The Nation Newspaper

Tag: learning

  • Device to speed up pupils’ learning ability berths

    Device to speed up pupils’ learning ability berths

    Imagine your child punching buttons on his digital device and interacting directly with a tutor as if it were a classroom setting; great isn’t it? That is what Video Tutorials is all about.

    The Video Tutorials comprises audio visual files which contain lessons on various subjects. The files can be installed on android phones, tablets, and PCs without the rigour of internet connectivity.

    Speaking on the sideline of a public lecture to celebrate Educational Advancement Centre’s (EAC) 10th anniversary held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, last week, Bamgbose said regrettably,  many students continued to fail WAEC and NECO despite that solutions to their challenges are a few steps away.

    Once video tutorials are fully optimised, Bamgbose said learners would be enormously rich in knowledge of the respective subjects and would therefore be intellectually equipped enough to challenge their teachers on any knotty areas in class.

    “Most Nigerian teachers (especially the graduates) are not necessarily lacking in knowledge; they are only poorly motivated. But when they know that the children will ask challenging questions in class, they will sit up because no teacher wants to look ignorant before his students.”

    To make it affordable for all, Bamgbose, a cleric, revealed that the product has been priced as low as N15 naira per lesson.

    “Schools can have all the lessons for all subjects installed on their systems for as low as N30000,”he added.

    Bamgbose noted that finance has been a major challenge to marketing the product nationwide. Despite this, the product has continued to gain ground wherever they introduce it, Bamgbose added.

    Bamgbose recalled that to further raise consciousness on the product, EAC team visited former Minister of Education Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who regretted that the device was brought to him at the climax of his tenure.

    “He (Shekarau) kept shaking his head in regret during that visit! But of course the new minister of education will find records of that meeting. We believe government should be a continuum. You can’t say that you will not follow up on what Shekarau has done because he is no longer minister of education. The Ministry of Education cannot say they don’t know?”

    He continued: “We were in Jalingo a few weeks ago, and for two days our staff were besieged at the hotel we lodged because of this product. But we can do so little because we are private, and our resources are limited. But we hope that speaking out at forums like this will make more people aware of the product,” he aded.

    He appealed to Nigerian media to come to EAC’s aid by helping to create more awareness as a segment of their corporate social responsibility.

    “This is for real, it’s not a gimmick, or copied from anywhere, neither are we using animations.  These are real teachers teaching. We assign the students to automatic Whatsapp groups when they have questions, and allow the students to answer the questions themselves. The teacher only answers when they can’t. The Whatsapp groups are available for every subject. Kids are using these things (social media) for negative things; let’s encourage them to use them for positive things,” Bamgbose concluded.

     

  • Learning from Madiba’s enclave

    On August 6, I left the shores of Nigeria for South Africa to take few days’ rest.     As a student of Comparative Politics, I quickly forgot that I was in that country to rest. I picked interest in monitoring the election processes in pronto.   Two things struck me with their system.  In Nigeria we hold elections on Saturdays with full restriction of movements.  In Madibo’s enclave, the Election Day was Wednesday with public holiday but no restriction on movements across the country.  The concomitant effect based on my observation is that a number of potential voters went shopping spree and recreation rather than exercising their franchise.  Perhaps to dissuade apathy, voting hours was between 7.00 a.m and 7.00 p.m.  In a number of urban voting stations, turn-out was high in the evening with those coming from work places.  This resulted into ‘serpentine’ queues in cold weather. Though voting processes took less than 15 minutes per voter when they reached voting stations; but apathy was still visible in some places despite the holiday.

    Nonetheless, South Africa’s federal system exhibited glaring variations from Nigeria’s federal structure.  First, Local Government election took place in all the provinces and municipals simultaneously across the country.  Secondly, Local Governments in Nigeria are not perceived as ‘locale’ of power because they are far away to autonomy as a tier of government.  The 1999 Constitution as amended made them an appendage of state governments, completely under legal supervision by the state Houses of Assembly.  The debilitating effect of that arrangement is known to us all. Most governors fiddle with their allocations and administratively deal with them within the purview of their whims and caprices.  The South African model actually made the third tier to be a training ground for democracy.  The zeal put into the exercise was indeed unprecedented.

