The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Education

  • ‘Action Learning provides superior education’

    Education can be put to more productive uses if the concept of Action Learning is introduced from the elementary level, says Country Manager of Business School Netherlands (BSN), Mr Lere Baale.

    Speaking at a briefing held at the BSN Nigeria office in Lagos when the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the institution, Mrs Juanita Bouwer, visited Nigeria as part of the institution’s 25th anniversary celebrations, Baale said the concept of Action Learning is superior because it stipulates practical utilisation of knowledge to solve problems unlike conventional education which only impacts technical skills on learners.

    “We need to put a system in place for primary schools that teaches people how to use the action methodology, that is why don’t just read for the purpose of knowledge alone; let people apply their knowledge right from primary school; let them report their experiences, let them physically evaluate what they need to improve even when they are the best,” he said.

    Explaining the efficacy of Action Learning education using the MBA programme run by BSN, Baale said students begin using the knowledge and skills they gain while on the programme as they are required to solve various problems – at least eight – in the organisations they work. As a result, Baale said their organisations grow, while they (the students) earn promotions.

    In addition to technical skills, Bale said that Action Learning imbues students with the creative, conceptual and human skills to solve problems and grow businesses, which are lacking in the traditional MBA.

    “The Action Learning MBA programme is not like when you finish you start to see the impact. By the time you spend a quarter you start to solve problems. There are about eight issues that would have been addressed during the two-year progarmme and that is what is called Action Learning. Repetition is one of the core processes of learning,” he said.

    Attesting to the impact of Action Learning, Mr Rafiu Adedotun who just earned his MBA from BSN, said he was able to solve multiple problems for his employer, NNPC, in the areas of Marketing, ICT, and Human Resources.

    He said: “The experience has been very wonderful. What Action Learning teaches you is to look at yourself and solve problems using existing infrastructure. When you have to do this, it makes you think harder and use your insight to solve problems. It is a continuous thing. As you are trying this, you are looking at the result and thinking of other solutions to it.”

     

     

    Apart from practicality of learning, Mrs Bouwer said the Action Learning MBA saves a lot of time for students because they solve real life problems and not case studies.

    “A big difference between the traditional and the Action Learning MBA is that we save 40 per cent of your time because you don’t have to read case studies,” she said.

    In her speech, Mrs Bouwer said over 200 Nigerians have graduated from the BSN Executive MBA programme. She added that the institution regards Nigeria as one of its important learning centres and seeks to train more managers to help the country overcome economic challenges.

    She said: “We are looking at greater collaboration with Nigeria in solving Africa’s economic and leadership challenges using our unique Action Learning approach in preparing future generations for a better life. We expect that the managers and specialists who train using our Action Learning methodology would apply their practical learning to solving problems in their various workplaces and accelerating productivity. Higher productivity of all resources is critical for enhancing development in Nigeria. As several authorities have noted, when we get development right in Nigeria, we have gotten it right in Africa. ”

     

  • 12 get Nutrition scholarship

    12 get Nutrition scholarship

    Twelve Nutrition and Dietetics masters’ students are the latest recipients of the 2012/2013 Indomie M.sc Nutrition Scholarship Awards.

    The initiative, which is a partnership between Dufil Prima Foods Plc and the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), saw 12 post graduate students from various universities across Nigeria emerge as beneficiaries of the scholarship.

    They include Babatunde Folashade (FUNAAB); Folarin Oluyemisi (FUNAAB); Abiade Funmilayo (FUNAAB); Ogunjobi Oluwatoyin (FUNAAB) ; Popoola Kabirat (FUNAAB) ;Fadare Olumuyiwa (FUNAAB) ; Obanla Funke (FUNAAB) ; Oshungunna Bolanle (FUNAAB) ; Maxwell Yemmy (University of Ibadan) ; Abraham Achadu (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria) ; Junaidu Sani (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria) and Ogunbunmi Omotayo (University of Ibadan).

    Speaking during the award presentation which took place at the company’s corporate head office in Surulere, Lagos, the Public Relations Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, said the rationale behind the scheme is based on the company’s desire to breed a team of seasoned professionals that can impact the society on nutrition consciousness.

    “Aside from the company’s desire to impact positively on the health sector, owing to the fact that a lot of sicknesses and diseases are caused by malnutrition and intake of the wrong diet, Dufil Prima Foods Plc in the nearest future hopes to become one of the largest health-friendly food company in Nigeria, and if this dream is to become a reality, the organisation would need the services of well trained nutritionists and dietitians, which we hope this initiative will go a long way in achieving.”

