The Nation Newspaper

Tag: College

  • ‘Marginalisation of college of education graduates unhealthy’

    Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government on Education, Otunba Fatai Olukoga, has condemned the way graduates of colleges of education are treated by some people.

    He said despite peculiar challenges, products of colleges of education have turned out as notable academics who have contributed immensely to the development of education in their fields.

    Olukoga spoke at the 71st regular meeting of the Committee of Provosts of Colleges of Education in Nigeria, held at Micheal Otedola College of Primary Education, MOCPED, Noforija, Epe, Lagos.

    He said: “I condemn the misgivings in some quarters about colleges of education; it is regrettable that they have not yet received due recognition, among other tertiary institutions in this country.

    “The erroneous belief that dregs constitute the majority of fresh intakes into colleges of education is not only misleading but also misrepresenting and defamatory. It is also a fact that notable academics in the education profession are products of our colleges of education and they have contributed immensely to the development of the different fields in education.”

    He implored the provosts to re-chart, re-shape and re-model their training skills such that products from their institutions would compete favorably with their counterparts in other parts of the world.

    He further stated that education is no doubt the fundamental weapon to fight poverty “intimidate ignorance, defeat religious extremism and ensure social orderliness. “

    Olukoga continued: “Education is the bedrock of the development of any nation. The quality of any education system is determined by the quality of its teachers, and this is further premised on the quantum of the resources invested in their academic and professional development.”

    He said teachers are drivers of the society, curators of the past and the architects of tomorrow’s building blocks.

    Earlier, the Provost MOCPED, Prof Olu Akeusola, welcomed the over 20 provosts to the college. He seized the opportunity to identify various achievements of the college.

    Akeusola, who is also the COP Secretary-General, said MOCPED’s feat is attributable to pragmatic and proactive approach of the management towards development.

    “Despite the plethora of economic challenges besetting the college, the college management has not shirked their responsibility in making all efforts to make the college a centre of excellence with high standard of teaching and a culture of sustained learning,” he said.

    He thanked the institution’s Governing Council, Management members, students and staff who supported him in building the college.

  • Sultan: support education

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged old students of schools to  contribute to the growth of their alma mater.

    The Sultan said this would improve the education sector, adding: “No gesture is too small or too big for the development of the sector. What matters is the spirit of giving and we should all imbibe it.”

    He spoke yesterday while hosting members of the Federal Government College, Sokoto, Old Boys Association.

    The Sultan said the government’s efforts in the education sector should be complemented by individuals and organisations, adding: “The era when the funding of the sector and the infrastructural development of schools at all levels was left to the government alone is gone. The three tiers of government are trying their possible best in spite of the various sectors competing for financing.

    “At my former school, Barewa College, Zaria, I built a multi-purpose hall and a principal’s office. We should strive to give back to our former schools because they laid solid foundations for our lives.”

    The Emir of Bungudu in Zamfara State, Alhaji Hassan Attahiru, who led the delegation, hailed the Sultan’s efforts to “sustainable peace and unity in Nigeria”.

  • College inducts 69

    College inducts 69

    No fewer than 69 graduates were inducted into the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) at a ceremony at the Bayelsa State College of Health Technology (BYCOHTECH).

    The graduates, who studied Medical Laboratory Science, took the oath.

    The event was the department’s maiden induction and it was held at the college’s pavilion. It witnessed the presence of the dignitaries, including parents and guardians of the inductees.

    Of the 69 graduates, 47 were sworn in as Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLT), while 22 became Medical Laboratory Assistants (MLA).

    Administering the oath on the graduands, the representative of the MLSCN Registrar, Mr Humphrey Elendu, said the service of the inductees was needed to achieve effective primary healthcare. He charged the inductees to uphold the ethics of the profession in the discharge of their professional duties.

    Elendu praised the management for ensuring that all programmes offered by the institution got full accreditation. He advised the inductees not to stop studying, urging them to go further.