    One other juxtaposition that worth noting is that of tenure;  while, the life span of elected local government functionaries in Nigeria is three years, they govern for five years in South Africa.   The beauty of this is that it reduces both cost and frequency of elections at the municipal level.  Though where you have a demagogue in power, corrupt or lackadaisical elected officials, and the system becomes beleaguered for five solid years.

    A unique feature of the local election and peradventure the electoral law in South Africa is provision for special voters.  The law allows those that apply for special consideration to vote before the actual voting day.  This was two days before the D-day.  This was allowed in the 22,612 voting points across the country.  Nigeria’s electoral law and system do not make any provision for special cases. Both the military and South African Police were deeply involved in the process to maintaining law and order.  The Police was saddled with the responsibility of transporting ballot boxes and papers to and fro the voting stations while the military kept vigil in volatile areas. No doubt, election is still war-like in Africa.

    Total number of registered voters amounted to 26 million which was slightly above the previous election by about 1.5 million; this truly enhances political consciousness.  South Africans register from the age of 16 but they cannot exercise their franchise until the age of 18 years.  Uniqueness with the South African system which is cost-saving is the fact that voters do not need voters’ card which was even non-existent.  To vote, all potential voters signify their intention by registering to vote before the election.  What you require on the D-day is the National identity card or International passport.  More so that the name was already on the voters register; the voter must have also signified which province he/she intends to vote.

    Nevertheless, South Africa’s electoral system allows independent candidacy.  In all, 858 independent candidates participated in the election.  Most of them were African National Congress ANC members who felt frustrated with the way party leaders handled the party primaries. The major advantage of this innovation is the opportunity for professionals who may be scared of dabbling into the murky waters of partisan politics to throw their hats into the ring.

    Also of the 855 independent candidates, 86% are men and only 14% are women. No doubt, the rate of women participation in South African politics and electoral processes compared with several other African nations is commendable.

    Despite all preparations for the election by Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) which recruited 240,000 ordinary South African citizens that were trained for between five and 10 days to conduct the election, according to Mr. Glen Mashinini, the Commission’s chairman, he too was worried with hideous aspects of the electoral process. With high rate of electoral violence which claimed as many as 25 lives before the actual Election Day, the political milieu of South Africa is a bit ugly! Rigging too was not left out of the electoral misdemeanor as four IEC officers were fired after allowing people to vote illegally in the special request for special voters.

    Undoubtedly, the 2016 Municipal poll in South Africa was a referendum on national government; and a dress rehearsal for 2019.   Analyst believed that it was also a litmus test for the ANC which had been in government since the collapse of apartheid.

    Let me add that as South Africa faced the August 3 local government election with the fiercest build-up ever seen since the dawn of democracy, political parties were at each other’s throats and racism reared its ugly head too.  If ever there was a time when South Africa and the world needed Nelson Mandela, it was in the last election.  The voting pattern glaringly demonstrated this too. The white-dominated Cape Town voted en masse for Democratic Alliance (DA) white dominated party.  ANC only had marginal lead in rich cities that harbour big investments of whites such as Johannesburg, Pretoria among others.

    South Africa is endowed with national wealth as well as well-developed infrastructure, its relative technological advancement could allow its people to pursue and live a comfortable economic life.  But not everyone can find that comfort zone.  This both perceived and real social stratification in terms of not only the wide gap between the rich and the poor but between the rich white and poor black.  South African blacks got flag independence, but their economy is still in the hands of the white ones who own the big investments.  In Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban amongst other major cities, one can see affluence and squalor pari-passu.  The system seems to have sentenced the blacks to a life of being hewers of wood and fetchers of water.

