The Nation Newspaper

Tag: degree

  • Indian girl, 13, begins master’s degree

    SUSHMA Verma, who finished high school at the age of 7 and earned an undergraduate degree at 13, has now enrolled in a master’s degree in microbiology in northern India. Her father sold his land to pay for some of his daughter’s tuition in hopes of catapulting her into India’s middle class.

    In a country where many girls are still discouraged from going to school, Sushma Verma is having anything but a typical childhood.

    The 13-year-old girl from a poor family in north India has enrolled in a master’s degree in microbiology, after her father sold his land to pay for some of his daughter’s tuition in the hope of catapulting her into India’s growing middle class.

    Verma finished high school at 7 and earned an undergraduate degree at age 13 milestones she said were possible only with the sacrifices and encouragement of her uneducated and impoverished parents.

    “They allowed me to do what I wanted to do,” Verma said in an interview Sunday, speaking her native language of Hindi. “I hope that other parents don’t impose their choices on their children.”

    Sushma lives a very modest life with her three younger siblings and her parents eating, sleeping and studying alongside them in a cramped single-room apartment in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

    The 13-year-old’s father sold his land to pay for some of her tuition in the hope of catapulting her into India’s growing middle class.

    Their only income is her father’s daily wage of up to 200 rupees (less than $3.50) for laboring on construction sites. Their most precious possessions include a study table and a second-hand computer.

    It is not a great atmosphere for studying, she admitted. “There are a lot of dreams … All of them cannot be fulfilled.”

    But having no television and little else at home has advantages, she said. “There is nothing to do but study.”

    Sushma begins her studies next week at Lucknow’s B. R. Ambedkar Central University, though her father is already ferrying her to and from campus each day on his bicycle so she can meet with teachers before classes begin.

    Her first choice was to become a doctor, but she cannot take the test to qualify for medical school until she is 18.

    “So I opted for the MSc and then I will do a doctorate,” she said.

    Sushma a skinny, poised girl with shoulder-length hair is not the first high-achiever in her family. Her older brother graduated from high school at 9, and in 2007 became one of India’s youngest computer science graduates at 14.

    In another family, Sushma might not have been able to follow him into higher education. Millions of Indian children are still not enrolled in grade school, and many of them are girls whose parents choose to hold them back in favor of advancing their sons. Some from conservative village cultures are expected only to get married, for which their families will go into debt to pay exorbitant dowry payments, even though they are illegal.

    For Sushma, her father sold his only pieces of land 10,000 square feet (930 square meters) in a village in Uttar Pradesh for the cut-rate price of 25,000 rupees (about $400) to cover some of her school fees.

    “There was opposition from my family and friends, but I did not have any option,” said her father, Tej Bahadur Verma.

    The rest of Sushma’s school fees will come from a charity that traditionally works in improving rural sewage systems, which gave her a grant of 800,000 rupees (about $12,600).

    “The girl is an inspiration for students from elite backgrounds” who are born with everything, said Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh International, who decided to help after seeing a local television program on Sushma. She is also receiving financial aid from well-wishing civilians and other charities.

  • College begins degree programme

    The Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo State has commenced programmes for degree certificate. Parents, guardians and students trooped to the ceremony organised by the management of the college to mark the feat.

    According to the college’s Director of Degree and Diploma Programmes, Dr J.A. Durojaiye, the degree programme, which is affiliated to the University of Ibadan (UI) is to begin with courses such as Education and Christian Religious Studies, Education and Islamic Studies, Educational Management, Guidance and Counselling, Human Kinetics, Primary Education Studies, Education and Mathematics Education, French Education and English Language and Special Education.

    The Provost, Dr Emmanuel Adeniyi, tasked pioneer students on excellence. He said the college was poised to handle the affiliation status with a greater sense of responsibility, adding that the college would sustain the standard for which its affiliate partner was known.

    He told the degree students to shun cultism, examination malpractice and vices that could terminate their academic programmes.

    The UI’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Prof Olayinka Idowu, congratulated the college for the achievement, assuring the management and students that the UI’s standard would be employed to teach the programmes. He said graduates would also get certificates bearing the premier university’s emblem.

    The ceremony was ended with drama, songs and cultural dance performances by students of Theatre Arts and Music.

    Also at the inauguration programme were principal officers of the college including Mr D.Y. Akinyemi, Deputy Provost, Mrs V.O. Atoyebi, Registrar, Mr A.A. Akinlabi, Bursar and Mr O.A. Adebimpe, Librarian.

  • IBB varsity Senate abolishes pass degree

    IBB varsity Senate abolishes pass degree

    In compliance with the directives by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on the new grading system for universities, the Senate of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, has approved the abolition of Pass Degree in the institution.

    According to the Senate’s decision, the new system stipulates that the minimum pass grade for all academic endeavour would be “D” as against former pass mark of “E”. Therefore, with the new development, Pass Degree now stands abolished in the university. The implementation of this policy begins with the students admitted in the 2012/2013 academic session.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ibrahim Adamu Kolo advised students to work hard so as to graduate with good classes of degrees that could easily earn them job opportunities.