    The college Provost, Dr Teddy Adias, applauded the MLSCN for making the school the centre for professional examination. He asked the council to prevail on universities to accept graduates of the institution on direct entry (DE), especially those who studied Medical Laboratory Science. This, he said, will make the programme attractive and make the technician reach the peak of their career.

    The inductees were presented with the profession regulatory body work permit and identity card, which serve as their licence.

    A graduand, Ikirigo Sokari, appreciated his parents and lecturers for empowering him with the knowledge, promising to be a good ambassador of the school and the profession.

  • Oduduwa comes alive at King’s College

    THE comic genre as a platform for educating young readers got a boost when Panaramic Entertainment unveiled the ‘Okiojo’s Chronicles’  at a public presentation at King’s College annex, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Five hundred and sixty copies of the comic books were donated to the college at the event.

    The Okiojo series is a product of three years’creative efforts of former pupils of the college, Tunji Anjorin, Adeniyi Adeniji, Rotimi Dawodu and Rotimi Anjorin and others who formed Paranamic Entertainment.

    They said the Okiojo’s Chronicles is designed to educate and entertain, especially students about Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage.

    The Principal of King’s College, Otunba Oladele Olapeju, praised the old boys for creating a comic series that would help project Nigerian heroes.

    “Oduduwa, Queen Amina are well-known personages in history who played heroic roles that cut across their respective communities and influenced the history of their eras. It is important younger generation of children must know them; the roles they played in our history which will help the children to appreciate the fact that people have been here and achieved something monumental for the society,” he said.

    General Secretary, King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA), Mr. Lucky Idike, said the old students behind the comic book series have helped in creating employment.

    He added that Nigerians have never been found wanting of ideas. “Circumstances have forced people to dig deep into their ingenuity and come up with something tangible that is relevant to the yearning of the society – the Okiojo’s Chronicles falls within this bracket,” he said.

    Apart from Oduduwa, the two other comic in the series are: The Story of the Yoruba: 1897 (tells the story of the Benin Kingdom); and Queen Amina 1 and 2.

  • Oyo College adopts e-voting

    In what appeared to be an innovation in state-owned institutions in Oyo State, the college has organised the first e-voting for aspirants in the Students’ Union Government (SUG).

    The election, which started at 9.00am at the college’s ICT Centre, had members of  past management team in attendance, including 22 observers, electoral committee members, election monitoring team, men of the State Security Services (SSS), security operatives and polling agents of the candidates.

    The observers, monitoring team and electoral committee who were drawn from students, lecturers and administrative staff lauded the initiative of the school management on the adoption of electronic voting system. Some of the students after casting their votes also praised the Provost, Prof. Gbemiga Adewale for the introduction of electronic system of voting in the college.

    Joseph Oluyemi Deborah, a student of Animal Health and Production Technology Department, described Prof Gbemiga Adewale as a man of vision who was committed to students’ welfare.

    Another student, Sukurat Aminu Titilope, described the electronic system of voting as a fast, efficient and 21st century-compliant.

    An electoral observer,  Mr Gbolahan Oyelere, Ag. Head of Agricultural Extension Programme, said the voting system was peaceful, free and fair, void of rancour and hooliganism which was evident in the orderly conduct of the election.

    At the end of the election, Hassan Are Opeyemi of Animal Health Technology, HND II, emerged president, after polling 364 votes to defeat Olaide Oladipupo Lateef who had 331 votes.

    Adewale praised the efforts of the officials for the success of the election, urging students to support their leaders.

    Other winners included Mary Awoyemi, Vice president; Ridwan Ogunsola Olalekan, Financial Secretary; Ololade Adeagbo, General Secretary; Biliamin Mustapha, Assistant General Secretary; Mujeeb Adegbenro, Sports Director I; Oluwaseun Aderonke, Social Director I, Temitope Bennett, Social director II, Issac Emmanuel, Public Relations Officer; Atinuke Kayode, Treasurer; Joseph Adeyemi, Auditor.

