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Tag: Education

  • NIPR inaugurates Education Board

    NIPR inaugurates Education Board

    The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has inaugurated its Education Advisory Board. It is chaired by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Megavons West Africa Limited, Dr Rotimi Oladele.

    Inaugurating the Board at the National Secretariat, Abuja, the institute’s President and Chairman, Governing Council, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi gave the board’s mandate as including harmonisation of training programmes of the NIPR National Secretariat and the various state chapters, building professional standards in terms of quality individual membership; credible practice and licensing standards; reliable internally-generated revenue (IGR) to prosecute infrastructural, operational and vital projects expenses.

    Others include extensive and symbiotic networks with education stakeholders by putting in place a powerful team for accrediting public relations courses in tertiary institutions and partnership for mass membership through streamlined curriculum strategy among the NIPR School, NIPR Certificate/Diploma Examination and other educational institutions with public relations sequences.

    Abdullahi said: “By the Council’s resolution as endorsed by the last annual general meeting in Akure, no state chapter is authorised to hold any training programme outside its area of jurisdiction or enter into any partnership for training programmes outside Nigeria without due recourse to the NIPR Education Advisory Board.”

    The Board members at the event included: Dr Mustapha Malam, Bayero University Kano; Dr Tyotom Keghku, Benue State University, Makurdi; Dr Andee Iheme, Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Dr Alfred Edema, Western Delta University, Oghara; Hajia Lantana Ahmed, Nasarawa State University, Keffi; and Dr Stephen Adebayo, NIPR Registrar/Secretary.

    Other co-opted members include Prof Lai Osho, Lagos State University, Ojo; Prof Obiajulu Emejulu, Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Prof Emmanuel Dandaura, Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Sir Joseph Ari, Industrial Training Fund, Jos; Willy Ogbidi, NIPR School, Lagos; Mr Mukhtar Sirajo, NIPR Council Member, Kaduna; Mallam Sule Tau Sule, Kano State Chapter, and Mrs Comfort Ukwela, NTA, Makurdi, among others.

     

  • Envoy advocates Indo-Nigerian education partnership

    Envoy advocates Indo-Nigerian education partnership

    For the Nigerian education system to develop, the Indian Higher Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Mahesh Sachdev said the country has to build the capacity of its teachers to teach.

    Speaking at a workshop in Lagos organised by EduSoft Associates Ltd, an Indian firm that provides Abacus and speed maths training, ICT solutions and others, he said India can partner with Nigeria to share its expertise in this regard.

    He said historically, Indian teachers have taught in Nigerian schools for many decades, adding that the two countries have many shared qualities that would make the partnership worthwhile.

    He said: “I have met many important people who have been taught by Indian teachers. I don’t mean it as a boast but the late President Yar’Adua, Governor Fashola and President Jonathan could recall the names of their Indian teachers and the values they learnt from them. A large country like Nigeria cannot be taught by foreigners but by Nigerians themselves. But we can share our expertise.

    “I believe education is a sector where if Nigeria needs a partner, India will perhaps be the best partner. We share diversity, large numbers of children, commonality of language, same resources, and an emerging social milieu. Which other country shares these characteristics with Nigeria?”

    In line with the theme of the workshop, “Implementing Best-in-class Solutions for enhancing Schools Pass Rate” held at NECA House,” Agidingbi, participants, made up of school owners and administrators learnt how they could improve student performance through various interventions EduSoft Associates and another company, Educomp Nigeria could provide.

    Representatives of both firms noted in their presentations that modern instructional materials are key to Nigeria’s educational development.

    They said solutions such as Abacus and Speed Mathematics, as well as ICT tools such as Smartclass and Edumate, have the potential of making teaching and learning more innovative and interesting.

    The workshop, with the theme, “Implementing best-in-class solutions for enhancing schools pass rate”, was held in Lagos on March 7. It was organised by EduSoft Associates, in partnership with Educomp Solutions Nigeria.

    Mrs Mobolaji Borha, who represented the Minister of Education, Hajiya Ruqayyat Ahmed Rufa’i, said that modern teaching aids assist teachers in becoming more effective, and students, more responsive to what they are being taught.

    “These solutions will act as very good support for teachers regarding lessons and teaching aids,” she said in her keynote address.