    Conclusively, on the polling day the ANC tried to get supporters to the electoral boots by hiring 783 taxis across the city of Nelson Mandela Bay.  But this effort was not really helpful because voters seem to have made up their minds to vote otherwise.  ANC failed woefully in that metro.

    While in Madiba’s enclave, I took particular interest in the media coverage of the elections both print and electronics.  Expectedly like in most developed societies, they were objective and announcing results as they trickled in before official announcements by IEC on Saturday August 6.  Eventually, no discrepancy between the officially announced results and the ones the media had announced.

    In the final analysis, the South African system allows virile opposition. No municipal was with inconclusive election. The only one – Johannesburg – which was not ready by 9.00 p.m when final results were being announced, was not allowed to hold down the electoral commission nationally.

    Without gainsaying, Nigeria still has few things to learn from Madiba’s enclave.

     

    • Dr.Ojo is Chief of Staff to Oyo State governor.

  • VDT recognised for learning, devt

    VDT Communications Limited, a broadband communications and 4G LTE Advanced services provider, has been recognised among learning and development firms in Nigeria.

    In a Learning and Development Benchmark Survey, VDT is among the five best companies in Learning and Development in Nigeria.

    The survey, which involved over 100 corporate organisations of different sizes, was conducted for 14 months by Digital Jewels, an information value chain consultant. The survey focused on workplace learning and development activities in corporate organisations and government establishments. It took a holistic approach at exploring all levels of learning and development functions, namely:  Training circle, knowledge management and talent management.

    Its Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr. David Ese, said: “Owing to our passion for Learning and Development, VDT also engages in offering free training to graduates in her Modular Trainee Engineers Programme to increase the employability of our engineering graduates as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.’’

  • Mobile phones disrupt teaching, learning

    Mobile phones disrupt teaching, learning

    The liberalisation of the telecoms industry has brought mixed blessings. Fetters erected by distance have been demolished through voice calls or instant messaging, banking transactions now take place with just the press of buttons on smartphones’ keypads, while search engine online knowledge resource platforms such as Google and Wikipedia have had a defining impact. A new report in The Conversation shows that mobile phones have nonetheless disrupted teaching and learning, writes LUCAS AJANAKU.

    Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in Africa. Among younger users, basic phones are most common. But more pupils are accessing smartphones that can connect to the internet – and taking them along to school.

    Phones are often used in school whether the school authority allows it or not. Although they can enable valuable access to information, they also bring new responsibilities and dangers. It’s remarkably common for classes to be interrupted by both pupils’ and teachers’ phones. Access to pornography as well as bullying and harassment through phones is widely reported.

    A study of young people’s mobile phone use in Ghana, Malawi and South Africa emphasise the central place that mobile phones occupy in many young people’s lives. Before the mobile phone arrived in Africa, few people had access to landlines. In Nigeria, there were just about 40,000 analogue lines for about 120million population then.

    Phone ownership was a status symbol as the former state-run telco, Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its latter mobile arm, dominated the space, stultifying development in the absence of a strong competitor. The story  changed with the liberalisation of the telecoms sector over 10 years ago. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), total subscriber figure as at May, this year, stood at 148,848,158 while teledensity has risen to 106.32per cent.Telephone density or teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals living within an area. It varies widely across nations and also between urban and rural areas within a country.

    The mobile phone represents  far more of a communication revolution in Africa than in richer countries.

    However, worried by the harm uncontrolled access to mobile phones could do to learners, some private and public schools have outlawed mobile phone use in schools. States such as Osun, Akwa-Ibom, Jigawa have made policy statements banning phone use by students, while some private universities also do not allow phone use at all by students that are even considered adults.

    The study, which involved a group of university researchers from the United Kingdom (UK) and Africa, was funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and Department for International Development (DfID). It covers many aspects of young people’s phone use, from generational relations to job searches and health advice. Use in school has emerged as a leading issue, echoing concerns around the world.

