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The Acting Chairman, FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB), Dr. Sule Al-Hassan and some top functionaries of the board, toured Lagos last week on a knowledge/experience sharing and peer review visit to the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB).

Read Also: Provost: colleges should run NCE, degrees to boost enrolment

The four-day visit was spent understudying basic education programmes, projects and educational facilities in Lagos State, comparing notes and exchanging ideas in order to achieve greater outcomes in the provision of national basic education services in both vicinities.

As part of the activities, the Executive Chairman, LASUBEB, Mr. Wahab Alawiye-King and members of  his board visited some state and Federal Government intervention projects across the state with the visitors.

 

The Provost of Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Dr. Wahab Azeez, has said that the only way to address  low enrollment in colleges of education is to allow education colleges run dual mode – both the National Certificate for Education (NCE) and degree programmes.

Speaking during the institution’s matriculation last Thursday, he said: “The only way we can address it is to allow colleges of education to run dual mode. For those who want to come in for teaching education, let them first of all come for three years programme for their NCE, then for their degree they will just spend two extra years, that will make it five years.

“The second way is to allow all colleges of education to be converted to universities (or retain the name) colleges of education if we do not want to change the name. But we should be allowed to run degrees from first degree to PhD level,” he said.

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A total of 727 students matriculated at the event held at the Paul Alabi Multipurpose Hall – 635 for NCE, and 92 for the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) programmes.

Underscoring the importance of the ceremony, the Provost said the matriculation was significant in several ways.

“Firstly, it is only at matriculating ceremonies that students offered provisional admission are formally presented and declared bonafide students of the college. Secondly, as bonafide students you are to take Matriculation Oath and sign the authority, rules and regulations. Thirdly, it is a ceremony at which fresh students are fully integrated into the academic community. Finally, the ceremony is the climax of series of activities designed to introduce fresh students to the college systems and ensure that they derive the greatest benefits from the resources available in the college,” he said.

Azeez told the freshers that the school had taken necessary steps to ensure security on campus, urging to play their role in making the campus safe by being security conscious.

“You are strongly advised to be security conscious and imbibe good maintenance culture in order to complement the efforts of the College Management. Also, you are to avail yourselves of the services of the Students Affairs Unit in times of difficulties and needs.

“The College Management has taken security on campus very seriously. There is security surveillance 24/7 by the college-engaged security men including Close Circuit Television and Cameras to detect any criminally-minded persons. It would be appreciated if you can report anyone with suspicious activities in the College.  Please note that security is the work of everyone; and do not join anyone who is a security risk to your stay in the College,” he said.

 

In acknowledgement of his humanitarian endeavours and continuous contribution to youth empowerment,. Noah Dallaji, engineer,  philanthropist and founder of the African Children Talent Discovery Foundation (ACTDF) has been conferred with a  Honorary Doctorate Degree by the United Graduate College and Seminary International.

Dallaji was decorated with the honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities at the International Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana during the recent global summit of the Africa Advancement Forum (ADF) alongside other eminent personalities from other African countries.

The businessman and investor, pledged to rededicate himself to the cause of African children and the youths by supporting them to discover their talents and develop them towards self-actualisation, fulfillment and becoming better citizens of their countries.

Read Also: Mathematics, solution to healthy living, says don

While appreciating the recognition, he said it was a good feeling that the public took note of his humanitarian stewardship in the last 19 years as he pledged commitment to do more for a better society.

guished individuals who are creators of unique narratives and those who have added to existing knowledge for the betterment of humanity.

“We have reviewed your accomplishments and it is evident that you have served humanity well. We recognize you worthy of the title of Doctor”, it stated.

 

University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) professor of mathematics, Kamilu Rauf has said Nigerians can learn how to calculate healthy lifestyle using mathematics.

Delivering the 202 inaugural lecture of UNILORIN titled “A brief tour into the world of inequations that rule our everyday lives”, the university teacher said people could make right decision about the type of food to eat using mathematics.

“With proper understanding of mathematics, we can calculate how much food we require in our daily lives and how much calorie intake we expect to stay fit. Apart from that, when it comes to food choice, we can calculate which food will give us how much calories and fat.