    Mrs. Adedoyin Isreal, Head Teacher, Heyday School, FESTAC, Lagos, who is already implementing some of these solutions, during the panel discussion, said: “Abacus and Speed Mathematics as well as some of these other solutions are geared towards enhancing the ability of students to be globally competitive. The solutions do not add or subtract from the approved curricula: they enhance the global competitiveness of our students.”

    Mr Badri Prasad, Director, Operations, EduSoft Associates, said the major objective of the workshop was to facilitate the introduction of solutions that have been adopted in other countries with impressive results to Nigerian schools.

    “With schools struggling to enhance the pass rate of their students in general examinations, adopting solutions that complement the general curriculum and importantly, make learning a thing of joy, thereby boosting students’ confidence, will go a long way in preparing students for examinations and ultimately for highly rewarding careers.

  • ‘Muslims must give priority to education’

    Muslims in Nigeria have been urged to embrace education the way their Christian brethren have done. The advice was given by Dr. Abdulateef Adetona of the Department of Religious Studies, Lagos State University (LASU).

    Adetona, who was the guest lecturer at the Triennial Conference and Merit Award of the Nawair-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Mushin, Lagos, explained that the Muslim community was not doing enough in the establishment of schools and this would have negative consequence on them.

    He said: “Muslim groups are very poor or at least do not display fortune in the activities of their groups. My first example will be in the area of education where available statistics reveal a ration of 4:1 in favour of Christians.”

    The university don stated that while other groups were making efforts to improve in the quality of education they give to their members and society, Muslims community had not done enough.

    “The faith based-universities leave all those owned by the Muslims at the bottom of the ladder. This has led some Muslim parents in the search of qualitative education to enrol their children in schools owned by non-Muslim groups.”

    He called on Muslim community to make its contribution in developing scholarship programmes. “If it is just one good school we are capable of putting in place, let us do that so that other groups can also approach our institutions to benefit from the landmark we put in place.”

    Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Fola Adeola, stressed the need for society and religious groups to collaborate for the purpose of development. According to him, religion must play its role for people to live in harmony and accord.

    Alhaji Adetona maintained that societies are built on the peaceful co-existence espoused by religion. “That is why we are here today because religion has made the harmonious existence of Nawair-Ud-Deeen Society possible.”

    He stated that the human society was evolving, this according to him, runs at variance with how it was done in the past. “Since nothing is static, we have to move with the trend and run when other groups are running so that we would not lack when the needs arises.”

    The chairman called on all members to be committed just like he would also be making himself available for the benefit of Islam and the advancement of humanity.

  • ‘Nigerians need access to post-secondary education’

    ‘Nigerians need access to post-secondary education’

    Access to Post-Secondary Education is becoming a major concern globally with unstable government policies and poor socio-economic status affecting the quality of education in Nigeria. Less than thirty five percent of successful candidates at the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are admitted annually into tertiary institutions.

    Mr. Adedamola Adejobi, Youth Ambassador for the EAN World Congress on Access to Post-Secondary Education in an online interview speaks on the congress and the state of post-secondary education in the country among other issues.

    What is the World Congress on Access to Post-Secondary Education about?

    The World Congress on Access to Post-secondary is an initiative of the European Access Network (EAN) a Europe-based, international non-government organisation whose sole focus is broadening successful participation in higher education. The four principles that frame the activities of the EAN are: Access, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

    What are the major issues to be discussed at the up-coming congress?

    • Discussion of major issues affecting successful participation in post-secondary education globally and within regions.

    • Identification of a set of concrete goals to achieve by 2015

    • An agenda for research and action 2013-2015 to develop effective strategies to tackle these issues

    • A series of concrete, innovative experimental projects to be undertaken by congress 2015

    What are the major activities of the European Access Network?

    • Connect individuals and groups working to increase and broaden participation in post-secondary education to achieve greater collective impact

    • Create new connections to bring in fresh partners to strengthen our efforts and outcomes

    • Re-connect those who have become disconnected from education with opportunities and with the people who can help them to take up these opportunities

    • Connect with new sources of ideas, resources and partners

    • Build new connections between education sectors to open up new pathways to successful participation and widen those that already exist

    • Build new connections across geographic boundaries to enable mutual learning and support

    • Create new links between education, business, government and non-government organisations based on common interest in supporting higher levels of education participationand success

    What is the state of post-secondary education in Nigeria and what needs to be done by the various governments?

    The state of post-secondary education in Nigeria is still poor, a lot still need to be done in the provision of more universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and vocational Centers that can absorb(admit) more students that are unable to get admission after getting the minimum entry requirement into higher institutions.