  • D’Tigers Captain, Oyedeji, Donates Basketball Court to Loyola College

    D’Tigers Captain, Oyedeji, Donates Basketball Court to Loyola College

    As part of his continued  effort to keep giving back to the society and as well stay connected to his roots, the captain of Nigeria’s senior basketball team, D’Tigers, Olumide Oyedeji, has built a standard basketball court for Loyola College, Ibadan, his alma mater. The basketball court will be commissioned on Saturday, August 2.

    According to Oyedeji, donating the basketball court was his contribution to the concerted effort to uphold the legacy of the school that prepared him for the future. Loyola College, he maintained, laid in him the foundation upon which he built his career in basketball. It became pertinent therefore to give back to the school.

    “I started playing basketball in Loyola College. The school, as a matter of fact, laid the solid foundation for my basketball career. It gave me hope and prepared me to become who I am today. The basketball court is my own way of giving back to the school and being part of the effort to sustain its legacy,” Oyedeji explained.

    Dignitaries to grace the event which is part of week-long activities to mark the 60th anniversary of the school include the Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon. Umar Farouk Alao and Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Gbade Lana, among others.

    Oyedeji, who is the most decorated Nigerian basketball player, further said his penchant to give back to the system informed the establishment of the Olumide Oyedeji Youth Foundation which exists primarily to help underprivileged, troubled and at risk youths create a brighter future, using sports as a platform.

    The Annual Olumide Oyedeji Basketball Camp is one of the foundation’s initiatives used in achieving these. The 15th edition of the basketball camp, which has empowered many youths and produced many young talented players, is scheduled for middle to the end of August this year in three cities in Nigeria – Lagos, Asaba and Calabar.

  • College celebrates

    The Lagos Anglican Bible College (LABICO) will hold its 16th Graduation Ceremony on August 7 at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral (AVMCC), GRA, Ikeja, at 10am.

    LABICO, whose Governing Council is being chaired by Prince Duro Oyinlola, was established by the Resolution of the First Session of the 27th Synod of the Diocese of Lagos on May 6, 1997 to hold Convocation for the awards of Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Biblical Studies of the College to its graduates.

    Its Rector, Ven. (Dr.) B.O. Okunnuga, said arrangements had been perfected to make the celebration memorable.

  • College gets degree status

    Authorities of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria have approved the running of Bachelor of Education degree programme at the Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya.

    Acting Provost of the College, Mallam Lawal Abdullahi Tukur, made this known during the 2013/2014 matriculation.

    The courses to be run, he said, included English, Christian Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, Geography and Social Studies.Others were Educational Administration and Planning, Guidance and Counselling, Economics, Agricultural Education and Home Economics.

    He said lectures for all approved courses will begin during the 2014/2015 academic session.

    Congratulating the new students, he urged them to make the best use of the opportunity by putting in their efforts to achieve their goals.

    The Provost warned that the college had zero tolerance for examination malpractice, adding that the punishment was outright expulsion and subsequent prosecution.

    He commended the State Government under Dr Mukktar Ramalan Yero for granting approval for the recruitment of staff, urging the Governor to expedite action on the construction of the network of roads within the permanent site of the College.

  • College workers urged to seek divine help against strike

    College workers urged to seek divine help against strike

    Workers on strike at the Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) Ondo have been advised to seek divine intervention to bring it to an end.

    It would be recalled that the national bodies of the three workers unions in the institution under the aegis of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU); Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), declared a nation-wide strike about six months ago.

    To compel the Federal Government to address their grievances.

    The strike embarked upon by COEASU since December 18, last year, was hinged on the demand by the union, for the full implementation of the 2009/2010 agreement, signed with the Federal Government on the welfare of its members, and others as they affect academic activities in Colleges of Education in the country.

