The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Julius Okojie

  • Shittu pledges speedy implementation of report on ICT varsity

    Shittu pledges speedy implementation of report on ICT varsity

    Mr Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of Communications has pledged that the report of the committee set up to look into the establishment of the Information Communication Technology University will be speedily implemented.

    Shittu made the  pledge on Monday when he received the report of the 31- member committee charged to draw up modalities in establishing the ICT University in Abuja.

    The minister said in about three weeks time, the ministry would come out with a memorandum to ensure that the university would commence operation by September as planned.

    According to him, the university will be a legacy and hopes that posterity will judge right everyone that participated in its planning.

    Speaking on the funding of the university, the minister said that it would be funded by the private sector, as the government’s part was to make available infrastructure.

    “The university will be funded by the PPP arrangement, the Federal Government only provides the infrastructure, we should be able to utilise the funds from the private sector to run it.

    “In doing this, emphasis would be placed on financing and entrepreneurship when selecting those that would partner with government on the establishment,’’ he said.

    Shittu said the selection for the vice-chancellor of the school would be based on someone with an in-depth knowledge of ICT, especially the entrepreneurial side.

    He said this was because it was hoped that any graduate from the university would have all the right skills to be an employer of labour rather than a job seeker.

    He assured the committee that only veterans in the sector would be hired as lecturers to provide the right knowledge to students, adding that members of the committee interested should not hesitate to indicate their interest.

    Shittu speaking on the cost of fees by students said he hoped that state governments would sponsor their indigenes to the university to get the specialised training for the progress of their states.

    Earlier, Prof. Julius Okojie,  Chairman of the planning and implementation committee said the university would have six campuses with three colleges (faculties).

    According to him,  these colleges will consist of Information Technology, Applied Technology and Society and Security Technology.

    He said he was optimistic that  the university would play a major role in the development of innovation as it would be a research institution.

    He called on the government to engage lecturers well grounded in the sector, adding that government should endeavour to retain lecturers that had been trained by the school.

    He decried the fact that many lecturers after being trained by government leave the country to go seek for greener pastures and called on the government to make sure that they retain the good hands available.

    The former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission also advocated for the establishment of an ICT Museum where students could come and learn about the history of ICT development in the country.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)  recalls that the Federal Government had on June 1, inaugurated an implementation committee to facilitate the establishment of the proposed Information Communication Technology (ICT) University of Nigeria.

    The Committee, made up of experts in the sector,  both public and private sector were given six weeks to come up with a workable report on the establishment of the university.

  • NUC lifts ban on UniAbuja distance learning courses

    NUC lifts ban on UniAbuja distance learning courses

    The National Universities Commission (NUC) has lifted the ban on admission into the programmes of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) Centre for Distance Learning and Continuing Education (CDL&CE).

    Executive Secretary of NUC, Professor Julius Okojie, in a letter to the Vice- Chancellor of the University, Professor Michael Adikwu, dated October 12, 2015, said that the moratorium placed on admission into the University’s Centre had been lifted following a recommendation by a panel constituted by the Commission for an on-site assessment which concluded the exercise between September 2 and 5, 2015.

    The University’s distance learning programme failed a revalidation assessment by the NUC in 2012 resulting in the ban on admission into the Centre’s courses for nearly two years.

    A post-revalidation visit in December 2014, however, resulted in the ban being lifted provisionally which only allowed the University to commence the process of admitting students while remedying outstanding deficiencies and awaiting the NUC’s final post-revalidation visit.

    According to a statement issued on Saturday by the University’s Deputy Registrar (Information and Publications), Waziri Garba and made available to The Nation, Okojie said that the Commission had now approved that: “the moratorium on admission of students into the five (5) approved programmes be lifted and academic work may commence for 2015/2016 academic session.”

    The five programmes approved to commence academic activities include B.Sc. degrees in Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Business Administration and Public Administration.

    The NUC boss advised the University to address other areas of deficiencies pointed out in the technical report comprehensively before the expiration of the session in a bid to secure a full re-validation status for all the Centre’s courses adding that a desk officer had been appointed by the NUC to follow up on the revalidation of outstanding deficiencies to ensure success.

