The Nation Newspaper

Tag: school

  • Unity School justifies fees

    Unity School justifies fees

    The management of the Federal Science and Technical College (FSTC), Yaba, one of the 102 Federal Unity Colleges, has justified the fees charged newly-admitted pupils, noting that the fees have the approval of the Federal Ministry of Education.

    The management, led by the principal, Rev Chris Ugorji, has the backing of the school’s Parents/Teachers Association, School Based Management Committee (SBMC), Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) – the umbrella group of the teachers, and the FSTC Old Students’ Association.

    The management spoke in response to an editorial cartoon published in the Vanguard newspaper, which pegged the total fees at N217,300.

    Addressing journalists last weekend at the principal’s conference room, Rev Ugorji said the publication was in bad taste and unfair because it did not compare with what the school charged in comparison with the three other Unity Schools in Lagos (King’s College, Queen’s College, and the Federal Government College, Ijanikin).

    The bill for JSS1 pupils is categorised into eight, requiring separate bank drafts for each. Boarders pay N24,300 for school fees , which cover 17 items (including boarding fees, examinations, equipment, extra lesson, etc); mid-day meal (N6,500-optional); CISCO etc (N4,000); Insurance (N5,000);Uniforms/shoes/housewear, etc (37,700); Classroom/hostel items (N23,500); College books (N17,300) and Processing Fee (N20,000).

    The PTA levy of N74,000 (N69,300 for development levy) brings the total to N212,300 for boarders. The total for day students is about N32,000 or less.

    Ugorji said the money collected for processing fee has made it possible for the school to construct a classroom block, refurbish a disused building to serve as store for books and uniforms, and make necessary repairs in the hostels in preparation for resumption next week (October 4 for new intakes).

    The Principal added that the school’s focus is on providing quality education, not to fleece parents.

    He said: “The Ministry has a list of approved bill for the unity colleges. From that list, every school adapts. Boarding fees is N8,000 across board; Insurance is national; and ICT is approved by the ministry. Those fees that the college introduced were with approval.

    “The processing fees take care of school projects. I told the Vice Principal to go round and note of what needs to be repaired. We are going to spend over N3.2million replacing louvres, doors, etc. A classroom block is under construction. Before October, it will be in use. NIPOST is constructing classroom furniture for us. The two-seater furniture costs N14,000. But the approved fees from government is N5,000. We are going to overwrite the remaining N2,000 per student.

    “We are not greedy; we remain focused to deliver quality education here.”

    Defending the charges, Chairman of the PTA, Mrs Oby Igwillo, represented by the vice chairman, Mr Francis Omotosho, said the principal and management team were deserving of awards for how well they have managed the school with limited resources, not condemnation.

    She said the levy charged by the PTA is being used to fund new projects (like a 1,000-bed female hostel under construction); massive rehabilitation of the boys’ hostel, payment of teachers and other support workers (numbering almost 100), among others.

    “The PTA condemns the publication in totality. The words seem to be inciting the public against the college. I am looking forward to the time the press will give the principal an award. We in the PTA have critically looked at the bill. There is no item there that was not agreed upon. We should be celebrating the entire college.

    “The facelift we are seeing is done by money. We are renovating the boys’ hostel and decking the female hostel. The returning students paid N30,000 last session. The new students are paying this development levy once and for all,” she said.

    On his part, the FSTC Unit Chairman, ASCSN, Mr Abdurafi Quadir, described the fees and charges for various services the pupils would require in school.

    “Teachers of FSTC will not want the school to be stigmatised, because we are only trying to work with the available resources to give quality education.

    “Most of the cost being presented are service based cost. You are paying for shoes, uniform, ICT, these are service-based costs,” he said.

    Rather than focus on fees being charged, he also noted that the Federal Government should wake up to its responsibilities in funding education.

    “Rather than making a school a reference point, I think we should focus on education in Nigeria generally. The facility being provided by the Federal Government is minimal. All that is provided by the PTA to a large extent should be provided by the Federal Government,” he said.

    President of the old students’ association, Chief Adebayo Adeeko, said parents need to be re-oriented that technical education costs money.

    “Parents outside still believe that this school is what it was when it was established in 1978. Then it was free. Government used to pay us as students. That is why parents don’t want to pay.

    When you look at the development here, it is not easy. The principal and the PTA are trying. You will feel our (old students) impact soon,” he said.

