The Nation Newspaper

Tag: quality

  • Giving quality life to the elderly

    Giving quality life to the elderly

    Quality Medicare International Limited, an organization focused on the needs of the aged and vulnerable ones in the society, has vowed to improve the quality of life of elderly citizens in the society.

    This revelation was made by Dr. Mrs. Abimbola Halloway and Mrs. Elizabeth Akin Abiola, both directors of the organisation. “We discovered that there are so many things that affect the aged in our society that are neglected, which is very unfortunate. We are trying to make a change and make life better for the elderly in our society. In addition, we are also asking for applicants willing to be trained for two weeks to care for the aged ones in the society.”

    This was made known at the organisation’s premises located on Ribadu Road, Lagos, according to the Executive Chairman, Abiola Halloway, a graduate of the Trinity College, Dublin and Ireland medical school

    “The most important aspect for the team is how to make use of the teeming population of unemployed youths and women of all ages.”

    Halloway who has a working experience that spans over 33 years added that “We focus on the wellbeing and early detention of illness of our client by offering various health screening packages. The organisation calls on all who are willing to receive training for this special work, most especially women hawking on the high ways knowing it is a dangerous work they are into. While the applicants will be screened properly for the needed training, application is open to all and sundry and we have pegged our training fees moderately.”

    She went on to explain the purpose of establishing the two independent companies, Care Companion and Quality Medicare International Limited. “Quality Medicare is a health screening clinic mainly for health assessment by comprehensive medical screening of hypertension and many more. While the Care Companion carters for the aged ones who have lost their independence; which makes them become so depressed and lonely as a result. They may not be able to cope with their day to day personal needs.”

    She went further: “This has created the need for the delivery of health and much needed social care, i.e. taking them out for social gatherings like beach, playing of games or even discussing with them their old times,” said the doctor.

    The apathy of the government and poor social infrastructure for the provision of care and treatment for this set of people, she stressed, is a great challenge for many.  “Sadly, this is unlike what we have in the developed countries like the United Kingdom. So having identified this unfortunate situation, we have been driven by our passion to establish an outfit to provide these services on our own, and to ensure that clients get the desired service. To provide health education and counselling, medical evaluation and home care for parents, whose children or family live abroad.”

    For Elizabeth Akin-Abiola, a graduate of law from the University of Hertfordshire, London, “We have started this training and we have six among the 10 people we trained back as our workers. That is the essence of us calling on others to join in this training and get rehabilitated as our workers.”

    She said those willing to be trained must come with their passports, two guarantors and their identification cards the like voter card. “This is important because we are determined to give our clients the best as well as make the environment safe for them.”

    While talking about the sponsoring and partnership of the organisation from the government, both state and locally, and any other corporate entity, Mrs. Abiola said the organisation at present is looking forward to helping hands for support.

    In addition, Quality Medicare International Limited has a partnership in London with Dr Renu Hans, experienced physicians with extensive training in hospital and community medicine.

  • Poor service quality: Reps probe internet service providers

    The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to begin an industry-wide audit of the quality of service being provided by internet service providers (ISP) in Nigeria.

    The lawmakers said the exploitation of internet service consumers by ISPs had gone on for too long without being checked.

    The lawmakers said the audit was necessary because since the introduction of commercial scale internet services in Nigeria, consumers have been subjected to exploitation, ranging from exorbitant rates, poor service delivery, limited coverage and non-existent roll-out option to slow internet access, among others.

    The sponsor of the motion, which was adopted by the House, Oluwole Oke (PDP, Osun) said the trend had continued to cause untold hardship to many subscribers and businesses which have been deprived of the right quality of service to enable them stay competitive.

    This trend must not be allowed to continue unchecked, he said.

    In their resolution, the lawmakers also urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to set up a framework through which internet service consumers would be compensated for poor services by ISPs.

  • Ways to improve quality of education in Nigeria

    Education is the “pillar of development and determinant of technological, political and socio-economic growth and development of nation any”. Whoever becomes the Minister of Education in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration must hit the ground running as there is a lot of work to do in this sector.