    More than 1,500 face-to-face interviews were conducted with focus on groups with young people, teachers, parents and key community members across 24 locations – eight in each country. These varied from poor city neighbourhoods to remote rural hamlets.

    This was followed up with a questionnaire to about 3,000 young people aged between nine and 18 and 1,500 young people aged between 19 and 25 in the same 24 locations.

    The survey of children aged nine to 18 years shows that mobile phone use is much higher than ownership figures might suggest. Ownership of phones was lowest in Malawi, the poorest of the three countries. Here only eight per cent of children in the survey owned their own phone, compared with 16 per cent in Ghana and 51 per cent in South Africa. Nonetheless, in Malawi 35 per cent of children said they had used a phone in the week before the survey. In Ghana the figure was 42 per cent and in South Africa it was 77 per cent. Children often borrow phones from one  another, their parents, other family members and neighbours.

     

    Children’s use of phones

    Some pupils, particularly in South Africa, use their phones to access sites like Master Maths for help with homework. But the positive benefits mostly seem to be limited to mundane tasks such as contacting friends to check on homework or using the phone as a calculator. Much information from pupils and teachers was more negative: academic performance affected by disrupted classes – due to teachers as well as pupils using their phones – disrupted sleep because of cheap night calls, time wasted on prolonged sessions on social network sites, and harassment, bullying and pornography.

    Class disruption from pupils’ phones used to be mostly from ring tones when calls were received. Now, for those with smartphones, messaging on WhatsApp or checking Facebook have become common classroom activities. Teachers’ phone use in class can be equally disruptive, as some teachers admitted. A call comes in, or they make a call, and whether they step outside or take the call in class, the end result is that the lesson is interrupted and – as more than one told us – “You forget what you are going to deliver.”

    In Malawi, 60 per cent of enrolled pupils said they had seen their teacher using a phone in lesson time during the week before the survey. The corresponding figure for Ghana was 66 per cent and for South Africa 88 per cent. Pupils are rarely given such an opportunity to comment on the behaviour of those in authority over them but even if not all were truthful, these figures are of concern. Many head teachers also spoke about the problem of teacher phone use, saying they found it difficult to regulate.

    Other problems include disturbing levels of pupil bullying and harassment. In the survey of enrolled pupils who use a phone, 16 per cent in Ghana, 28 per cent in Malawi and 55 per cent in South Africa said they had received unwanted, unpleasant or upsetting calls or texts. This was almost equally true for boys and girls.

    Distribution and viewing of pornography is also widespread, as older boys were often willing to disclose. A few – even primary school pupils – mentioned sexting.

     

    Way forward

    Many head teachers have asked how to promote responsible phone use in school. Here, according to  the report, are some suggestions:

     

    Pupil’s phone use

    It is important to have a clear school policy on pupil phone use, to inform parents about this and to explain the reasoning behind it. If the school has decided to allow pupils to bring their mobile phone to school – for instance, because of travel problems – but not to use it in school, then pupils could be required to put a name tag on their phone and deposit it with a staff member, using a register, before school begins. In this case, parents or carers must be given a phone number for urgent messages.

    If the school allows pupils to use mobile phones in class as calculators or to access the internet, pupils and their parents could sign an “acceptable use” agreement each term. This would promote effective use of class time and their own and other pupils’ safety.

    Pupils also need reminders not to publish personal information on the internet and to tell their teacher, a parent or care giver if they access any information that worries them. Parents must be encouraged to help their child follow the school’s guidelines. Asking them to sign an acceptable use agreement together with their children will help.

     

    Teachers’ phone use

    Teachers’ mobile phones should be switched off and left in a safe place during lesson times. If teachers are using their phones when pupils are banned from doing so, pupils may become resentful. Workers should not contact pupils from their personal mobile phones or give their mobile phone numbers to pupils or parents. This would help teachers maintain sound professional practice.

     

  • Learning from NBC

    Last Thursday, the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) graduated 32 engineers and technicians from its Technical Training Centre (TTC) after undergoing 15-18-month training in mechanical, electrical, pneumatics, and other aspects of engineering.

