The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Education

  • ‘Today’s classroom must be 21st century-compliant’

    Shantanu Prakash is an Indian who chairs Educomp Solutions Limited, the firm managing the model secondary school established by the Rivers State government. On a recent visit to Nigeria, Prakash spoke on the similarities between Nigeria and India. KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE reports:

    Educomp Solutions was established in 1994. From your experience of managing schools in a country like India, what differences or similarities are there between India and Nigeria?

    I think that the challenges facing both countries are similar. They both have young population. Countries that have young population have opportunities but also a danger. The opportunity is that if you train these young people and give them the right education, they can become globally productive citizens. But the danger is that, if you do not provide them the right education, they can become a demographic disaster. So I think the challenges facing countries like India and Nigeria are similar: what should we do about our human capital? In the 21st century, I believe that one of the most important capitals is going to be the human capital. It’s more important than the financial capital because we are rapidly entering into a knowledge economy and intellectual property is more important than physical property. For the past 18 years, Educomp has been working tirelessly trying to find the best and the most technologically advanced method of making the student more efficient and productive; improving the curriculum interaction so that we have a better human capital base.

    How has Educomp helped?

    One of our products is the Smart Class which brings the power of digital content right inside the classroom. Almost every part of our world has been impacted with Information and Communication Technology. However, our education sector remains, in some countries, very backward, and right now I am not only talking about India or Nigeria. I’m looking at the entire world in this discussion. How does a typical classroom look like today in 2013? In most parts of the world, a typical classroom still looks the same as it was a hundred years back. There’s some furniture, there is a blackboard and there is a teacher. But the society has changed. Yesterday I was in Eleme, near Port Harcourt and I was there at the inauguration of the Smart Class system in one of the schools and I said that today’s children are three screen children: they have the cell phone screen, they have the computer screen and they also have the TV screen?

    But the big question is: has the education system changed and evolved? I think the big answer is no, it has not. So there is an urgent need for the education system to change with the times.

    We have partnered with the government of Rivers State to set up a model. In this model school, every student has a laptop. Every classroom is enabled with the latest smart classroom. When a teacher is teaching photosynthesis, for instance, the old means is to use the blackboard and explain orally what it is. It’s very difficult to explain the wonders of nature. But when you use the digital content and animation and you show these students how the photosynthesis happen and they see the process, they get very fascinated and immediately in the brain the learning happens and that is the beauty of harnessing the power of education technology and that is why Educomp is here in this country for a partnership. I don’t think we are here to sell our product, we are here to create a partnership with the young people, with educationists, with teachers, with the policy planners of the different states in this country because Nigeria recognises the power of young people.

    Nigeria faces a challenge in the area of infrastructure: power, teacher manpower? Is it the same in India?

    I have to be very candid to say that India does not pay teachers very well. For some reasons across the world, teachers’ salaries are not very high. This means it is difficult to attract the best talents to the teaching profession. If you go to the class and ask the students, how many of you want to become teachers, very few will raise their hands. They want to become sportsmen, football players, politicians, pilot and others. Because the sector is not able to attract the best quality, the delivery of education is not so good, even though the students are very hard working. Yesterday I was at Ambassador Nne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School, Eleme, and was really pleasantly surprised to see how disciplined the students are; how bright they are and I asked some of the Indian teachers we brought to teach Maths and Science, ‘How do you find the students compared to the Indian Students,’ and they gave me a very frank answer. They said many of the students are even better than the students in India. So, when you have teachers who are unfortunately not the best given that the society can’t pool the best teachers and the students are very bright, to bridge the gap we have to use some support. Edumate is that kind of support. In India right now, about eight million students in private schools are using digital content everyday as part of their learning experience. More than 15,000 private schools and 12,000 government schools are using digital content everyday. That is 27,000 schools. So, so far, it has had a very big impact, not just in India but in other countries as well.