    The ministries of education must provide adequate infrastructure such as electricity, pipe borne water; class room blocks/lecture halls in our schools. Our schools’ laboratories, workshops and vocational centres should be adequately equipped with the necessary modern facilities. As this cannot be achieved by the government all alone, there is need for all stakeholders as well as corporate bodies to support in executing such projects. Current and relevant textbooks and internet facilities should be provided in our schools to allow for easy teaching and learning.

    One of the many ways to improve falling standard of education in the country is to return our schools, especially secondary schools, to the missionaries. Since the foundation of a child’s education is built from the primary and secondary schools, there is an urgent need to return schools at those levels to the missionaries. When our schools were run by the missionaries, the standard obtained then was equal to the standards obtainable in any part of the globe. The government should in the interest of our educational development return our schools to their original owners- missionaries.

    The quality of teachers/lecturers in our schools across the board today is nothing to write home about, as many of them are employed  on the basis of “who you know” at the expense of merit. To check the quality of teachers/lecturers in our schools, the government as well as education stakeholders in the private institutions must embark on the conduct of periodic test and screenings for teachers to ascertain the quality of education they impart to our students. Teachers and lecturers should be encouraged to improve on their teaching skills and academic qualifications in order to meet current global teaching standards. Training and retraining exercises should also be organized for them to acquaint them with the use of computers and relevant teaching tools.

    Another way to improve our educational standard is through regular review of our schools’ curricula to accommodate new topics. Topics bordering on entrepreneurial and computer skills should be included. Subjects that teach creativity and innovativeness should be introduced across the board in educational institutions.

    Last but not least is the welfare package of teachers. Money and good working environment are two major motivating factors for workers. Therefore, good teaching environment should be provided for them and their salaries paid as and when due. There should be a system in place to reward hardworking teachers/lecturers and punish the lazy ones. It should also be noted that regular review of teachers/lecturers salaries will help put an end to incessant strikes in our schools.

     

    • Umoru Abdulkadir Ileonikhena

    IJu – Ishaga, Lagos  

  • Training necessary for Quality Assurance

    The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Mass Education, Alhaji Jibrin Paiko, has underscored the relevance of training to quality assurance in the non-formal education sub-sector.

    Addressing participants at a two-day workshop for monitoring officers in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, Paiko said that for illiteracy to be eradicated in Nigeria, stakeholders must gain the requisite knowledge.

    “Monitoring and evaluation is one of the major functions of the commission, and a technical area that requires special skills for effective accomplishment of the corporate mission of the commission,” said Paiko.

    He urged participants to take advantage of the training to enrich their skills and experiences.

    The Executive Secretary said he expected that participants would have learnt new skills that would add value to their performances and bring about improved service delivery at the end of the training.

    Paiko, who declared the workshop open, praised the organisers for a job well done and advised the trainees to take the training seriously.

  • Low-income schools offer quality education

    Low-income schools may charge low fees, but they offer quality education, says Mrs Esther Dada, President, Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED).

    Mrs Dada, who spoke at a programme to mark the Lagos State literacy Day on Monday at the NIS Gymnasium, National Stadium, Lagos, said many low income schools offer better quality education than public schools.

    “In some public schools, we have some Primary Five pupils who cannot read; and a primary 3 pupil (in our schools) can do better.  Our children are good, we can showcase them anywhere. They are the returns of our hard work. We have confidence in them,” she said.

    The AFED President said low-income schools exist because of the economic situation of many parents who cannot afford more expensive private schools yet seek quality above what is provided in public schools.

    “We want to give back to the society.  We are qualified school owners in the area of education; we major in education and that is why we are able to talk about it. When we hear low income schools, we begin to look at it like they are of low income quality; they are not giving low quality. We are giving quality education that is available at a low cost so that the parents will be carried along,” she said.

    Mrs Dada, who runs the Peacock Schools, Ikorodu, said that the need to change public perception that low-income schools offer poor quality education informed why the association decided to showcase its pupils from low-income schools located in the six education districts of Lagos and Ogun State who read-aloud at the event.