    It was my third time covering the programme, and as usual, the centre showcased projects the trainees embarked on in the course of the training that had directly impacted the company in terms of cost savings worth millions, and innovations that enhanced productivity.

    I interacted with a trainee, Erakpoweri Ogaga, who informed me that in emergencies, they usually produce parts to replace damaged ones in the equipment used in producing and bottling the soft drinks and juices.

    Instead of experiencing down-time while waiting for the Original Equipment Manufacturing companies to replace damaged parts, the company tasks the trainees to source for materials locally, design and produce the parts for a small fraction of the cost. The trainees deliver and the company remains productive.

    I was impressed when Ogaga told me that they have even produced a part that worked better than the original such that the manufacturer changed its design.

    Ben Langat, NBC Managing Director, said he was impressed by the centre’s contribution to the company’s success. He said this informed the firm’s decision to review the minimum entry qualification into the programme from National Diploma (ND) to Higher National Diploma (HND).

    What the NBC story demonstrates is that we have the capacity to enhance local production and productivity if only we would challenge our youths to do so. The NBC invested in a centre that started out training entry-level technicians at inception in 1996 but found out that these people do so well that they progress to management positions. If they are not absorbed by NBC, which is hardly the case, there are usually other manufacturing concerns ready to grab these well-trained technicians.

    With a dearth of technical expertise among many of our graduates, I believe more private companies in Nigeria should invest in this kind of training. Employers always moan about poor quality of graduates and how much they have to invest in training before they are useful. But NBC is showing us that the investment can be worthwhile and translate into wealth for the company. The TTC trainees don’t just spend the 15-18 months learning theories or case studies; they are given real-life problems to solve for the company. They are almost like a unit of researchers or innovators whose core business is to think and test solutions. As a result, they come up with projects that reduce cost and help the company make more money. Perhaps companies need to learn from NBC on how to design a training programme that achieves both the training objective and help their businesses grow while the trainees are still being trained.

    A second lesson from NBC’s success story is that more than ever before educational training needs to move closer to what obtains in the industry. The drive for profit, impact and larger market share fuels innovations in the business space. These innovations should begin happening on campuses. Consul-General of Germany, Ingo Herbert, said at a function in Lagos that the secret behind his country’s technological success is in the close collaboration between industry and the universities. He said companies give their researches to universities. This is what we want to see happening in Nigeria. If NBC can record success challenging a small set of Nigerian youths yearly, then replicating such template on a larger scale in schools would even birth more innovations.

  • Group records 27.39 growth in learning

    The Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN), yesterday, released a review of the Nigerian leasing industry for 2015.

    According to the association’s Executive Secretary, Andrew Efurhievwe, who briefed journalists in Lagos, a review of the past five years, shows a steady growth of the industry even in the face of the economic meltdown.

    According to him, available statistics show an impressive 27.39% growth in leasing activities. The volume of outstanding leases grew from N869 billion in 2014 to N1.1 trillion in 2015, and this could be explained based on the developmental attributes of leasing which makes it attractive whether the economy is witnessing a boom or recession, as is currently the case.

    Efurhievwe stated that many industries are relying on leasing as a creative financing alternative for capital assets and this has created increased investments from existing lessors and attracted new entrants into the leasing industry to tap into the opportunities in the market.”

    He  explained that analysis by sector of the leased volume records in 2015, show that even with the global fall in the price of crude oil, the oil and gas sector still has the highest volume of leased assets. He said the volume of leased assets in the sector rose from N284 billion in 2014 to N361 billion in 2015 representing 27% growth and 33% of total portfolio. Next to the oil and gas sector is the transport sector, recording 21% growth rate from N228 billion in leased asset in 2014 to N290 billion in 2015. Other sectors like telecoms, agriculture and manufacturing as well, also had considerable growths.