    Putting ICT inside classrooms is one of the big themes of the 21st century. After the successful launch and use of this product in India, we are now launching in Africa and Nigeria is one of the markets. We have mapped the content to Nigerian curriculum so that teaching is outlined in that respect. Second, because of the power challenge in the country, we are providing solar panel as an option. The school may decide to have its own power or buy the solar panel from us, dedicated or ready made. In other words, the remotest rural school can be equal to the best city school in no time.

     

     

    In introducing these products to classrooms, are you envisaging that soon there would be no teachers?

    I don’t think so neither do I want it to be that way. My belief is that the teacher is the most important aspect in the classroom. The magic is not because of the computer or technology, the magic is the teacher. Our job is only to support the teacher. Our Smart Class product has the digital content and the black board put together. It’s a specific answer to your question. If you see the photograph of the Smart Class product, the blackboard, the chalk and the digital is put together. There’s something very interesting: whenever a new technology comes into our lives, it does not replace the earlier technology, it supplements it. The television did not replace the radio; the internet did not replace all these things. In our lives, everything co-exists and I think that is the beauty of human life. We can use all the technology together. So we are not advocating that chalk and blackboard should phase out. Rather it should be about using all the tools that modern science can put in the hands of a teacher.

     

  • Don seeks free education for children

    The Dean, Faculty of Law of the Nasarawa State University, Prof Maxwell Gidado, is seeking free education for every child.

    He said although corruption and lack of political are impediments to his proposal, Nigeria with her wealth can tackle this effectively.

    Gidado stated this while answering questions from reporters in Abuja at the commemoration of the ‘Day of the African Child’, organised by Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), under the theme: Eliminating social and harmful cultural practices against children.

    He urged Nigerians to stop all harmful cultural habits that inhibit the growth of children. He called on the lawmakers to ensure there is no foot-dragging in passing any law that will inhibit harmful practices against children.

    “And if they (children) are denied opportunities to grow and be mentored in an atmosphere that we could relax and see them take over from us, then the country is doomed,” he warned.

    The National Coordinator, WOTCLEF, Mrs Veronica Umaru, said the theme for this years’ day celebration of the day, chosen by the African Union (AU) is appropriate as there are many such practices affecting children in Nigeria.

    She said though the Child Rights Act (CRA), which is the domestication of the Convention against the rights of the child, was okay adding that states that are yet to adopt the law should comply.

    She identifies adults as responsible for the dwindling morals in the society, urging them to be models for children.

    Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, said Federal Government is partnering with many Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to stop child abuse, even as government encourages all the states to domesticate the CRA.

    He added that the celebration is to call attention to the fact that children must always be given their rights which must also be respected.

     

     

     

  • A public school encounter

    I was pleasantly surprised by my visit to a public primary school in Lagos about two weeks ago. It was an initiative by a private school, Dansol Nursery and Primary School, Ojodu, to celebrate the Day of the African Child with their less privileged neighbours that took me there. With the support of the Dansol PTA and some corporate organisations, the school donated bags, writing materials, food and drinks to pupils of Ojodu Primary School I. The materials were more than enough to go round the 1,300 pupils of the school such that even their teachers got something to take home to their wards.

    Commendable as the initiative is, that was not the highpoint of the programme for me. It was my interaction with pupils of the public school, and their presentation at the second part of the programme that made my day. I am used to visiting public schools and not being able to communicate with the pupils except I repeat myself several times, or speak in the local tongue. I have covered so many events about various interventions by the government, corporate organisations or individuals and the experience has been the same. When it is time to get the views of the pupils, I meet a brick wall. They are so bad in expressing themselves in the English Language that I struggle to piece together an intelligible sentence I can attribute to them.

    My experience at St John’s Primary School, Ijebu-Igbo in Ogun State, was particularly pathetic. I had tried without much success to get several pupils to tell me how the adoption of their school by Airtel would change their lives. Two journalists from other media houses joined me, so I gladly left the questioning to them. A boy that we asked could only struggle to say something like: “They have house…”, after a long wait to allow him compose his thoughts. By that time I could no longer stop myself from laughing out loud, despite trying not to cause discomfort to the pupils that had gathered to hear their representative speak. A teacher saved the day by selecting the ‘best’ pupil to talk to us. I can tell you that the best barely managed to communicate. This has been my experience in most public schools I visit. To get anything intelligible from the pupils, a teacher has to call out the brightest to speak.