    Coordinator of the scholarship scheme, Prof Tunde Oguntona, of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, FUNAAB, said 160 students from the six geo political zones applied for the scholarship. However, he said the 12 recipients were the best of the lot that met the stipulated criteria.

    Oguntona said to qualify, applicants who must be Nigerians, must have gained admission to study for an M.Sc Nutrition and Dietetics in select Nigerian universities.

    He praised the sponsors for filling a critical need in the nutrition sector.

    “I indeed commend Dufil Prima Foods Plc, for its unrelenting effort in making this initiative a reality. There is a dearth in the area of nutrition in the society, and I am glad for Indomie’s contribution in making a change in such an area that has being neglected for so long. I will like to use this medium to implore the awardees to make the best use of this opportunity and also call on other corporate organizations to take a lead from DUFIL,” he said.

    A beneficiary of the scheme, Miss Obanla Oluwafunke thanked Dufil Prima Foods Plc on behalf of others and promised to make the best use of the opportunity given to her.

     

  • ‘Adult education teachers paid N500 monthly salary’

    Stakeholders at a meeting of the Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education (ANFEA) have heard that education facilitators were paid N500 monthly salary.

    Benue State Gabriel Suswam, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Dr Elizabeth Ugor, spoke at the meeting in Makurdi, the state capital.

    He noted that the minimum the local government areas in Benue State were supposed to pay adult education facilitators was N6,000, though they were paying only N500.

    The governor said education is a collective responsibility, adding that the stakeholders need to brace themselves for its challenges.

    The Executive Director of the education agency Mrs. Becky Ortese said the training of 111 facilitators, organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), broadened their knowledge for positive impact.

    She hailed Suswam and the commissioner for supporting the agency.

    Mrs Ortese, however, called for more assistance in the areas of logistics, employment of new workers and funds, to enable the agency impart literacy to the non-literate in the state.

    The Executive Secretary, National Commission for Mass Education Alahji Jibrin Paiko said there were over 40 million illiterates in Nigeria.

  • Philanthropist boosts education

    Aphilantropist,Dr Michelle McCollin, has donated teaching and learning materials worth N500,000 to pupils and teachers of Olubi Memorial Primary School,Elekuro,Ibadan and Olokun Asorodayo Primary School,Iseyin,all in Oyo State. Dr McCollin is an associate professor from the University of Slippery Rock United States of America.

    The materials include; exercise books, text book, pencils, biro, wild babies, inquiry action, pocket calculators, jotters, erasers, index cards, pencils, chalk, colour pencils, machine sharpners, rulers, removable boards, long and short English vowel charts, job charts, tempo maker and other valuable materials.

    This is the second time the professor would visit the schools with such items this year to demonstrate her generosity and concern for the pupils.

    Michelle who handed over the materials to teachers in the school also gave reading eye glasses to the staff of the schools to improve their efficiency at work.

    She urged Nigerians to understand that they are the government and not wait for any government to help them before they assist their neighbours, saying that is the only way the nation can move forward.

    She said learning becomes difficult and frustrating when there are no teaching aids.

    She maintained that she was a teacher for over 27 years and therefore understands the needs to help Africans because of her connection with the black race, having done similarthing in Ghana and Nigeria in the past.

    In her words; “ There is need for us to understand the fact that we are the government. We also need to see government as an entity, we need to assist them because they cannot do it all alone. As a teacher that has been practising for over 27 years, I understand the pains and the plight of the pupils when they are learning under a terrible condition.

    Replying, the Head Teacher of Olubi Memorial Primary School,MrsAyodele Oyewole, said the challenges of the school the poverty level of some of the parents to the extent that they cannot afford to buy writing materials for their wards. The situation has however changed since the regular donation commenced.

    Mr. Adefabi Odugoke, who spoke on behalf of the head master of Olokun Asorodayo Primary School, Iseyin, said the gesture has proved beyond doubt that she really lovedAfricans and their culture.

    He called on the other philanthropists in Nigeria and abroad to emulate the good gesture she had shown by given out to the masses out of what she had.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Philanthropist boosts education

    A philantropist,Dr Michelle McCollin, has donated teaching and learning materials worth N500,000 to pupils and teachers of Olubi Memorial Primary School,Elekuro,Ibadan and Olokun Asorodayo Primary School,Iseyin,all in Oyo State. Dr McCollin is an associate professor from the University of Slippery Rock United States of America.