    “Categorising the lease transactions according to types, finance leases retained the dominant position accounting for 75% of all lease transactions while operating lease accounted for 25%. It is however expected that operating lease will continue to increase its market share as more demands are being made from large corporate due to its service oriented nature.

  • A learning curve

    LOOKING for a partner? Yes, that is the feeling for many out there. The desire at this point is to magnetise that dream man or woman. The expectation is also usually very high. First of all, we look for the perfect image; someone who looks good and has a good carriage. For lovebirds that are lucky, they find the kind of soul mates that they desire but unfortunately for them, they later discover that the emotional search has only just begun. This is because a great face and good physical attributes do not necessarily translate into a great heart.

    Relationship problems are hardly anything that we want to experience in our relationships, but they are an inevitable part of spending time with another person. The crux of the matter here is that nobody is really perfect and it’s impossible for anyone to actually be perfect. And, realistically, why would you want to be with someone who is or appears to be? There’s no growth and learning that comes out of that. Life like love is indeed a learning curve. A combination of the good, the bad and the ugly. You try, try and try again.

    Patiently, you can get the other person to see the bad spots and together make a difference. When we tend to have the desire to want to “change” our partner forcefully, then there would be some resentments or confusion. Our action here stems from this inner desire to control the other person. It’s rooted in the thinking that “they” are the ones who need to change and not ourselves.

    This is a distorted belief that stems from our ego (fear-based mind), which blocks us from truly experiencing real genuine love. So it is important for us to be willing to recognise our own desires to control or change your partner and set the intention to let it go whenever it comes up.

    Even when your heart is not in control, you just have to be smart and not become a desperado. Solomon loved Aderinola so much, and like the thermometer, all he did was to monitor the emotional temperature from time to time. Unfortunately, the lover boy was not in control. In a relationship, it is better to function like the thermostat and not the thermometer (mugu), if you must be in control.

    The thermostat senses the temperature of a system so that the system’s temperature is maintained near a desired set point. The thermostat does this by switching heating or cooling devices on or off, or regulating the flow of a heat transfer fluid as needed, to maintain the correct temperature. Modern thermostats interestingly are almost exclusively digital, but in the past what we had were non-digital thermostat.

    To love someone means to accept the other person for who they truly are – flaws and all. Even the heart that you so desperately crave forgets to say happy birthday, wastes money or things you do not like or talks too much in public, you just have to love him or her. Unfortunately, a lot of people find it so hard to accept the other heart this way. They argue and argue over the same things all the time. Instead of getting the change desired, the other heart gets hardened and gradually they begin to fall apart.

    A school of thought actually describes love as a battlefield, but anyone with emotional wisdom and skill would know how to manoeuver the emotional process without stress. Once you master the ‘tricks’, you would also be able to help others get through their emotional challenges. On your fingertips would be skills of how to cure a broken heart, make someone jealous, or just ease your own loneliness,

    If you want to be successful in your relationship, it is better to always look at the pros and cons of every decision you take or intend to take. If the outcome is good, then we all smile but if it is the other way round, then it is important to think of alternatives that will give that soft landing desired.

    For instance, when you choose to date or marry someone, you’re not necessarily choosing the person. Rather, you’re choosing the problems that you want to deal with that emerge in your relationship with that person.

    Let’s face it: When we’re in a relationship, problems are inevitable. No matter how hard we try, we simply just can’t avoid them. When we’re with one person, the problems may be much more challenging and difficult than with another person – but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t any. It’s simply the by-product of being in a relationship.

    Dr John Gottman, founder of the Gottman Method Couples Therapy, states that 69% of the problems that we deal with in our relationships are never solved. What determines whether the couple stays together or not relies on whether both people are able to accommodate and accept the traits and characteristics of their partner that irritate them.

    Seeing that statistics can be pretty disheartening, but it can also be empowering, because it shows the importance of taking personal responsibility. We have the power to control our own behaviour, actions and reactions. And we have a choice as to how we want to behave and even if we want to be in a relationship with a person with that one trait that drives you crazy.