    The pupils, drawn from Primary 4-5 and aged between eight and 10, read from various storybooks without prompting by teachers.

    In her remarks at the event, Mrs Ronke Soyombo, Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, urged the schools to boost literacy in all schools.

     

  • ASO Savings promises on quality at Garden Estate

    Leading primary mortgage firm,  ASO Savings and Loans Plc, says prospective buyers of its ASO Garden Estate need not worry about the quality of infrastructure and other essential facilities that will be in the estate, as they would be of the highest international standard.

    The Managing Director of Aso Savings, Hassan Musa Usman, gave this assurance while hosting to the MD/CEO, Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), Prof. Charles Inyangete, who visited the estate recently. He revealed that the estate was a product of the bank’s vision of providing affordable housing to Nigerians desirous of living in a safe environment in the federal capital territory, Abuja.

    Usman said the estate would change the face of property market in Abuja, adding that it aims at breaking the price jinx associated with premium properties in the city with its flexible payment plans, which does not require a prospective buyer breaking his bank account before owning a decent home in Abuja.

    ASO Garden Estate,  a 900-housing-unit being built on a 27-hectares of land, is located just after Gwarinpa, on the Kubwa Express Road, within the Karsana East District, which is part of Abuja Phase IV. It is being planned as an affordable property that the middle income earners can afford. The promoters assured that the estate will boast of a neighbourhood shopping centre, children’s playground and park, ample parking space, hospital, police post, fire service and  school, adding that it is offering all the amenities at very affordable prices.

    While inspecting the estate, Inyangete praised the management of ASO Savings for the quality work done on the project, adding that the estate exemplified affordable mass housing, which was the main thrust of NMRC. He urged other primary mortgage institutions  to emulate ASO Savings efforts at making housing available and affordable for Nigerians.

    With flats at a starting price of N17 million,  phase 1 of the estate comprises 249 housing units made up of two and three-bedroom exquisite blocks of flats and four-bedroom terraces, and is at 80 per cent completion; it is planned for inauguration in November this year. The flats are  six per block, and each has two (or three) bedrooms, with open plan living, kitchen area, all rooms en-suite. Individually priced starting at N17 million for the two bedroom and N23 million for the three-bedroom flats respectively.The four-bedroom terraces offer a well-planned living accommodation set over two floors; these terraces have stylish features like an open floor plan. There are four bedrooms on the first and second floors, all en-suite as well as a spacious kitchen. There is an adjoining dining area on the ground floor.

    When completed, the estate will offer 900 homes ranging from two and three bedroom apartments, four bedroom terraces to five bedroom fully detached luxury houses.

  • Access vs. quality

    •The Federal Government should not interfere in varsity admissions

    The Federal Government’s decision to overrule a recent directive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) does little to help resolve the admissions crisis currently facing the country’s universities, in spite of its avowed good intentions.

    In an attempt to streamline the near-chaotic situation in popular universities which regularly attract far more candidates than they can possibly admit, JAMB had, at its 2015 Combined Policy Meeting, directed that applicants for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) would be reassigned to other universities with lower numbers of applicants.

    Based on that decision, schools like the universities of Ibadan, Ilorin, Lagos, Calabar and Benin, as well as Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, were sent lists of candidates which excluded those who had been assigned to other schools which were not their first-choice institutions. In addition, the University of Lagos took the opportunity to raise its cut-off marks for the post-UTME to 250 from the 180-mark minimum approved by JAMB as a means of further reducing the pool of candidates to manageable levels.

    These measures have led to protests by parents, students and other stakeholders who argue that it is unjust to ostensibly change the rules in the middle of the game. It was apparently in response to this outcry that the Federal Government overruled JAMB.