    It is believed annually that over 1,000,000 students write UTME, but only 35% gain admission at the end of the day, what is the fate of the remaining students? There has to be a way to engage the left overs.

    Also the government need to fix the state of the existing tertiary institutions; their present state is nothing to be proud of. The government will do well in fixing them and making sure they meet up with international standard and are able to accommodate more students. The need to increase funding also need to be emphasized in the sense that the tertiary institutions need to embark on researches that has relevance to the socio-economic , political and cultural need of Nigeria and Nigerians.

    How can Nigeria benefit from participating in the congress?

    Nigeria’s participation at the congress will open the country to ways to tackle the shortage of access to post-secondary education and learn from developed countries that have good track record on access to post-secondary education. Also foster partnership with international organization or bodies ready to partner with countries in increasing access to post-secondary education.

    Specifically what will be your roles as Student and Youth Ambassador for the congress?

    Student and Youth Ambassadors for the World Congress have been selected on the basis of their commitment to widening and expanding post-secondary educational opportunities around the world; their understanding and full endorsement of the aims and objectives of the World Congress, their leadership qualities, high levels of motivation and potential.

    In addition to their role as general advocates for the World Congress, Student and Youth Ambassadors for the World Congress undertake specialist functions, determined by the Planning Committee, related to delivering the objectives of the Congress.

    Specifically I am expected to organise activities to promote awareness of the aims of the Congress; engage with local and even national media about it; identify and work with appropriate networks in their area and wider country; seek support and sponsorship in order to help people engage with the Congress now and in the future; and other work as they believe is appropriate in their local and national context.

    What is your message to Nigeria about the congress?

    I believe this is another opportunity to get things right especially in the educational sector as a country by investing in the educational sector of the country, which will further help in contributing to our vision of being among the 20 top economies of the world by 2020 and a form of investment in the lives of the youth for a sustainable development.

     

     

  • Council chief stresses importance of education

    The Chairman, Ikosi Isheri Local Council Development Area,Hon Abdulfatai Oyesanya,has urged youths in the area to focus on education as an agent of development .Oyesanya gave the advice at the first inter house sport of the Kosofe Senior College,Lagos. The chairman charged students at all levels to be committed to their studies as education remains a major eye opener.

    He said: “All work without play makes Jack a dull boy. I will continue to support education most especially the sporting activities in our schools. I commend all of you students who had worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this event”.

    The council chief also advised those who took the last position in the competition to accept the defeat with the spirit of sportsmanship, saying they can come first in the subsequent competition in the future.

    According to him, “I will want to use this medium to congratulate all of you students here today. Sport is one of the things students must do and to add to their experience. I could also recollect when I was in school; we also had such experience of inter house sport which is still fresh in my memory till today.

    “I am not saying this to you secondary school students alone but to the students at all levels starting from the crèche, primary school, secondary and the higher institutions. I promise that on our own part, we shall try to ensure that we support education in our local council.

    In her own contribution, the principal of the school Mrs. Folake Olodun, praised the effort of those who had contributed to the success of the first ever inter house sport of the college such as the sponsors, guests, house owners, sport committees, officials, teaching and non-teaching staff, parents, community leaders, competitors and the entire students.

    She also urged the students to see education as the only way to take them to the greater height regardless of what they are facing today.

    One of the teachers and the chairperson of the organising committee, Mrs. Omolola Oyesanya said the organising committee was saddled with many challenges at the initial stage but courage and encouragement by the principal of the college made them succeed. She also charged the students not to forget the main reason of their studentship.

  • Sports and education should go together

    Sports and education should go together

    A professor of Sports Management at the Lagos State University (LASU), Clement Oluseun Fasan, is seeking the combination of sports and education.

    He said this while delivering the 51st Inaugural Lecture of the university entitled: Sport: A tree of life and death. The difference is in the management, at the institution’s new auditorium.

    Fasan expressed fear that a gulf now exists between sports and education. He argued that there is no way sports can succeed without functional education.

    “Let us stop the lamentation of athletes after their playing days. Let us give them education as they are playing now. Sport is not what they will do for ever. Education can last till the end of their lives,” Fasan urged.

    Fasan said an informed athlete or player will be an economically empowered and enlightened person. He said because the world is now globalised, athletes and students need to be sufficiently informed of the economic benefits that can come their way as well as pitfalls to avoid.