  • Firm kicks off inclusive teaching, learning drive

    Piston and Fusion, a leading training organisation, has kicked off its newest concept of leadership and capacity development drive for teachers aimed at exposing participants to global standards of ‘inclusive teaching and learning’.

    Working with the Institute for Learning, United Kingdom, the body is leveraging on its corporate social responsibility platform to complement the efforts of the Lagos State Government on the education development in the state.

    Established last year, its the firm’s Programme Director Mr Adeola Badmus, told The Nation at its Omole, Lagos office that the body veered into teachers’ emancipation because that area receives less attention.

    He said: “One of the yardsticks in evaluating the success of most of our schools is the performance and development of its various students. In reality of this and in achieving this cardinal success, our teachers must have the right skills to engage, motivate and meet the various needs of the students; a trait we intend to strengthen and improve on both parties through this training.

    “We observe that corporate organisations and even well- meaning individuals donors are mostly interested in putting infrastructure in schools but with very little attention on teacher development. So, if we have good schools but poor teachers, the product will be faulty.

    “Therefore, we have decided to take on certain number of teachers at every quarter and and improve on their skill with the hope of improving education in Lagos State.’’

    According to Badmus, one teacher representing 11 schools, has been incorporated into the first batch, which began on Monday, last week, noting that other batches would follow.

    Piston  and Fusion’s Director of Programme Ono Okechukwu,  explained that the concept would benefit the teachers by equipping them with more skills that would make them relevant to teaching, especially at the state level.

    “To get the best out of our teachers, schools must have development programmes that will improve teachers’planning and delivery approach to be in-line with global standards,” he added.

    Badmus stressed that the workshop would increase student pool, equip teachers with modern skills and techniques in teaching, and, ultimately, impart on a better performance by students in their various national examinations across  boards.

  • Learning behind bars in Kaduna

    Learning behind bars in Kaduna

    In Kaduna State, the wisdom of reforming prison inmates is prevailing over the instinct of punishing them, as secondary schools start inside jails. ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE reports

    It was long in coming. After all, what does anyone have to gain if, after serving their time, prison inmates stagger out into the society weak, tattered, unhappy and without skills or education? In Kaduna State the el-Rufai administration has ensured there is life for people behind bars at the completion of their terms. Secondary education has started right inside the guarded facilities.

    Barely two weeks into office, Governor Nasir el-Rufai visited the prisons with a promise to improve on training the inmates.

    He said then, “We are particularly interested in improving the state of training and vocational facilities within the prisons and expand that to outside the prison. We believe acquisition of skills is very important, not only to create job but also to reduce the rate of crime.”

    •Governor el-Rufai (second left) with the prison officials
    •Governor el-Rufai (second left) with the prison officials

    El-Rufai said his visit to the prison was informed by the briefing of the state Controller of Prison and Presidential directive to all governors to look into ways of decongesting the prisons by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    After touring the congested prisons, the governor said he will work with the prison authorities to improve the facilities there.

    Kaduna Convict Prison is one of the few which have study centres of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in which two of its inmates are currently running degree programmes in Political Science and Computer Science. The government is planning to install similar facilities in the Zaria prison, which now has a Junior Secondary School.

    While commissioning the recently renovated Zaria Prison and a prison Junior Secondary School built by his administration, Governor el-Rufai promised that all the prisons in the state will have secondary schools to be established by the state government in addition to the upgrading of the prison study centre of National Open University (NOUN).

    He said his government under the youths empowerment programme will also provide necessary skill acquisition centres in the prisons to empower inmates.

    Represented by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Amina Dyeris-Sijuwade, the governor also promised to continue assisting the prison command with operational vehicles.

    She said the governor had approved N24m for the renovation of the prison shortly after its destruction.

    The Controller General of Prisons, Dr. Peter Ezenwa Ekpendu expressed appreciation to the governor for undertaking the renovation work in the Zaria Prison and called on other state governments to emulate Kaduna by assisting the prisons with logistics and renovation of their facilities.