     

  • Robbers attack school in Ekiti

    There was panic in Christ’s Girls’ School, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, following a robbery yesterday.

    The robbers were said to have entered the school at 1.30 am and made for the administrative block.

    They carted away an unspecified number of desktop and laptop computers.

    They removed the burglary-proof window before entering.

    No pupil was attacked or raped as being speculated in the town. The incident has been reported to the police.

    A visit to the school later in the day showed that normal activities were going on.

    A senior worker urged reporters to disregard the rumour that some pupils were raped during the raid.

    “They went away with some desktop and laptop computers but none of our pupils was either raped or attacked by the invaders.

    “They did not go to the hostel at all, the incident happened at the admin block, the rumour is not true,” she said.

    The head teacher, simply referred to as Mrs. Ogundipe, was not around to speak on the development.

    She was said to have been summoned by the Commissioner for Education, Jide Egunjobi.

     

  • RCCG donates classrooms to community school

    As part of its corporate social responsibility, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Province 8 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has donated a block of classrooms,  a staff office, desks and benches to natives of Gnami community along Bwari-Kaduna expressway.

    The rural community which has no functional school buildings was agog with excitement when pastorate of the church, led by the Pastor in the charge of the province, Pastor Olusegun Olujimi alongside members of the church visited the community to commission the amenities for immediate use.

    The occasion drew a mammoth crowd to the reserved village which has little or no federal presence in terms of infrastructure.

    In his speech, Pastor Olusegun Olujimi said that the gesture was all about fulfilling the scripture to do good and to add value to the lives of the people, adding that the donation was also in line with the mandate given to the church by its General Oversea, Pastor Enoch Adeboye to commence corporate responsibility activities in various communities.

    Pastor Olujimi said the aim is to alleviate the sufferings brought upon the masses by absence of basic infrastructure,saying that the church has a responsibility to build society and make it habitable for all.

    He noted that the gesture was equally part of activities to mark the second year anniversary of the province, thereby explained that the donation was done after due diligence had been carried out by a committee headed by retired Major General Chris Olukolade on expediency of the project.

    The clergyman noted that the Gnami community was chosen because of the urgent need for a school to facilitate learning by children of school age in the area.  The cleric stressed that much of the problem of insurgency are as a result of lack of education,saying that sound education is paramount for stability of the country.

    Village Head of Gnuma community, Alhaji Ibrahim Yeri and the Head Master of the LEA Primary School, Gnami, Yakubu Adamu, expressed gratitude to the church for the gesture, saying it is the first time the community would receive such a gift from a church.

  • Ekiti bans manual labour at school hours

    Ekiti State government has outlawed manual labour by pupils of public primary and secondary schools during school hours.

    The academic session starts today.

    In the past, pupils used the first week to cut grasses and clear bushes on the premises, which made many of them to stay away.

    A statement yesterday by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Jide Egunjobi, said academic work was expected to begin on resumption day, adding that “there will be no cutting of grasses, except during break or after school hours.”

    The statement said public schools had been directed to engage in agriculture, noting that holding of inter-house sports must not extend beyond first term.

    Stressing that the government had increased the war against truancy, cult activities, lateness and examination malpractices, the statement said it had directed schools to complete JSS3 and SSS3 syllabuses by the end of second term to ensure revision in third term.

    The commissioner urged stakeholders, including parents, guardians, teachers and pupils to complement government’s efforts at restoring education to its pride of place.

  • School building collapses in Jos, kills 8 pupils

    The building of an Islamic School has collapsed in Bukuru, Jos South Local Government in Plateau State killing at least eight students.

    The incident which occurred at about 7:30 on Sunday night threw several families into mourning.

    The Islamic school, Abu Naib Islamic school is operated under a building located along Gero road in Bukuru.

    The school normally holds its evening lessons between 6:30pm and 9pm daily with over forty students attending.

    ‪National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said four students were confirmed dead while five were injured as a result of the incident.