    He recommended the establishment of Olympic Studies Centre in Africa. He also said LASU is at present liaising with the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) to host the centre, which will be the first of its kind in Africa.

    Fasan said there can never be any meaningful sports development without corresponding athlete’s exposure and coaching education.

    As against what currently obtains, he suggested that henceforth students be allowed to choose any field in sport that best suits them.

    “Another problem affecting the curriculum of sports studies and hindering economic emancipation of athletes is the idea to force every student in the department to do the same thing.

    “I suggest that all students within the discipline take to courses they are professionally inclined. If a student will not be a professional coach or a teacher of Physical Education, why make him or her go through the rigour,” he said.

    He called on the National Universities Commission (NUC), the universities regulatory body, to assist professional athletes that enrol for any course, by giving them a template whereby they can combine their carrers with education.

    He further stated that universities should be instructed to make their learning mode flexible and accommodate time athletes spend representing the school, state and nation. “They don’t have to graduate the same time with their colleagues,” he added.

     

  • Governor’s wife seeks attention for education

    The wife of Kwara State governor, Mrs Omolewa Ahmed, has called on parents and guardians to pay more attention to the education of their children and wards to secure their future.

    Mrs Ahmed, who made the call in Ilorin in an interview with journalists, described education as a veritable tool for building a virile nation.

    “Education, no doubt, is key to the survival of any nation and as such priority attention should be accorded it,’’ she said.

    She also advised parents to give their children home training.

    She said that home training was the basic requirement needed “to turn around the future of the child and society for good.

    “There is need for parents to redouble their efforts in giving quality education and home training to their wards in order to make them useful to themselves and the society at large.

    “The future of our children lies in how much love and concern we have for them and that behoves on us to discharge our responsibilities as expected.’’

    She gave assurance that the education desk of her pet-project, LEAH Charity Foundation, would not relent in its responsibility to make education available to the less privileged in the state.

    She solicited the support of wealthy individuals to assist the foundation to realise its objectives of charting a new course for the development of the society.

  • Jonathan’s govt not responsible for education decay, says Obi

    Jonathan’s govt not responsible for education decay, says Obi

    ‘57% of lecturers have no PhD’

    Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has said President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration should not be blamed for the rot in the education sector.

    Obi argued that the government has been trying to fix the decay with the support of states.

    He spoke in Abuja at a meeting of the review committee on the report of the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities.

    Obi, who is the Chairman of the committee, vowed to submit a proposal to the National Economic Council (NEC) for consideration in the next two weeks

    His words: “We have set up a technical committee that, within two weeks, will give us a proposal that we can recommend to NEC and subsequently to the Federal Government and the states.

    “President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is committed to changing the sorry state of our universities. We, the states, are committed; and we want those issues addressed as quickly as possible. We should start wking our talk; we can no longer continue to have committees upon committees without seeing results.

    “We may not achieve 100 per cent result, but we now want to put 100 per cent effort. Otherwise it will become the same committee report that yielded no result.

    Defending the establishment of new universities, Obi said Nigeria still needs more of them.

    “Nigeria needs more universities. If you look at our population, you will know that we need more. We cannot say because we have allowed the existing ones to decay, then we should not create more, same goes for primary and secondary schools. How can we allow our schools to be this deplorable? But the present government is taking a bold step to fix it.

    “What the Federal Ministry of Education is doing is to change from where we are today to skill-based education because we need to create the skill. We can no longer have people with certificates that make them unemployable.”

    A recommendation document given to the committee, and made available to The Nation, revealed that 57 per cent of lecturers in Nigerian universities have no PhD.

    It recommended that all proprietors of universities should be given a moratorium of five years in which 90 per cent of their lecturers should have PhDs, while visiting lectureship should be regulated.

    Present at the meeting were Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako; Deputy Chairman National Planning Commission, (NPC), Shamsudeen Usman and Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike.

     

  • ‘Blame fallen education on bad leadership’

    ‘Blame fallen education on bad leadership’

    The Association for Childhood Education Practitioners (ACEP) has blamed the fallen standard of education on bad leadership, poor training of teachers, and lack of will power by parents to monitor their wards’ activities.

    It also expressed worry that many problems still exist in the funding of educational programmes, including human capacity development of teachers, by competent training institutes.

    Speaking during the annual dinner/award, its President,Mrs Islamiat Olaitan Oshodi, listed teachers’ welfare, and improved salary scale and promotions as areas crying for urgent attention. These, she said, would motivate teachers to giving their best to the students.