    Earlier in his welcome address, the Controller Kaduna Sate Prison Command, Abubakar Garba said the renovation work was not the only assistance the governor rendered to the command, as it had donated a generating set and hospital equipments worth millions of naira to Kaduna Convict Prison.

    Garba said shortly after exercising his prerogative of mercies to inmates, Governor el-Rufai in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice approved the setting up of schools inside the prisons, Junior and Secondary schools as well as skill acquisition centres.

    He said, “And equally, he also gave his mandate that the issue of skill acquisition centres in the various prisons formations across Kaduna State. We will start a pilot scheme very soon with Kaduna prisons. We hope that by next year the pilot scheme will reach other prisons formation across Kaduna state.”

    On the pardoned inmates, Garba said,“The governor exercised his powers under section 212, sub-section (1c) as amended with the Nigerian constitution to release the prisoners,” he said.

    Continuing, he said, “In Kaduna prison, we have 11 Kaduna State indigenes that were sentenced to death. The five that were released don’t have any appeal before the appeal court. The remaining 4 have appeal before the appeal court. The 2 that were not mentioned earlier, their sentence have been reduced to 20 years imprisonment.

    “And the remaining nine that were released were people that have stayed in the prisons more than and have only 6 months to serve in the prisons. And those because of old age were also released by the Executive Governor of Kaduna State,” CP Garba stated.

    Meanwhile, El-Rufai had ordered immediate return of inmates to the upgraded Zaria Prison facility. Zaria Prison was destroyed in May by inmates who set cells, workshops and administrative block ablaze, leaving out only mosque and the church buildings.

     

  • NUC not rigid about Distance Learning, says Okojie

    NUC not rigid about Distance Learning, says Okojie

    The National Universities Commission (NUC), has defended its stance on non-approval of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programmes in most tertiary institutions of the country

    The commission said it was committed to ensuring that quality assurance measures were in place ahead of such undertaking.

    According to its Executive Secretary, Prof Julius Okojie, NUC stand  should not be seen as being unduly rigid in granting approval for ODL, noting that the Commission is working towards ensuring that universities go through the proper procedures.

    Speaking at a stakeholders Forum/Open Distance Learning Workshop organised by the Centre for Open Distance and e-Learning (CODeL) of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Okojie said NUC would permit any university that has gone through the laid down rules and regulations.

    Okojie, who was represented by the Director, Open and Distance Education, Dr. Olamide Adesina, said the Commission does not intend to subject the nation’s economy  to graduates with certificates that are not credible.

    “NUC is not being unduly rigid in approving Open Distance learning. Any university that comes to us, we will only allow that institution as soon as they go with the laid down rules and regulations,” Okojie said.

    He added: “Though we see the advantages of Open Distance Learning in developed countries, we are not rushing on it. NUC is working towards making universities go the proper distance learning way as the Commission have a task to ensure delivery of quality education.”

    In his address, the Chief Press Secretary to Niger State governor, Dr. Ibraheen Dooba, said the time is ripe for Nigeria to integrate e-learning into its education sector.

    He said: “e-Learning is the new twist to learning. Nigeria needs to wake up and embrace this development because it will give room for the nation to grow. If we do not heed to this wake up call, Nigeria will be left behind because the world will not wait for us.”

    Addressing the stakeholders, the Vice Chancellor, FUT Minna, Prof Musibau Akanji, said e-learning is the answer to quality education and harmonising education in the country.

    He said Open Distance learning will help the nation address the large number of youths, who are unable to gain admission into various tertiary institutions in the country every year.

    The Director, Centre for Open Distance and e-Learning (CODeL), Dr. Musa Abiodun Aibinu, said the need for CODeL is necessary to address admission challenges in the nation. He noted that there is a great imbalance in demand and supply in universities as not all candidates who apply for admission each year are being offered.

    He said CODeL will provide access to quality education to students by leveraging on the issue of new technology with the aim of educating the Nigerian masses.