    However, that was not the case at Ojodu Primary School I two weeks ago. When I requested that the Head Teacher, Mr Adebowale Adaranijo, get me a pupil, he entered a class and said: “Who would like to talk about what happened here today?” Many pupils offered to but it was Titilayo Oyebanji, in Primary Six, who came out to speak with me. She was able to express her appreciation of the gesture so clearly that I asked to speak to someone else, this time, a boy.

    Mr Adaranijo entered another classroom, repeated his question and called out someone for me. The boy did not disappoint. I had to congratulate Mr Adaranijo for managing his school well.

    But it wasn’t over. Dansol had invited a team from the school to participate in a cultural programme holding at their high school. They were to join pupils from other private schools to celebrate African countries by parading in their clothes, and talking about their culture, food and the like.

    Ojodu Primary School I represented Kenya. Other schools represented Liberia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Ghana and other countries. When pupils of Ojodu Primary School I, mounted the podium, they were no different from their peers from the private schools. They spoke fluently, without making grammatical errors. And it was not that only one pupil spoke; they all took turns to educate the audience about Kenya, its government, people, their dressing, culture and languages. Someone seated close to me had to remark, “Are you sure those children are from a public school?” I would have reacted the same way if I had not visited their school earlier. I am sure some parents in the audience felt that they must be spending huge sums in private schools only for pupils from public schools to be able to achieve the same thing.

    Ojodu Primary School I has done for its pupils what should be the norm but has become an exception in present-day Nigeria. An average pupil in the school can communicate in English, the language of instruction in our schools. With many public primary and even secondary school pupils unable to do this, the governments of various states need to take a closer look at the quality of education service delivery and whether learners are achieving the stipulated outcomes for whatever level they are in.

    As I have noted many times, it is not enough for governments to tell us about the billions spent building classrooms, rehabilitating structures, purchasing equipment, recruiting and training teachers; it is also their business to ensure that their investments are yielding the desired returns in form of pupils achieving the learning outcomes for their levels. Many are not, which means it is not time for our governments to boast but to work at genuinely improving our schools.

  • Pomp at Omoluabi Club launch

    Pomp at Omoluabi Club launch

    It was a combination of dance and drama during the cultural display at the inauguration of the 17th Southwest NICO Cultural Club, Omoluabi.

    The inauguration took place at Saint Dominic High School, Akure. It attracted a huge crowd of teachers, students, and other well-wishers, who welcomed the NICO team led by the Zonal Head, Mr Ohi Ojo.

    The Principal, Mrs Funmilayo Adegbenro, said it was time Nigerians identified with the country’s rich cultural values and heritage. She said the essence of inviting NICO for the inauguration was to enable both workers and students of the school to be well-informed about the need to protect, preserve and promote their culture. She called for the promotion of Yoruba and other indigenous languages, which are an integral part of culture.

    She added that the inauguration of the club in her school and other schools in Nigeria would serve as bedrock for building well-cultured leaders and dedicated citizens in the future.

    Mr Ojo said culture is usually misconstrued by the public as mere wearing of traditional attires. He said culture goes beyond physical appearance to describe the a people’s way of life. He added that the NICO cultural club was not for the Yoruba people alone, but for all Nigerians, as its aim is to inculcate into the students/youths the right cultural values needed to become better persons in the future. Finally, Mr Ojo urged all Nigerians to jealously protect and promote our cultural values and heritage, as that was the only identity we had as a people.

    The event was spiced with various theatrical performances such as a drama “Ekun Iyawo” (Bridal farewell) which saw a bride leave her family in tears for marriage.

    The pupils also thrilled the audience with pulsating cultural dance displays from Ondo and Ikale communities of Ondo State.

    Ojo described the event as one of the best ever.

  • Registry holds ethics retreat

    The members of staff of the ACE Registry Division will be learning about work ethics and code of conduct during a retreat on Saturday.

    The retreat will be declared open by the Provost, Prof Adeyemi Idowu, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Auditorium.