     

  • Long road to a varsity degree

    Long road to a varsity degree

    It took some students seven years and others nine to complete their programmes at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Despite the delay, they are happy that they have become graduates following their convocation in Lagos on Saturday. KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE and MEDINAT KANABE report

    Despite its rich history, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has a problem and that has to do with its duration of its programmes. Where conventional universities have fixed years for completing their programmes, NOUN cannot say the same for its own courses even though they have years affixed to them. On admission, students are told they are going for a three, four or five year programme, but end up spending more years in school.

    Since its return 11 years ago, NOUN has held only two convocations. The first, for diploma students was held in June 2010. The second came up at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, last Saturday, with 7,220 students from 49 study centres nationwide graduating.

    The theatre’s two expansive exhibition halls could not accommodate all those that turned up for the event.

    Giant viewing screens beamed the event to graduands who could not get seats in the main hall.

    The National Open University, the precursor of NOUN, was established on July 22, 1983 by the Shehu Shagari administration to offer Open and Distance Learning (ODL) education. The aim is to enable those interested in university education achieve their dreams. Barely a year after, its operation was suspended by the Muhammadu Buhari military regime in April 1984.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo revived the university in October 2002 and renamed it NOUN. Like other open universities, NOUN is an attractive option in the tertiary education sector which has a challenge of fixing a large number of qualified candidates in conventional universities yearly.

    The ODL mode operates mostly online. Students are provided with study materials they can read on their own. They complete tests and assignments and examinations online. They visit study centres to meet with facilitators for counseling, or with their study groups for discussions and tutorials.

    On the average, students are usually happy during convocations. NOUN, students had more reasons to be happy last Saturday. Many of them were admitted in 2006; some even in 2003. To finally complete their four/five-year programmes slowed down by unavailable course materials, unconducive study centres, poor and inadequate Information Communication Technology (ICT) facilities, inadequate facilitators, communication gap, administrative and funding challenges, among others, was a relief.

    About three years ago, frustration caused by these factors forced students of the university in Lagos to take to protest. They blocked the Ahmadu Bello Way onVictoria Island, Lagos where NOUN Headquarters is, demanding that the university management, then led by the pioneer Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olagbemiro Jegede, find solution to the one-year-one-semester issue, provide conducive study centres, and ensure availability of course materials.

    Jegede admitted then that the university lacked funds to provide adequate copies of study materials for students. He also spoke of difficulties in acquiring study centres, which were to be provided by state governments, according to the law setting up the institution. Not all governments responded to NOUN’s demand.

    These problems were gradually brought under control before he left office in October 2010. His successor, Prof Ado Tenebe, graduated first set of degree products last Saturday.

    Though study materials are still inadequate, students can now access and download them online. Also, the university has improved its process of conducting examinations online and offline.

    Sharing their experiences with The Nation, the graduands complained about the time it took to complete their programmes, difficulties in getting resources, and poor study centres. Despite these challenges, many said they would still recommend the institution to their relatives. They praised the institution for producing quality study materials which students of conventional universities borrow to use.

    Mrs Oluwatoyin Aramide Ojo, who studied Nursing Science at the Osogbo Study Centre, said the university’s failure to supply enough course materials made students to spend more to get them.

    “It was not easy because we did not get all our course materials despite paying for them. They were never enough. So, we had to download from the website and print and that costs more money,” she said.

    Another graduate of Nursing Science from the Abeokuta Study Centre, understood too well the pain of spending more for what had already been paid for and advised the university management to rectify the problem before each semester begins.

    “I will say that the most important thing is for the course materials to be in the different study centres before the beginning of each semester so that once the semester begins, they are distributed to every student,” she said.

    The unavailability of these materials forced the university to move courses to other semesters, said Naomi Fregene, who studied Peace and Conflict Resolution at the Lagos Study Centre in Agidingbi.

    She said: “We cut cost by photocopying course materials from others who downloaded from the internet. Normally, they (the university) will tell us the materials are not available because they have not been developed and the courses are pushed to the next session. But they overcome those teething problems.”

    What the materials lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality. None of the respondents complained about the resources they got. They even boasted of getting better training than products of regular universities because of the rich materials.

    “Our materials are standard,” said Titilayo Olusoga who studied Communications Technology, also in Lagos. “It can go anywhere. Wherever you are you can boast of the materials,” she said.

    Oluwatobiloba Onifade of the Sauna, Kano Study Centre, said lecturers from regular universities use NOUN study materials to prepare lecture notes for their students. “I am telling you that lecturers are using our course materials to teach their students. That means they are implementing NOUN programmes,” he said.

    Fregene added that the materials are so well researched that students need to do little else to search for knowledge in their fields.

    “Whenever you go to source other materials, you find such content already inside your lecture notes. They have gone to do researches for us and given us education on a platter. People says it makes us lazy, but they have prepared the materials well,” she said.

    The graduands advised the university to make some adjustment to its operations in future by holding convocations in zones rather than in one place; and move more activities of the university online.