“The more mathematical we are in our approach, the more successful and promising we will be. Mathematics offers rationality to our thoughts. It is an instrument in our hands to make our lives simpler and easier,” he said.

Rauf also said Mathematics boosts reasoning, critical thinking among other useful skills.

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“Certain qualities that are nurtured by mathematics are power of reasoning, creativity, abstract or spatial thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving ability and even effective communication skills.

“Let us recognise and appreciate the beauty of the subject of and embrace it with all our hearts. It is a talent which should be compulsorily honed by all in every walk of life,” he said.

Rauf urged the governments at state and Federal levels to vote no less than 42 percent of their annual budget to education.

He said that the late sage Obafemi Awolowo did that in the SouthWest as premier, adding that the result was still obvious.

Rauf equally prevailed on the Federal Government to stop looking for foreign solutions to Nigerian problems.

 

A Senior Lecturer at the , Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro,Mr Emmanuel Oloyede, has called on Nigerian technicians to embrace improvisation of science laboratory items using local raw materials to achieve better results.

The polytechnic lecturer made the call on Thursday at the closing of a weeklong training of laboratory technicians held at Federal Science Equipment Centre (FSEC), Ijanikin, Lagos.

More than 40 laboratory technicians participated in the training which was facilitated by Federal Ministry of Education and FSEC.

According to Oloyede, technology is acquired either by invention, transfer or stolen to advance the course of a people.

“Enough materials are readily available; all that we need to do is to get the foreign prototype of such item dismantle it and study the components and improvise with local materials based on knowledge acquired,” he said.

Also speaking at the session, FSEC Director, Mr Yekini Ismaila, said the training would reduce trainees’ reliance on importation of items which personnel could improvise to enhance technical knowledge.

Read Also: How COVID-19 helped Chrisland online school

“You are expected to train others in your places of work to ensure that this technical knowledge is passed to people in order to improve output and reduce cost of equipment importation,”

“The human capital development session will revitalise the education sector to produce school leavers that can add value to the real sector for national growth and development,” he said.

The training, with the theme “Training on Development of an Instruction Manual and Preparation of a Practical Manual”, was aimed at enhancing capacity on laboratory equipment handling and laboratory tools fabrication.

It trained personnel on how to use locally sourced materials to maintain and fabricate equipment for experiments instead of depending on importation.

It focused on simple tools fabrication, such as test tubes, furnace, electric motors, energy storage components and others that enhance laboratory works in post primary institutions.

FSEC was established in 1971 following a tripartite agreement with UNESCO and UNDP to provide national programmes of care, repairs and maintenance of secondary school science equipment to extend their life span.

It also aimed at upgrading the skills and career prospects of graduates of laboratory assistants and offer courses to laboratory technicians.

COVID-19 caused disruption for many schools, but at Chrisland Schools, the Managing Director, Mrs. Ibironke Olatokunbo Adeyemi, said it led to starting a full online school along side the regular school.

Mrs. Adeyemi said this was possible because prior to the arrival of the pandemic, the school, which runs 12 nursery/primary and secondary schools, and a university in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State, had already begun exploring the use of technology in learning.

“Before the COVID-19 disruption, we were quite technically stable. We were using different platforms and methods of teaching and learning in our schools. But with the onset of COVID, we had to up our game quickly and take it to another level and that level included ensuring that all our learners came onboard, whether they liked it or not, with their own devices, so that they are taught and do what they needed to do in terms of their learning,” she said.

While the school now operates a hybrid of physical and virtual classes, Mrs. Adeyemi said the online school serves those who are unable to resume physically or are out of the country.

“We now have an online school, where we encourage those that are not yet able to join for what ever reasons. We have like a hybrid system right now. The online school has its own coordinator.

“In our online school, we have all our learners. When you join Chrisland schools, online fully is available. We have some that will say ‘ok for this term, I want to do online; I cannot come physically to school because of whatever reason’. Some that are posted abroad and they don’t want to miss out on Chrisland for that period, they do the online school fully. They do all the tests, all the assignments, the exams everything is online. And they have their reports too online. So we started that around when COVID-19 came up,” she said.