    Registrar, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Mrs. Folashade Adediran, will speak on “Work ethics and code of conduct: Effect of the two concepts on productivity”, while Mrs. A. O. Olajuyigbe of the Department of English Language, ACE, will deliver a lecture on “communication skills: principles guiding report writing”.

     

    This year’s edition is the seventh to be organised by the Registry for its workers.

    End

     

  • Lawmaker plans ICT training for youths

    Deputy Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly Rotimi Abiru has pledged his commitment to providing a platform for Information Communication Technology (ICT) education for members of his constituency.

    Speaking at the graduation of 196 youths he sponsored for ICT training in Bariga, Abiru, who represents Shomolu 2 Constituency, said the thrust of the programme was to assist the government in liberating the young ones from poverty and equip them with skills for self sustenance.

    “We have no other choice than to help our people achieve this desire of ICT education because it is simply the only way. And the forgoing made me to contribute a mite to my constituency through organisation of a free Computer Training programme that over 1000 indigent students have successfully benefited from in the last six years.

    “Three best students among the graduands usually go home with a new computer set and accessories, having excelled in the examination with good grades in Desktop Publishing while two best students from the System Engineering Department are given engineering equipment.

    “Also, 190 students would be admitted for the seventh season of the scheme and the admission process will commence soon for Senior School Certificate Holders”, he said.

    Abiru said he has not regretted investing huge amounts in education as one of the tools to improve the well being of the Bariga people, including distributing 60 November/December Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) forms to indigent candidates from different parts of his constituency.

    Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Biyi Mabadeje, who was a special guest on the occasion, commended the initiative, adding that it further complements the state government’s computerisation programmes.

    He urged the beneficiaries to maximise the training and equipment they have been given, describing it as a fish-net for an enviable future.

    Highpoint of the event was the presentation of an aquarium by some of the students to the lawmaker, who later re-presented the aquarium back to the school.

    Abiru, while explaining his reason for re-presenting the aquarium back to the school, said: “I did not organise this programme with a view of getting anything in return from the beneficiaries. So, I am re-presenting the gift back to the school.”

     

  • Coop elects new officers

    The Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo Cooperative Society has elected new eaders to pilot its affairs for the next two years.

    The election held at the Olusegun Obasanjo auditorium, saw Mr Enoch Ayodele Orunko, emerging president of the society.

    Other officers elected during the free and fair polls are Dr Oluwatoyin Brownso (Vice President), Dr Peter Akinbile (Secretary General) and Mr. Joseph Obamoyegun (Treasurer).

    Others are Mr T. O. Olorunmota (Assistant Secretary), Mr. Pius Ogundare (Board member Non-Teaching) and Mr. S.I. Itodo (Board Member representing Demonstration Nursery and Primary School).

  • Lifeline for varsity from abroad

    A United States-based researcher, Dr Stephen Babalola, led other scholars to the McPherson University, Ajebo, Ogun State, to rally support for the privately-owned institution. It was at the Nigerian-American Universities STEM Alliance Seminar and Presentation held in the institution.

    The event, held in the university’s multipurpose hall, was attended by lecturers and students.

    Babalola, a research fellow in the College of Engineering, Technology and Physical Science of A and M University, Huntsville, Alabama, said his mission was to facilitate an alliance between the university and other Nigerian institutions and a select America universities for progress. He also advocated good student-lecturer relations to ensure better alliance.

    He said the alliance would provide joint initiative, faculty exchange and course infusion aimed at keeping the students and staff in touch with developments in science and technology.

    Under the alliance, McPherson University and other selected institutions would benefit from equipment donations, training and exchange programmes.

    According to Babalola, the success of Nigerian students abroad could be hinged on good student-lecturer relationship, which, he said, was the hallmark of American education system. The don tasked lecturers to keep tabs on developments in advanced countries to make the institution’s graduates the best in Africa and beyond.

    Babalola’s Assistant Researcher, Mr Babatunde Obembe, who is a doctoral student in an American university, urged the students to think beyond theory and strive to make impact in their community.