    Commenting on the development, the Vice Chancellor UniAbuja, Professor Michael Adikwu, and the Director of the University’s Center for Distance Learning and Continuing Education, Professor Peter Siyan, said that plans were under-way to reinvigorate the distance learning component of the University with a view to regaining the confidence of its teeming patrons across the country.

     

  • ‘Nigeria losing grants from abroad’

    The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, yesterday lamented the rate at which Nigeria is losing grants from foreign countries.

    He said the country loses out in competitions for grant, which he described as not good, particularly for the education sector and the country at large.

    The NUC boss spoke in Abuja at a five-day grant writing workshop organised by the commission for universities, research institutes, polytechnics and the chief executives of other non- government organisations.

    He acknowledged that the sector had the problem of retiring grant from overseas sponsors, hence the need for the workshop.

    His words: “Everyday we lose out a competition for grant. Even the proposals that we (NUC) have are poorly written. What we have done today is to call in those who are familiar with the issue of grant writing. We have problems of retiring grant from overseas sponsors. When they bring grant, we do not write proper report and financial statement. The consequence is that we close line for future applicants.”

     

    To the participants, Okojie said: “We will not only expose you to grant writing, we will also tell you the type of grants, which are available.”

    Findings showed that the workshop was initially scheduled for last August, but could not hold due to the strike, which slowed down academic activities in the universities.

    The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the workshop, Prof. Adebisi Balogun, told the participants that the training would help reinvigorate the culture of research as a potent tool and a bridge between teaching and community service for enhanced global visibility.

    He said the move would also improve national development and assist higher institutions in nurturing future innovators for the production of national and global champions.

     

  • 10 varsities get $80m World Bank’s grant for research

    10 varsities get $80m World Bank’s grant for research

    Ten Nigerian universities have won about $8 million grant each for research and related activities under the World Bank-supported Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) project.

    The universities are among the 15 from West and Central African sub-region whose proposals were successful in the final selection at the ACE Project Steering Committee meeting in Dakar, Senegal on October 28, last year.

    A team of World Bank and representatives of the benefiting institutions, led by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, spoke on the grant in Abuja when they visited the Supervising Minister for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, on Monday.

    The benefiting universities are: Redeemers University, Mowe, Ogun State; University of Ibadan’s (UI’s) African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, African University of Science and Technology, Pan African Materials Institute; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta’s Centre for Agricultural Development and Sustainable Environment; Ahmadu Bello University’s (ABU’s) Centre of Excellence on Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology and University of Jos’ Phyto-Medicine Research and Development.

    Others are: University of Benin’s Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health and Innovation; University of Port Harcourt’s ACE Centre for Oil Field Chemicals; Obafemi Awolowo University’s Knowledge Park: A Model for National Science Technology and Knowledge Park Initiative; Bayero University, Kano’s ACE in Dryland Agriculture and Benue State University, Centre for Food Technology and Research.

    Wike said the transformation in the Education sector was yielding good results.

    The minister noted that with Nigeria getting out of the 18 centres of excellence in Africa, the country was doing well.

    He said: “Why then are they saying Nigerian universities are not doing well?”

    Wike stressed that it was commendable that 10 Nigerian universities would get $8 million (about N12 billion) for research.

    The minister urged the benefiting institutions to demonstrate high commitment to the successful use of the grants, adding that the grants confirmed the quality of their proposals.

    He hailed the World Bank for supporting the development of the Education sector and assured that the Federal Government was committed to the success of the project.

    World Bank’s Team Leader Andres Bloom said the body was ready to partner the government on the development of the Education sector.

    He hailed level of commitment of officials to the project.

    Prof Okojie said the NUC, in the last five years, focused on building of capacities to come up with the researches to solve problems.

    The NUC chief said the result could be seen in the number of the institutions that got the grants.

     

    He said the commission would continue to provide the leadership and support the success of the ACE project.

     

     

  • VP meets UI VC, others over ASUU strike

    To resolve the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Vice President Namadi Sambo yesterday held a closed door meeting with stakeholders in the education sector.

    The meeting, which was held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, had in attendance stakeholders, led by the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike.

    Others included the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie; and Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole.

    But none of them spoke to reporters at the end of the brief meeting

    The Vice President’s office did not issue any statement.