    While government may have acted from the best of motives, it must be realised that intervening in the actions of a government agency with a specific mandate is not the best thing to do.  JAMB’s measures were aimed at partially resolving the so-called crisis of access that has continued to bedevil tertiary education. About 1.475 million students sat the UTME in 2015. There are places for only about 30 per cent of that number; in the 2012-2013 academic session, the nation’s then -128 universities admitted just 520,000 candidates out of the 1.735 million who sought admission.

    Government’s intervention does nothing to solve this recurring problem. Several schools have been swamped by far more candidates than they have the capacity to admit. About 85,495 UTME applicants sought admission to University of Ilorin; University of Benin got 60,020 applicants. Even if they exceed their admission quotas as they are known to do, none of these schools will admit up to 10,000 candidates each.

    It is clear that the issues are much more fundamental than just those of admission. Universities are by definition competitive entities reserved for those who have the intellectual ability to secure entry to them. The huge numbers seeking admission are indicative of an institutional anomaly characterised by the lack of viable alternatives like sound vocational education, the widespread disregard for other forms of tertiary education and the overwhelming preference for white-collar jobs.

    By compelling universities to reopen their gates to students who met the minimum cut-off marks initially specified by JAMB, government has simply reinstituted the problem without solving it. Once again, universities are going to witness chaotic scenes as post-UTME venues are forced to accommodate more candidates than they can cater for. Fraudsters and other criminals will have a field day ripping off desperate parents and applicants. Candidates who never had a realistic chance of getting into their preferred schools will see their hopes frustrated for yet another year.

    Nigeria can no longer afford to turn its annual university admission process into a mad rush in which thousands of hapless candidates suffer needlessly. Rather than interfere in the work of JAMB, government should simply scrap it and permit universities to set their own admission criteria. It should focus its energies on offering workable alternatives in vocational education, upgrade qualified monotechnics and polytechnics to universities, and expand the scope of other forms of tertiary education. Only then will the country no longer have to make the false choice between access and quality.

  • Nigerians deserve quality healthcare

    Are Nigerians getting value for their money in healthcare? No, says the Chairman, Brighthope Specialist Hospital Limited (BSH), Prof Rotimi Jaiyesinmi.

    According to him, Nigerians deserve quality healthcare but the university teaching hospitals and General Hospitals are not providing that.

    Jaiyesinmi, who spoke at the inauguration of BSH in Ikeja, Lagos, said the patient deserves the best treatment because without them there cannot be a hospital. The setup is centred on them, he added.

    He said the private sector should be at the forefront of healthcare because the government cannot do it alone, hence the need for public-private partnership (PPP).

    The availability of quality care, he said, would stop the people from seeking treatment overseas, adding: “Our mantra at BSH is to provide quality service to the patient.

    Commander, Nigeria Military Medical Corps, Major General Shina Ogunbiyi said the hospital is a one-stop-shop healthcare facility as it was built based on the current World Health Organisation’s concept of curative and preventive services in the same place.

    He said the  presence of hi-tech equipment and personnel will ensure that patients get the high quality treatment and as such curb health tourism.

    “I am fascinated with the paperless system. Everything is electronically organised. The e-record will ensure that accurate information on the patients is received when needed,” Ogunbiyi said.

  • PSSDC harps on quality service delivery by public workers

    PSSDC harps on quality service delivery by public workers

    For Lagos State to realise its vision of becoming Africa’s model megacity, its workers must continually deliver quality service residents, who daily transact business in the state or require its services.

    The Director-General of the state’s Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC), Mrs Olubunmi Fabamwo, said this at the celebration of the Service Charter Day, and the unveiling of the centre’s service charter document.

    At the event, which held at the centre’s library in Magodo, Mrs Fabamwo said as a capacity building institution and one of the 14 pilot Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), for the charter, PSSDC will continue to train manpower that would be change agents in running government business.

    Describing service as critical to government, Fabamwo said workers must key into delivering cutting edge services, and that was why PSSDC as the training arm of government keyed into the charter to build a sustainable platform for the state to continue getting things right.

    Noting that no leader can be effective if he cannot serve, Mrs Fabamwo said the best leaders are good servants. “Leadership is service and service is leadership,” Mrs Fabamwo noted.