    Mr Iyare Joseph, a 66-year graduate of Criminology said he was grateful to be graduating after nine years, “although I don’t like the idea of our coming all the way to Lagos for the convocation. The convocation should be done in all states.”

    Another graduand Augustine Ogba urged the institution to improves its facilitators and pleaded with government to equip the study centres with good computers because “the computers at the centres are not functioning well.”

    Mrs Azubike Damy who studied Corporate Management at the Abuja Study Centre also urged the government to assist the university in building more centres.

    Obaro Bolarin Saka, who studied Financial Management at the Lokoja study centre said, he faced challenges while in the institution especially with the Tutor Mark Assignment (TMA). He urged the university to improve its ICT facilities.

    He said: “The tutor mark assignment is an assignment that is done online. One will first print the questions online, answer them and log onto the internet again to submit the assignment which can take two or three weeks to log on because of the slow server.”

    Tenebe sought government’s help to address some “important areas of challenges”, including “advocacy and acceptability of ODL; lack of finance to pay facilitators, course material development; among others.”

    He said the university is making efforts to tackle these problems, adding that when the institution stabilises it would admit three times the number of students now enrolled (about 40,000) and even compete with the best Open University in the world.

     

  • Terror: SSS probes Kogi Varsity over convict’s degree

    Terror: SSS probes Kogi Varsity over convict’s degree

    Barely two weeks after he was convicted of terrorism charges, a former Special Assistant to Kogi State Governor on Youth Empowerment, Ogwu Achemu, is under probe by the State Security Service (SSS), for allegedly intimidating Kogi State University management to award him a second class upper degree.

    He was jailed a fortnight ago for four years by Justice Donatus Okorowa of the Federal High Court, Abuja. With the judgment, Achemu became the first political office holder to be jailed for terrorism. He had served under ex-Governor Ibrahim Idris and was briefly retained by Governor Idris Wada before he was dropped.

    Although the convict has filed an application at the Court of Appeal against the judgment of the High Court, the SSS is investigating him on how he reportedly forced Kogi State University management to earn a second class upper degree.

    According to findings, Achemu, who had a terror base in Anyigba where the university is located, had secured admission into the university. He was said to seldom attend classes and threatened lecturers to pass him either during tests or examinations.

    Investigation confirmed that having held the university town hostage and with a retinue of armed thugs, it was difficult for the management to take disciplinary measure against him.

    It was learnt that the university had the choice to tolerate the convict or throw the campus into turmoil. After a four-year course, the university awarded him a second class (upper) degree under duress. As at press time, it was learnt that the SSS is investigating the alleged “award of degree under coercion to Achemu.”

    A reliable source said: “The investigation of how Achemu earned his degree had been on for months. In fact, some SSS officials visited the university and interacted with the Academic Unit.

    “What we did was to make the facts at our disposal available to the investigation team from the State Security Service (SSS). All I know is that since the arrest of Achemu in January 2011, the university and its host community have been enjoying peace.”

    Another source, who confided in our correspondent, said: “I think the SSS has gone far in screening Achemu’s stay in the university and academic records.

    “Once infractions have been established, he might face a separate trial on this issue. The university’s statute might be handy in prosecuting the suspect in this regard.

    “What the SSS under the leadership of the Director-General, Mr. Ita Ekpenyong, has done is to expose the extent to which terror suspects have permeated every segment of the society. It is to the credit of the DG to have secured conviction of a politically exposed person for terrorism.”

    Besides the academic challenge, the convict had also been implicated in the attack on the residence of Hajiya Aisha Audu, the wife of a former Governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu.

    Another source added: “We have two bases for terrorism in Kogi State: these are Anyigba and Okene. The SSS led by Ekpenyong has succeeded in smashing the group in Anyigba axis; it is collaborating with other security agencies and the military to deal with the Okene base.

    “In fact, before Anyigba was freed from terrorism, it got to a stage that the Achemu group allegedly abducted a former Caretaker Chairman of Dekina Local Government Area, Hussein Oji. To have peace, the terrorists were collecting N1million monthly ransom from the local government allocation till the tenure of the man ended.”

    As at press time, however, Achemu has appealed against the judgment of Justice Okorowa.

    He said he was innocent of all the allegations against him and urged the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision of the Federal High Court.

    A source at the Federal Ministry of Justice, said: “Well, we are ready for his appeal. We had a good prosecution team from the Federal Ministry of Justice, led by M.S. Hassan (Assistant Director) and supported by Ahmed I.O. The case officer, Mr. Alhassan Iliasu, from the SSS, also gave testimony in court on the allegations against Achemu.”

    The convict was arraigned for allegedly violating Section 15, sub-sections 1 and 3 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004.

    The Section reads: “A person who wilfully provides or collects by any means directly or indirectly any money by any other person with intent that the money shall be used for any act of terrorism commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.

    “Any person, who commits or attempts to commit a terrorist Act or participates in or facilitates the commission of a terrorist Act, commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.

    “Any person who makes funds, financial assets or economic resources or financial or other related services available for use of any other person to commit or attempt to commit, facilitate or participate in the commission of a terrorist act is liable on conviction to life imprisonment.”