    The materials include; exercise books, text book, pencils, biro, wild babies, inquiry action, pocket calculators, jotters, erasers, index cards, pencils, chalk, colour pencils, machine sharpners, rulers, removable boards, long and short English vowel charts, job charts, tempo maker and other valuable materials.

    This is the second time the professor would visit the schools with such items this year to demonstrate her generosity and concern for the pupils.

    Michelle who handed over the materials to teachers in the school also gave reading eye glasses to the staff of the schools to improve their efficiency at work.

    She urged Nigerians to understand that they are the government and not wait for any government to help them before they assist their neighbours, saying that is the only way the nation can move forward.

    She said learning becomes difficult and frustrating when there are no teaching aids.

    She maintained that she was a teacher for over 27 years and therefore understands the needs to help Africans because of her connection with the black race, having done similarthing in Ghana and Nigeria in the past.

    In her words; “ There is need for us to understand the fact that we are the government. We also need to see government as an entity, we need to assist them because they cannot do it all alone. As a teacher that has been practising for over 27 years, I understand the pains and the plight of the pupils when they are learning under a terrible condition. I have thought in elementary school, I was a secondary school teacher; I was a high school head teacher and now university associate professor, so it is upon me to assist people.

    Replying, the Head Teacher of Olubi Memorial Primary School,Mrs. Ayodele Oyewole, said the challenges of the school the poverty level of some of the parents to the extent that they cannot afford to buy writing materials for their wards. The situation has however changed since the regular donation commenced.

    Mr. Adefabi Odugoke, who spoke on behalf of the head master of Olokun Asorodayo Primary School, Iseyin, said the gesture has proved beyond doubt that she really lovedAfricans and their culture.

    He called on the other philanthropists in Nigeria and abroad to emulate the good gesture she had shown by given out to the masses out of what she had.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Scheme impacts communities

    The Director, Community-Based Farming Scheme (COBFAS) of FUNAAB, Dr. Jonathan Atungwu, has said the scheme is positively impacting students of the university and their host communities.

    Atungwu said in addition to the theoretical aspect of their programmes, COBFAS provided a platform for the students to put into practical, what they had been taught in the classroom, while the host community benefits in the process. He said the 2012/2013 Farm Practical Year (FPY) would have been completed but for the ongoing national ASUU strike.

    He praised the university Management for being supportive and funding the scheme. He also said there were no unpleasant incidents throughout the nine months the 1,020 students spent in the four COBFAS locations, namely: Isaga Orile (247), Iwoye Ketu (222), Ode-lemo (256) and Odogbolu (290), attributing the success to the peaceful co-existence with their host communities, the obas and their chiefs.

     

  • ‘Education remains best legacy’

    ‘Education remains best legacy’

    Ekiti State Deputy Governor Prof. Modupe Adelabu yesterday identified education as the best legacy parents should give to their children.

    She described other things as secondary.

    Mrs. Adelabu gave the advice at the third edition of the Reading Parents Initiative Programme held at the Holy Trinity Primary School and St. Stephen’s Primary School, Ilawe-Ekiti.

    The Deputy Governor spoke after inspecting parents, including Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, Bishop of Ekiti Catholic Diocese, Rev. Felix Ajakaye and Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi, among others, who taught pupils for 35 minutes.

    She said the Governor Kayode Fayemi administration considers education as critical to development, hence its efforts at reviving education.

    The Reading Parents Programme, which is aimed at resuscitating the reading culture among pupils, is one of the avenues being used by the government, Mrs. Adelabu said.

    Stressing the need for parents to set aside time to check the children’s school work and supervise their assignments at home, she urged them not to leave their children education to teachers alone because children spend more time with their parents at home.

    The Deputy Governor stressed the need for educated parents to visit schools to read and teach the pupils, noting that the pupils are not only happy but motivated and more receptive seeing familiar faces, especially those of their parents in their schools.

    Prof Adelabu, who urged wealthy parents and philanthropic individuals to donate dictionaries to schools, reiterated that the government would provide instructional materials and infrastructures necessary for conducive learning and incentives to motivate teachers so that education would regain its glory.

    Other parents, who taught the pupils include: the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Gender Empowerment, Mrs. Fola-Richie Adeusi; the State Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Chairman, Comrade Kayode Akosile and the Ekiti South West Local Government Caretaker Committee Chairman, Oluyemi Alatise, among others.