Read Also: Volunteer teacher who waded through Ogunpa River to reach school gets N1m

On how the school maintains quality across all its 12 schools, chairman of the school’s Advisory Board, Mr. Ike Ofuokwu, said Chrisland runs a vibrant quality assurance unit.

He said: “We have a full fledged department headed by a very serious management staff, known as Quality Assurance and Control. As we are talking now, most schools are on vacation and our Quality Assurance and control unit are not on vacation. They are working on trending out policies and quality control.”

Mrs. Adeyemi added that the Unit operates at three levels.

“We were the first school to set up Quality Assurance unit in Nigeria, in private schools and not just quality assurance, we broke it down. We have quality assurance for the nursery, we have the quality assurance for the primary and we have the quality assurance for the secondary. So we have three different sections under the quality assurance, and we go round their schools to see what they are doing and ensure that what they are doing is if quality anf is conforming with the expectations of the school.”

Mrs. Adeyemi appealed to the government to reduce taxes that private schools have to pay.

“Private schools are facing a lot of challenges. We have to provide everything ourselves, yet we are bombarded with taxes and regulations as well as inconsistent policies,” she said.

For the past two years, Akeem Badru and 43 other volunteer teachers taught in rural schools in Ogun State as Teach for Nigeria Fellows. However, he went above and beyond to lift pupils who were lagging behind in learning outcomes to high flyers in two years reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

Volunteer teachers belong to a rare class.  Volunteer teachers who agree to teach in rural/underserved communities like Teach for Nigeria (TFN) Fellows are rarer.  Volunteer teachers like Akeem Badru are in the rarest category. Or how else can a teacher who waded through a river just to get to a rural school so his pupils would not to miss classes be classified if not in the hard to find category?

Badru taught at St. Michaels R.C.M Primary School in Ogunpa Olunloye, a remote community in Ogun State.  Despite being hard to reach, he always made it to school.

He said: “Coming to this particular village during this particular era requires somebody who is determined to do it.  There are many reasons to go back.

“Just last week when I was coming, the bike that was bringing me refused to go any longer.  I had to come down, trek for over an hour.  I told the bike man that if you are going back, I cannot go back because I have children who are waiting for me.  If I go back, learning will stop for that particular week.

“There was even a time I came around; there was no canoe by the river bank.    They had all gone to the farm.  I had to take the risk of walking through the river.  I put my bags on my head, pulled up my trousers and walk through the river just because if I fail to come for a week, learning will stop. and there is no one to give them that particular learning experience.”

Badru introduced aero modelling to the school as a teaching methodology to develop innovation, creativity and problem solving skills in his learners.

“Over the years, I have always thought the method of memorizing facts and regurgitating it has failed us.  So as a paper modeler, I believe engaging children to create models, charges their creativity, ignites their curiosity, and inquisitiveness.  If we want to achieve technological breakthrough in Nigeria, we have to produce children who are thinking and not just memorizing facts,” he said.

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St. Michaels head teacher, Salami Tajudeen Bolarinwa, praised Badru’s commitment.

“For a young man to leave town and be living with the pupils in the community is highly commendable.  It is serious sacrifice,” he said.

Badru was presented with the Gbenga and Aisha Oyebode prize for outstanding leadership award with a N1 millon cash award for his commitment during the graduation of TFN 2001 fellows last weekend.

Mr Gbenga Oyebode, chairman, TFN, said of Badru: “There is a reason why the award is called the outstanding leadership award.  All fellows of TFN are outstanding leaders.  What is important to us is essentially leadership and our teaching ability.

“Today, what we are celebrating in Mr Akeem Badru is his going way beyond the call of duty – his ability to impact on the rural underserved community where he was serving; his community; the testimondy of the children; parents; his unbounding commitment to that community through thick and thin.  To me that is outstanding leadership. ”

Commencement Speaker for the virtual graduation, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former Education Minister, advised the fellows to continuing using what they learnt from TFN to improve the country.