    Mrs. Oshodi attributed the high rate of crime today to poor health facilities, high mortality rate and political wrangling among others, amid the government’s helplessness in the face of declining education.

    She, therefore, advocated the effective promotion of education for all, training and development of care givers, teachers and teacher educators, commitments to raising the quality of education as well as girl-child education.

    “Teachers play major roles in the educational system of the nation including ensuring discipline and sound moral values among students. Teachers are central to initiating ideas towards community development, adopting innovative teaching techniques as well as helping students imbibe positive attitudes towards national unity.”

    She said individuals would be able to develop study skills that would make them more employable, adding that good education gives an individual a well-rounded understanding of the world and prepares him for adulthood.

    As part of its contribution, Mrs. Oshodi said ACEP is partnering with institutions of higher learning including the University of Lagos, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, and Michael Otedola College of Primary Education in the training and professional development of teachers.

    She said the association would continue to protect the rights of the Nigerian child, focus more on child development, early childhood and children’s education development, and professional development of care givers.

    The occasion, she added, was meant to strengthen the working relationships/partnerships as well as honour deserving members who had excelled in their chosen career in the education sector

    Prof Uduogie Ivowi, one of the guests, also debunked the claim that there are no qualified teachers in most schools. He noted that corruption, lack of infrastructure and political will by the government have been the major challenges confronting the education system.

    He said: “There is corruption! That’s why we are having poor performances and this will continue for as long we don’t attend to the factors that are resulting in poor performances- well-paid teachers, provision of adequate facilities, including teaching materials, such as text books, laboratory equipment and workshops.”

    Managing Proprietor of Victory Group of Schools Chief Christian Francis Olaniyan, one of the awardees, thanked ACEP for the award. He called on the government to desist from politicising education, one factor which he believes has stunted the sub-sector.

     

  • Covenant holds overseas higher education fair

    Nine foreign universities and representatives of about 500 other higher institutions in the United Kingdom, America, Canada and Australia have participated in the 2013 Overseas Higher Education Fair organised by the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State.

    The event, which was the second edition, took place on the university campus last Friday .

    Declaring the fair open, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Charles Korede Ayo, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. A.A.A. Atayero, urged the students to maximise the opportunity to get appropriate information on what to do at their Master’s level.

    The Director, International Office and Linkages, Dr. Nnamdi Ekeanyanwu, said the programme was put together to acquaint the students with information about universities in the United Kingdom, USA and Canada for postgraduate studies.

    He said quite a number of Covenant University graduates end up in UK or US for their Master’s degrees, adding that the fair is a free counselling for the students to avoid falling into wrong hands when processing their admissions.

    Dr. Ekeayanwu said Covenant University has a direct collaboration and linkages with most of the universities represented and everything would be done to ensure a maximum benefit for the students.

    Universities and other institutions represented at the fair included University of Westminster, UK; HULT International Business School, Dubai; Griffith College Dublin; Birmingham University; Aston University and University of Roehampton.

    Others are Lancaster University; Northimbria University; British Canada International Education Limited; Education Support Counselling Consult; Education Link Nigeria; Find Admission.com; Trusted Edge Consult and Glory Educational Services.

    Three senior officers of Salem University, Lokoja, Kogi State, have arrived at the Covenant University on a three-day visit to understudy some key operations in the institution.

    The team, led by its Bursar, Mrs. Charity Egbita, was received by the Vice-Chancellor, Covenant University, Prof. Ayo and other members of the management.

    Briefing the management on the purpose of their visit, Mrs. Egbita said the vision of the two institutions is the same and Covenant University has achieved a lot from which they can learn.

    She said: “We believe that our vision is the same. We are raising global leaders and we believe we can learn from a sister university whose vision is the same.”

    The visit, according to her, is to “access the workings of the Business Development Centre of the university to learn their business strategies and study the financial services in order to know how we can achieve maximum results.”

    Mrs. Egbita added: “The National Universities Commission has been directing universities to learn about Entrepreneurship Study from Covenant University. We therefore want to look at this also and learn how we can develop ours.”

    Prof. Ayo said Covenant University is a leadership institution, which places emphasis on character development and leadership.

    He noted that in the words of the Chancellor, Dr. David Oyedepo, it would be a failure if the graduates of Covenant University joined the army of unemployed graduates. “They should be able to create jobs, which was the reason for the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Development Studies (EDS).