    “As you are here, the world is interested in the impact you want to make in your immediate community here in Ogun. You must find out the dominant profession in the community and research into how you can help improve on whatever the locals are into. You must use your mind and change right your world from here,” he said.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adeniyi Agunbiade, promised that the university management would work hard to attract more of such endorsement. He added that university would collaborate with more universities locally and abroad to improve the quality of learning and exposure of students to latest techniques.

    The Registrar, Mrs Adebola Abegunde, said the management would put plans in motion to fully maximise the alliance.

     

  • Firm to assist students get foreign scholarships

    Firm to assist students get foreign scholarships

    Usually, students are the ones that seek out firms that can help them travel abroad for further studies. However, the reverse is the case with Avail International Consul Limited (AICL), which is seeking to help students get into secondary and tertiary institutions in the United Kingdom (UK), United States and Canada irrespective of the funds they have.

    Mrs Bola Agunbiade, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), AICL, said in an interview with The Nation at the firm’s Ogba, Lagos office, that they can help brilliant students with good grades in their Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) attract scholarships from reputable institutions outside Nigeria.

    “There are several scholarship opportunities abroad that people are not even aware of. We want to be able to reach out to students, especially those who are intelligent who have come out in flying colours in their O/levels. They may not have the financial capability to travel abroad; however, there are opportunities for such students to get scholarship. It may be full scholarship, it might be tuition reduction,” she said.

    After evaluating their credentials, Mrs Agunbiade said the firm would help scholarship potentials to present their applications to the universities. She added that for the next two months especially, AICL would offer its services free to all categories of students in commemoration of its second anniversary. She said they would benefit from visa counselling, evaluation and tutorials.

    “We are inviting students and their parents to come in from June 26 all through July and the whole of August. We are looking at them going in for September. We are encouraging them to come here and it is going to be free. We are inviting them to celebrate our second anniversary.

    “We will evaluate their documentation, check credentials, see the ones that are really intelligent, assist to writing good personal statement because this is one of the requirements for scholarships and send the applications off to these institutions and see as many scholarship opportunities we can give out to these students for free. Those who can afford the fees and even those who already have admissions can come in we offer free counseling to them help them with their visa application, give them mock interview based on the likely questions they might be asked at the interview centres and embassies to ease the application process.“

    However, despite the firm’s enthusiasm to help potential students get admissions abroad, Mrs Agunbiade said it only assists those with genuine intention to study. She said if they go abroad for other reasons and misbehave, they spoil the country’s reputation.

    She added: “It is easy for me to tell if the student is genuine. Their parents may have money and just want them to travel. But by the time I talk to them, forgetting even their credentials, I can tell. They might not have the genuine intention to go abroad and really study and its not good for us because institutions come back and blame us that why did we send a student that is not serious.

    “I have about 40 schools in the UK and we have contracts. They make out rules and they insist we must send genuine students. If I have any doubt I tell them no I won’t process it.“

  • ASUU begins indefinite strike over allowance

    ASUU begins indefinite strike over allowance

    …describes action as inevitable

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Monday renewed its hostility with the Federal Government as it declared an indefinite strike action. The resolution followed the body’s National Executive Committee meeting held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State on Sunday and dragged till the early hours of Monday.

    According to reports, 51 of the 53 branches of ASUU unanimously agreed to embark on the strike.

    The strike with the government, The Nation learned, followed the federal government‘s failure to honour the Academic Earned Allowance (AEA) which formed a component of the 2009 Agreement government signed with the union.

    Declaring the strike, ASUU chairman University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, who addressed reporters at the university premises described the strike as a “painful yet inevitable decision.” He added that ASUU is tired of government’s dilly dallying, and cannot allowed itself to be insulted any further.

    Throwing more light on the AEA, Ogbinaka said it includes allowances paid as part of excess work load responsibility allowance, and allowance for supervision of Post Graduate Programmes for lecturers, head of department (HoDs), Deans and exam officers, among others.

    He added that the highest AEA is not more than N12, 500 per month, wondering why it has remained difficult for government to live up to its promises.