“Leaving the fellowship does not mean leaving everything you have gained but entails scaling all the skills gained in leadership, collaboration, core values, and mindsets. It includes translating your learnings to shape the 21st century economy. You are a resource, so don’t undersell yourselves and remain purposeful. The world waits for you,” she said.

In her remarks, TFN CEO, Folawe Omikunle, praised members of the 2021 TFN cohort for their commitment.

“The efforts and successes of our graduating cohort has made it evident that indeed a movement of exceptional leaders can change the narrative in Nigeria. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, our fellows remained resilient, adapting solutions to improve learning outcomes in underserved communities”.

Highlight of the programme was the presentation of awards to fellows who implemented the best special project tagged “Be the Change Project”.

The graduating cohort implemented 18 social impact projects in their placement communities across Ogun state, which impacted about 3,250 beneficiaries.

The Teach For Nigeria Creative Kids Art Club founded by Olalekan Abiola won the “outstanding Be The Change Award” sponsored by Dr Bosede Hephzibah Akinsanmi, a retired Educator,  with a cash prize of N350,0000, while other projects including Smart garden initiative, Alpha Cyry and First Step Initiative were also awarded cash prizes worth N650,000.

 

I-Scholar initiative, a non-profit that supports brilliant students to study abroad, is seeking support from businesses and individuals to assist more students.

Speaking during a zoom meeting, Chairperson of the i-Scholar board of trustees, Mrs. Tolu Ewherido said in the course of sourcing and mentoring young Nigerian graduates, the group had discovered many talented Nigerians who would have not been able to afford to attend top schools abroad because of funding.

“We realised that there are significant talents in our universities. But part of the challenges they are facing is affordability,” she said.

She explained that the i-Scholar, which started in 2019, steps in to pay for tests and application costs and mentor the candidates until they get admissions and scholarship offers.

She said: “What we do is really simple. We do two critical things – one is we understand that a lot of these talents we are talking about, part of the limiting factor for them is affordability – of simple things like getting into the exams that would get them into those graduate studies or paying for their graduate school application.

Read Also: Authors can now get ISBN, ISSN online in minutes

“So what we do is that we take that burden. So i-Scholar pays and part of our investment is monitoring. We pay for their standardised test so things like GRE, G.MATS, TOEFL. We also pay for a predetermined number of graduate school applications so that we remove the initial stumbling blocks to most of the talents that we are trying to connect to opportunities.”

Mrs. Ewherido, and other i-Scholar officials at the Zoom call said the value of the investment on the lives of the beneficiaries was huge. She said last year alone, i-Scholar’s N14 million investment yielded over two billion naira worth of scholarship for 50 scholars.

“I would use last year as an example. About N14 million was our investment in terms of cost that we paid for 50 scholars in 2020. That investment realised almost two billion naira in graduate scholarships today. Eighty per cent of the folks that we funded have been able to access funding into global schools like Stanford, and top colleges across the globe – not just in the U.S., in the UK.

“So, when you look at that N14 million of investment generating two billion naira scholarships, that is more than a 100 times the investment we are making on these individuals,” she said.

Not only do I-Scholar beneficiaries go on to get lucrative jobs after their studies, the impact is also felt by their families.

With the initiative showing such promise, Mrs. Ewherido said the board is seeking more funding support to expand scholarship opportunities to many more scholars.

“We had 800 scholars that applied for our programme this year and gave scholarships to only 50 of them. Most of the people that applied are by default first class or second class upper candidates, so these are candidates that are globally competitive anywhere but we could only fund 50 of them.

“So so I think the multiplier effect is if we can get from 50 to 500 or to a thousand scholarships, you can imagine what that one would achieve,” she said.

Also speaking, i-Scholar President, Victor Ogunmola, said through the initiative, i-Scholar was building a critical mass of leaders for Nigeria’s development.

‘’We want to make sure that we are building the next generation of leaders. We believe that the future belongs to these talents and we are helping to build that hidden pipeline of talents for the future growth.

“These guys are creative, they are innovative, we believe that the future solution to not just our nation’s growth but the entire continent,” he said

Other members of the i-Scholar team on the Zoom call were: Kunle Ojelere, Olufemi Nelson Fajolu, Olufemi Nelson Fajolu, and Iyabode Attah.