  • Former First Lady seeks more funding for education

    The Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice FatiAbubakar, has called on the three tiers of government to increase funding of the education sector.

    She also charged students to put their footprint on the sands of time.

    Speaking yesterday at the 7th Graduation, Speech, Prize and Award giving ceremony of Kowa Schools in Minna, the former First Lady said that education is the best legacy to future generations.

    She said that students and parents should make efforts to complement government in the education sector.

    She also lauded the effort of the proprietor in his quest to eradicate illiteracy in the state by providing education at an affordable and qualitative rate.

    Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, said his administration has expended a lot of resources in ensuring quality education.

    He said that the state would soon start deploying teachers to the rural areas to address shortage of adequate teachers in the affected communities.

    The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Alhaji DanladiAbdulhamid, said most teachers in the urban areas would be moved to the rural areas to make this work out.

    He added that any teacher not ready to move should retire.

  • Lagos State gives 4,200 pupils second chance

    No fewer than 4,200 public and private primary school pupils got a second chance to re-write the Lagos state Primary Six Placement Test into JSS1 last Saturday.

    They were among the four per cent who scored below 50 per cent or were absent for the examination organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education on April 20.

    The examination which took place in about 24 centres across the state, was monitored by the Executive Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs Gbolahan Khadijat Daodu who said the examination was initiated last year to check the influx of poor quality pupils into secondary schools.

    She said the 96 per cent pass in the April examination was cheering news.

    “All children of school age are expected to be in school from Primary 1 to JSS3 and it is compulsory for any one in primary six to sit for this exam. We came up with the idea because many people complained that the standard of education was falling. Pupils are just moved from one class to the other without any serious examination or tests,” she said.

    She added that it’s not going to prevent any pupil from going to school but to ensure that only the excellent ones move to the next class. She also said other classes are not left out in Lagos state as no pupil will be promoted if he/she doesn’t get up to 50 per cent in the internal examination.

    “It is not only Primary Six alone; that is what we have adopted in Lagos state. Before you move from one class to the other, you have to get at least 50 per cent of the exams that you have done overall and also 50 per cent in English and mathematics. The same thing applies to this exam,” she said.

    She said those who wrote on Saturday were given a second chance to succeed. However, she complained that some of them undermined the chance as they were absent.

     

    The SUBEB Chair said those who fail the re-sit will repeat Primary Six. However, if they fail again next year, she said they will be sent to the technical colleges.

    Commenting on why many school-aged children are out-of-school in Nigeria, Mrs Daodu said economic reasons force parents engage their wards in child labour.

    “Some of them are economic in the sense that some parents or guardians feel that they don’t have the means of livelihood for them (children) and can only get such means by asking them to sell wears or other items; and I think they can still do that after school hours.

    “Education is free, at least the first nine years in Lagos state, so no parent or guardian should deprive these children of going to school. And we are using Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in doing a lot in this respect. The state government has passed the child right law. Enforcement is still the major problem. There is no reason for any child not to be in school,” she said.

     

  • Council holds essay contest

    The fourth edition of the Amuwo Odofin Youth Essay Awards, which focused on the revelance of the social media to the education of youths, provided a platform for the participants to discuss the gains and ills of the 21st century ICT invention.

    The competition featured 20 public and private schools within the council.

    As usual, the competition, which held at M8 Event Centre, Festac extension, was in two stages – oral and written debate on the topic: “Is social media a welcome plus to youth education and morals, or a minus with grave consequences?”

    The overall winners of the competition, Master Orji Victor of Loral International Secondary School, went home with N70, 000 cash prize. Ezugwu Chidimma of St. Jude’s Private School and Ezenwa Jessica of Amuwo Odofin Community Junior Secondary School came second and third, and won N50, 000 and N25,000.

    This year’s edition was attended by Chairman, Amuwo Odofin Local Government, Comrade Ayodele Adewale, who was accompanied by the former Mayor of Greenevers, North Carolina, United States, Alfred Dixon.

    Adewale noted that while social media could attract negative consequences, its importance in the 21st century cannot be over emphasised. He encouraged participants to tap into the positive side of social media to better their lot.

     

    In her welcome speech, CEO of Meljenstin Youth Empowerment Initiative, Mrs Chibuzor Patrick, noted that despite the daunting task of pursuing a project most people are not interested in, she is glad that the effort has brought many pupils from the backwater to limelight.