola Soaga, a retired teacher at African Bethel Primary School Ebute Metta, lamented the poor state of the school.

“A block of three classrooms given to us by Jimi Benson about four years ago is in a  bad state.  If rain is falling, it will fall on us and the children. We need more security there,” she said.

Mr. Liasu Kareem, a member of the SBMC at L.A. Primary School, Irewe, Ojo, said the school had no perimeter fencing.

Such was the passion and concern displayed by the participants about the state of their schools.  However, Ibidapo said passion was not enough and said the essence of the training was to show them ways to channel the passion into action that can help the schools overcome some of their problems.

He said the government could not adequately fund education without support. So SBMC members had to learn how to rally the support of host communities, corporate organisations, philanthropists and others to come to the aid of schools.

“We believe that the problems are so diverse that it is going to be impossible for government even to solve them.  We expect that after now, we will come up with a strategy and they will individually go back to their local governments to begin to deploy these strategies to tackle the problems.  That was why we said that with regards to the problems they identified, they shouldn’t just tell us  on what the government should do.  It should be what can you do as SBMC? That is the focus. So we want them to take stock – this is the problem; these are the causes; these are the solutions; but these are our own contribution to the solution. We want them to deploy the strategy and begin to address some of these concerns,” he said.

After strategising on what they want to do for their schools, the Executive Director, HDI, Mrs. Olufunso Owasanoye, said it was important they know how to communicate their ideas to get favourable results.  To this end, she taught the participants how to get positive response from school managers, people or organisations that they approach for support.

 

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Some of the schools and their challenges

 

Schools                                              Challenges

 

New Oko-Oba Primary School Ifako-Ijaiye           Insecurity

 

AUD Primary School                                              Fencing

 

LEA Primary School Oriyomi                                Flooding, fencing, insecurity

 

Anglican Primary School Ketu – Epe                     No fence and low learning

 

African Bethel Primary School Ebute-Metta          Leaking roof, insecurity

 

Ajidangan Primary School  Somolu                       Area boys

 

ZI Primary School Odogunyan                              inadequate teachers, classrooms

 

LA School 1B Amukoko Ajeromi Ifelodun           inadequate teachers, collapsed fence

 

Alaba Primary School Ajeromi Ifelodun               Dilapidated school structure

 

Christ Central Primary School Mushin                  Inadequate teachers, dilapidated                                         classrooms

 

LA Primary School Ojo                                          Insecurity, no perimeter fencing

 

Jammatul Islamiyya Primary School,

Ikorodu                                                                   Fencing, insecurity, no toilets

 

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“We have found  out that most of them don’t understand that role and function and how they can to go about it.  So today, we are here to for us to build their capacity plan on what is school development plan and how they can renew their assessment of the school in collaboration with the head teachers or the school managers and then how they can go about it to achieve in meeting these needs which comes down to resource mobilisation.

“So the capacity also was built on how they can go about resource mobilisation. What are the steps to take? Who are they going to and where and what will they use in engaging these people? For example, old students association, philanthropists, those that they know in the government or also the local government that can assist the school, may be the school needs toilets, school needs extra furniture, they are to go in collaboration with the school and make sure they find out strategies on how those needs can be met.  They have to learn how can they approach, how can they present all these issues to people that are not even members of the community,” Mrs. Owasanoye said.

Apart from mobilising resources to support schools, Ibidapo said the SBMC members also had to learn about what government had officially provided for schools through the Universal Basic Education (UBE) grants to ensure that each school got what they were entitled to.

The participants were exposed to the 2018 Action Plan of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) which details all the projects that would be done in schools funded by the UBE grants.  The projects include rehabilitation of classrooms, provision of water and sanitation, provision of sports equipment, among others.  They also learnt the importance of school development plans and how to prepare one.

Speaking on the myriad of challenges facing public schools and how to solve them, Ibidapo said in an interview, that the government should not deny these problems but allow others to support in improving schools.

He said: “The first thing is to launch deeply into Public Private Partnership (PPP), to ensure that some of these things can be dealt with. There are organisations that are willing to collaborate with the Lagos State Government at no cost to sort out some of these challenges. There are organisations that are ready to recruit security guards; some are willing to give structures; we have seen banks that approach and say ‘we want to do this, how do we go about it?’. So government should leverage on that opening.

“Number two is that we will advise that the government to stop what I call denial game. The reality is that the challenges are so rife.  The recommended standard is  that a teacher should take 35 pupils or students in a class but classes are just  over populated. We have 150 or 200 pupils in a class. So the government should stop this game of denial.”

Ibidapo also advocated for improved funding of education.

“The government should go beyond this basic education intervention fund.  It is just a special fund; this thing should have even ended in 2012. It was by special grace it did not end.

“The economy of Lagos State is far bigger than some countries in West Africa. So they should stop relying on that intervention and devote more funds. Thank God for what Sanwo-Olu did last year and maybe this year but we want to see much more devoted, much more done.  At least right now we know that they have the right set of people in key positions of authority handling education, basic, secondary, tertiary but we should go beyond that to do more, be open minded, operate an open door policy, let investors come in, let supporters come in, don’t deny the problem and then I believe that we will make a lot of progress on that,” he said.

When asked about what LASUBEB was doing to address the infrastructural challenges in public schools, the chairman, Mr. Wahab Alawiye-King said: “There are processes to be followed.”

By Bassey Anthony, Uyo

The Akwa Ibom State Government has threatened to sack teachers under its employ caught in acts of truancy and academic laxity.

Chairman State Secondary Education Board( SSEB) Dr. Ekaette Ebong Okon, who issued the threat at the weekend, noted that secondary school teachers posted to rural areas in the state have not been living up to their responsibilities.

She said reports indicate they abscond from their duty posts for one year to engage in farming and trading activities while the government continues to pay them monthly salaries.

” We have to pursue teachers to do their work. I am not afraid to tell you that most people who take up government jobs as teachers refuse to do their work.

” They don’t go to school. They prefer to be posted to rural areas and hide there.

“They become traders in the market. Some of them don’t go to school for 3 to 6 months yet they are receiving salaries.”

Although she did not mention the schools involved, she confirmed that some teachers do not go to school for one year but stay at home to receive salaries.

” Having gone round schools in the state for inspection, we discovered teachers who have not gone to school for years.

” Therefore, it is not going to be business as usual. We have improved on school monitoring.

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” In the State Secondary Education Board, all members have been divided into groups for supervision and monitoring of schools across the three zones in the State to check teachers and students excesses that dangerous to learning.

“The Board members can pay unscheduled visits to schools at least twice every week.”

She said teachers found wanting in the discharge of duties would be sacked while others would be punished in line with Civil Service rules.

” We would put such teachers under query and other disciplinary actions including stopping their salaries. We would also demote school Heads who can not control teachers and deployed them back to Education Authority for their inactions.

“When we discovered that the principal is not competent to control teachers under him, nothing stops us from demoting you.

“You must deliver on the job you are paid for. If the job is not good for you simply quit,” she warned.