There is good news for authors and publishers of books and journals.

They can now obtain their International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for their books on the website of the National Library of Nigeria.

Immediate past Chief Executives / National Librarian, Prof. Lenrie Aina said this in an interview in Abuja to give account of his stewardship in office.

Aina said before the change, authors had to travel far distances to either their state offices or Abuja to obtain the number.

The former national Librarian said that changed when he resumed office in 2016.

He said: “Our organisation is supposed to provide International Standard Book Number (ISBN) to authors. If you are an author of a newspaper or journal, we give you International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) but you have to come to any of our branches to get this number and it could take months.

“I want people to obtain their ISBN or ISSN anywhere and I am happy that we have achieved that. You don’t have to leave your home or offices to get our ISBN or ISSN. Just go to our website; there is a procedure on what to do. Thirty minutes you will get your number,” he said.

Read Also: What Nigerians going abroad say about local education system

Aina said the agency is in the process of digitising all publications in the country so that it can be accessed globally.

“We want to digitise all Nigerian publications so that it can be accessed from anywhere in the world. We are working out royalty for authors. We are working with the Nigerian Copyright Commission on how we can compensate our authors.

“As soon as that is worked out, all our publications will be available on the internet,” Aina said.

He said he met an archaic library when he assumed office in 2016, an office without internet facilities and electricity supply.

“I met an archaic library. One of the first things I did was to ensure that we had internet facilities and power supply. It has been on since 2016, no disruption,” he said.

He said the agency had developed a strategic plan (2020 – 2024) to reposition library services in the country.

Aina said the agency was in the process of amending the law that compels authors to deposit copies of their books with the NLN.

“We are trying to amend the law. The management sat down with members of staff , looked at the law and amended it. The bill has been passed to our board then from the board we intend to go to Federal Ministry of Education before it will be taken to the National Assembly as an executive bill.

“Some of the things we have in that bill is to correct the N100 fine. Now, if you don’t deposit your books with us within a month at your own expense, you will be fined N500, 000. If for any reason, maybe the book is expensive and N500, 000 will not cover it we charge you give times the cost of the book.

“If you are doing launching of any book without depositing three copies with us and obtaining a clearance certificate you are going to pay N500, 000. We have introduced several things to tighten it (the law) but like I said, it is still at the level of draft but hopefully it will be presented,” he said.

 

Many young Nigerians will be leaving for further studies abroad this month. KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE reports on what challenges need to be addressed at home.

This month, young Nigerians will head to countries across the world for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.  The top four destination countries for Nigerians according to the ICEF Monitor, an international education service provider, are the United States, Malaysia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Nigeria is rated an important student supply market because of the large number of students that travel outside its shores for academic purposes.  Last year alone, despite COVID-19, ICEF reported that over 100,000 Nigerians traveled for further studies abroad.

British Council Nigeria Country Director, Lucy Wilson, said some 30 students will start their studies at the Oxford and Cambridge Universities this month – fraction of thousands of others that have clinched admission offers to various UK universities.

Read Also: APC expels council chairman for ‘insulting’ Buhari

“Between 10,000 to 20,000 Nigerians choose to study, work in UK every year mostly because of the quality of the UK education system and the values that the UK institutions are recognised for.  But the UK also welcomes Nigerian students; international students because of the diversity and the richness in the talents that they bring to the UK,” she said.

A major reason Nigeria is one of the top-sending student market countries in the world is because Nigeria does not have enough institutions to educate its huge youth population.  According to statistics from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), only about a third of candidates that take the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) get into school.  The major factor for this is insufficient space for the number of eligible candidates.

Nevertheless, some Nigerian students traveling to the UK this month gave the search for quality education and greater career prospects as their reasons for interest in foreign education.

At a reception to host some Oxford and Cambridge-bound students in Lagos, some of the scholars shared experiences they had during their first degrees that need to change if Nigerian institutions are to become better.  Some alumni of the UK’s top universities also shared how schooling was different over there compared to Nigeria.

Architect-turned banker, Chibueze Ewuzie, going to study for his MBA at Oxford University, said it was a lack of job that made him turn to banking.