    The strike by SSUCOEN and NASU started two months after the COEASU strike. The development has taken its toll on the college as both academic and administrative activities have been seriously affected.

    Speaking during the recent monthly prayer meeting held  at the Olusegun Obasanjo Auditorium in the institution, a lecturer, Mr. Johnson Falade, said there was a need for workers to seek divine solution to the strike bring it to an end.

    Since human efforts are not yielding the desired result, Falade said recourse to God for solution, would be the best step to take to resolve the matter.

    He cited several biblical passages, including the book of Job chapter 20 verse 29 and advised the people not to relent in searching the words of God, adding that through such step, they would become more knowledgeable in His words.

  • 10 successful entrepreneurs who started in college

    The common line of thought is that a career does not start until after college. Many college students have summer jobs and work study positions, but very few consider these careers. While graduation is traditionally the time in which people start discussing careers, many individuals have successfully begun their careers in the midst of their academic pursuits at college.

    Some of the most successful entrepreneurs throughout history began their business ventures in the dorms and classrooms of colleges and universities. With some of the most intelligent and creative individuals all thinking within four brick and mortar walls, universities are bound to turn up some ingenious entrepreneurial notions. These are 10 of the most successful entrepreneurs in history who started their companies in college.

    • Larry Page and Sergey Brin: While these two names may not sound immediately familiar, the company that they founded certainly will. Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the founders of Google. They met in college while pursing their PhDs in mathematics and computer science. Becoming fascinated with search engines and data mining, the rest will go down in history.
    • Mark Zuckerberg: While many expected this name to top the list, I just could not bring myself to put The Zuck above Google. However, with his story now widely known after a major motion picture, various documentaries, and several biographies, Zuckerberg is nonetheless phenomenal. Founding Facebook as an Undergraduate student at Harvard, Zuckerberg revolutionized social interaction in our society today.MarkZuckerberg, Facebook
    • Michael Dell: While in college as a pre-med student, Michael Dell started his small business Dell Computers. This small business soon became the personal computing giant, Dell, worth billions of dollars. Dell was named the youngest CEO to ever have his company ranked in the Fortune 500 in 1992 and has a net worth of over 13 billion dollars.
    • Bill Gates: Widely known as one of the smartest and richest men in the world, Gates was once a brainy college undergrad at Harvard. Gates has founded various super companies, including Microsoft, Apple, and others. But it all began when he was in school, messing around with computer interfaces and processors.
    • Frederick W. Smith: Though he did not actually launch his company while he was in college, Smith wrote a paper as an undergraduate at Yale detailing the future of delivery service. Smith’s paper was the young skeleton of the later uber successful package carrier FedEx.
    • Marc Andreessen: At one point, Netscape was the dominant web browser on the market. Andreessen was a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign when he developed the concept for the browser. Andreessen fully released Netscape after he graduated when he was only 23 years old.
    • Steve Wozniak: Known as “the other Steve” of Apple, Wozniak co-founded Apple computers with Steve Jobs when he was a student at the University of California Berkeley. Apple Computers became one of the largest and most successful computer companies in history. What began as a product to impress members of the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California would soon take the world by storm.
    • Bo Peabody: As students at Williams College, Bo Peabody and Brett Hershey, began their design for what is known today as Tripod.com. This site was dedicated to web hosting services for college students and young adults.
    • Shawn Fanning: As a student at Boston’s Northeastern University, Shawn Fanning developed the file sharing system Napster while working at his uncle’s internet company. Though Napster ran into several legal issues, the company was still hugely successful and revolutionary for its time.
    • Zach Kaplan and Keith Schacht: Though not as widely known as the other names on this list, these two entrepreneurs founded two companies as students at University of Illinois. Inventables creates “how-to” materials for entrepreneurs, inventors, and engineers and Lever Works, Inc. develops internet applications.

     

    •Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges . She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @ gmail.com.