    She added that PSSDC is committed to the vision of Governor Babatunde Fashola who, while launching the charter in 2012, looked forward to building a state with a strong cultural identity that would not only drive the nation’s social and political trends, but become one of the top 10 megacities of the world in terms of urban living indices.

    She said the service charter is meant to inculcate in all public workers the fact that they are employed to give quality, fast and reliable service to the over 20 million residents of Lagos, who would need their services everyday. She said a well trained worker, who internalised this ethos would go ahead and with others to build strong and virile institutions that would sustain an enduring legacy  for coming generations.

  • Poor telecoms service quality unacceptable, says NCC

    Poor telecoms service quality unacceptable, says NCC

    the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr. Eugene Juwah has said the poor telecoms service quality operators are offering subscribers is unacceptable to the Commission, adding that the regulator will continue to do the needful to achieve the highest degree of service quality in the country.

    Juwah who spoke at the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) forum held at the University of Lagos, Akoka said, he was worried by the development, adding that the Commission has summoned several meetings with the operators to express customers’ dissatisfaction with a view to improving the situation.

    Represented by the Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, he however said there are challenges which must first be addressed before service quality would be improved.

    Those challenges include but are not limited to inadequate power supply, multiple taxation and regulations, vandalism of telecom infrastructure, right of way (RoW) challenges, and infrastructure deficit among others.

    “Only the elimination of some or all of these will provide the critical success factors in finally eradicating quality of service challenges,” Juwah said, adding that the regulator is not complacent over the issue.

    During the public hearing held by the National Assembly in 2008, power was considered to have contributed more than 40 per cent to service quality challenges.

    Telecoms depend on power to run 24/7. Just as individuals in Nigeria generate their power, so has telcos being generating much of the power it utilizes.

    The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has put the estimated cost of running two generators in each of the over 25,000 base transmission stations (BTS) in at about N5 billion monthly. ATCON says while service provider spends 80 per cent operating expenditure (OPEX) on power generation, in Malawi, it is just some five per cent. This captures the explanation as the service providers would have been in a position to channel more resources to tackling the issues of service quality.

    Juwah said : “We have a very nagging issue of regulations and taxes awaiting the telecom operators at different levels of government. Some of these regulations are made outside of the purview of the telecom regulator. There are states and local governments where telecom infrastructure is seen as fertile ground for improving internally generated revenue as these infrastructures must be available to make services possible. In some areas, state governments, local governments, or even some federal government agencies have had to force a close down of base stations with the implication of disconnecting many localities from the network thereby adding to the challenge”

    On RoW, he lamented that governments at various levels, individuals or communities, prevent the service providers from installing equipment without which there will not be good quality of services.

    “Some of us may not be aware. But the truth is that for almost five years, the Federal Capital Territory Administration stopped issuance of permits to telecom service providers to BTS on account of fear of defacing the city. Yet, residents would expect services to be of high quality,” he lamented.

    Vandalism of equipment has become common where criminals vandalise expensive transmission lines laid with fibre optics or where road constructions or similar situation results in cutting off transmission cables with multiple negative effects on service quality.

    He said it is common for comparisons to be made between the country and other parts of the world where service quality is great, adding that in making such comparison, it is too often forgotten that there is infrastructure deficit in the country. While monopolies in the developed parts of the world made enormous investments in infrastructure to sustain their markets, Nigeria was not as lucky as the fortunes of Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) was mismanaged.

    “The dearth of fixed landline services brought about enormous pressure on mobile services which affected quality given the rate of subscription. Our situation resulted in mobile services providing the triple role of office, home and mobility services. While some countries such as the United Kingdom with less geographical spread have more than 50,000 base stations, Nigeria has about 25,000. So, the issue of infrastructure deficit in a country like Nigeria is bound to affect quality of service.

    “Sometimes when the regulator reels out some of these challenges, especially those outside its immediate control, it is misinterpreted as giving excuses for the service providers. But as a regulator who must show clear understanding of the issues, we refused to play the ostrich,” Juwah said.