The 34-year old, who studied at the Imo State University, said there was need for curriculum change.

He said: “First of all, for instance, in Imo State University right now, the curriculum being used is 20 years old and hasn’t been changed.

“You cannot be teaching students what was obtainable 20 years ago and expect them to compete in the global market. It is just not realistic.

“What are you teaching these young people? And how can they come out of school and be confident enough to compete with somebody in the U.S, U.K or anywhere? I think that for me is basically the foundation. When you expose them to the latest technology, you expose them to the latest way of doing business.

“I think we need to do better in terms of what we teach them so that when they are graduating, they are prepared for the future; not for the past.”

A computer science graduate of the Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji-Arakeji, who is going to study Cybersecurity at the University of Hertfordshire, said Nigerian tertiary institutions were missing adequate practical content.  He said the lack of practical training was a big factor in deciding where to do his postgraduate studies.

“Two things were considered (by me) when seeking education abroad.  One is access to the technical know-how.  For someone who studied Computer Science, my work requires more practice; being hands on.

“While in school, there was little opportunity for practical training.  I gained more when I went for the internship than when I was in school,” he said.

An Olabisi Onabanjo University graduate, who simply called himself Nire, and headed to the UK, Birmingham, said oppression of students by lecturers needs to be addressed along with curriculum review and incessant strikes.

He said lecturers should be held accountable for their misdeeds.

“Lecturers can do anything and get away with it. I failed a course in 300-Level and my offense was – my phone rang in class.

“In the lectures words: ‘big boy, your phone is ringing in my class; don’t worry I will make you the class rep for next year.’

“For him to make me know he did not forget, my name came out in the exam question.  I reported to the school authorities but nothing was done about it. Result came out and I had 9/100. I do not know how that was possible,” he said.

Regarding the curriculum, Nire said he dropped out of a Master’s programme because he did not find the course content relevant.

“I started Master at UNILAG but I had to drop out. It was not making any sense to me.

“Masters in Electrical engineering and they are still teaching us irrelevant things when technology has disrupted almost every sector in the world. The online classes we had was a mess.

“I have friends studying abroad and I know what they are being introduced to,” he said.

Another Oxford student, Ifeoluwa Ogunbufunmi, who studied Law at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), said beyond academics, Nigerian universities need to improve their processes – like that of releasing transcripts.

“Why is that not a process that is already online? Why do you need people to know somebody somewhere to push?

“I could say at least my university is trying. At least I could get an online version of my transcript quickly.  But I know that in other Nigerian universities it is not like that. A friend of mine lost an admission because he could not get his transcript in time so they just cancelled the entire application,” she said.

Unlike in Nigeria, where many university students read only what they are taught for exams, President, Oxford and Cambridge Club of Nigeria, Lanre Fatimileyin, said students of the top UK university have to read widely to make a good impression.

He said: “The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are unique in the tutoring system. You tend to have smaller groups with a tutor. When you are done with normal classes, you go and study with the tutor. There is a lot if focus on you; there is a lot of practical course work you have to do.

“Depending on where you are studying, you are writing essays and doing course work all the time. Those are some of the critical differences. You have to prepare to do a lot of writing and reading outside of your curriculum to do well.

“At Oxford and Cambridge, you are reading for a degree, you are not studying or being taught. Even if you are on a taught postgraduate course, you are reading for a degree and reading means not just your normal knowledge, you are reading many different things do that you can excel. Some of these professors are experts in their field; they are Nobel Prize winners.  So, to impress them you have to show something, you have to be ready to read widely.”

An Oxford alumna, Prof. Bomi Ogedengbe, lamented how badly the Nigerian education system had deteriorated. She called for greater investments in education to restore education to its once enviable position which was at par with foreign institutions.

“In those days, the education in this country was if you had a degree from Lagos go ahead and do your postgraduate but now it is not the same. We have to improve our education system, we have to put more money into it, we have to respect our teachers just like we need to respect our doctors and we have to encourage them, send them for courses so that they will upgrade themselves, pay them well so that they do not have to sell manuscripts and answers and things like that. We have to take education very very seriously the way forward is there,” she said.