    ‪Alhaji Danlami Muhammad who lives in the community said; “I cannot give details of the casualties as at now because we are still trying to rescue them.”‬

    ‪Alhaji Muhammad said about 40 children were inside the building when it collapsed adding that, “the number could have been more than this but for the rainfall that prevented some of the children from attending.”‬

    ‪Confirming the incident, North Central Zonal coordinator of the NEMA, Muhammad Abdulsalam said; “so far four children have been confirmed dead while five others have sustained injuries and have been taken to the specialists hospital. Our men are still carrying out the rescue mission and by tomorrow. I will give you the details.” ‬

  • Joy as church rehabilitates school

    Joy as church rehabilitates school

    Staff and pupils of Agidingbi Junior School, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos State were full of gratitude to the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Israel Parish, for refurbishing a block of three classrooms in their school. The rehabilitation offered them a safer and more conducive learning environment.

    Speaking at the renovation of the classroom blocks, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary (TG/PS), Education District Six, Mrs Amidat Anifowoshe, described the effort as remarkable.

    She pointed out that lack of conducive learning environment and parents’ lackadaisical attitude to their children’s education contributed to the poor results in the last West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and encouraged the public to assist government, through such initiatives.

    She said: “You (Israel Assembly) have helped to make life more comfortable and convenient for the children to learn and this is beneficial to the entire Lagos State, but not everyone is willing to do this. It is a remarkable improvement to the school. Government is unhappy about the recent WASSCE result, which I believe was compounded by the state of the school and we hope that with more of such projects, there would be improvements.

    ” The time these children spend with parents is very important also, because teaching is only complete when you see the children practicing what they have learnt. But the time they spend with their parents is militating against us in the school, as parents do not seem to be doing much. We need churches and other groups to help us advice parents. Government is spending to make sure we have good, reliable, efficient, leaders of tomorrow, but how are we helping the children to be useful in the future?”

    Mrs Anifowoshe, who said the commemoration of the classroom blocks was the first project carried out in her district since she assumed office less than two months ago, promised to ensure maintenance of the classroom block.

    Commemorating the event, Pastor of Israel Assembly, Dapo Awosika said a conducive learning environment in schools would help children do better and curb crimes in the society.

    He called on the society to engage in corporate social responsibility acts to uplift the nation.

    “The value of cannot be underestimated. Education is very important to any given society and when the environment is conducive, performance would be improved and we would not even need to pray too much for the children’s success. It would also help to curb crimes and remove jobless youths from the streets. It is high time churches, organisations and every one of us looked into the communities around us to see what we can do to take the youths off the streets,” he said.

    To the benefactors, he said: “I would only tell the children that there is nothing as good as being taught how to fish yourself.  So now, they have no excuse not to learn. if you are not committed to learning, the you are the architect of your own misfortune.”

    Awosika said more than N2 million was spent on the project, which was raised through donations from church members.

    Principal of the school, Mrs Oluyinka Fadeyibi assured the church that the classrooms would be well-managed and secured, saying: “teachers and class prefects would work hand-in-hand to make sure that hoodlums do not gain access into this place to vandalise our classes. And when the students destroy, we call in their parents to fix it, because the school has no money.”

    Vice Principal, Academics, Mrs Oluwatoyin Williams advised the children to learn from the good gesture of the church and strive to imitate such as they grow.

  • N6,000 international school opens in Lagos

    N6,000 international school opens in Lagos

    QUALITY education nurtures the mind and expands scope of opportunities for the educated but it is unaffordable for the less privileged, especially in rural areas.

    To close the gaps in opportunities for the indigent, Bridge International Academies berthed in Nigeria last week with the inauguration of two schools in two suburbs of Lagos State – Ijegun in Alimosho Local Government Area (LGA) and Igbogbo in Ikorodu.

    Its mission is to enroll indigent children to enjoy quality private education at a subsidised cost of N6,000.

    Co-founded by Jay Kimmelman and Ms Shannon May, Bridge International Academies is a group of schools established with the aim of giving over 400,000 children living in rural areas a world-class education as their peers in exclusive private schools.

    The inauguration of the schools in Ijegun and Ikorodu witnessed a large turnout of residents, who brought their children for enrollment at the schools.

    At the ceremony in Ijegun, the presence of ace comedian and actor, Hafiz Oyetoro, popularly known as Saka, drew crowd to the event, which had Director-General of the Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos Ministry of Education, Mrs Ronke Soyombo, and Chief Executive Officer of TW Magazine, Mrs Adesuwa Oyenokwe, in attendance.

    Other guests included chairperson of Nigeria Field Society, Robin Campbell, her husband, Hugh, Divisional CEO of Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services, Mr Mike Ogbalu, and representative of DEEPEN, Mr Adeyemi Adebayo, among others.

    Having successfully run the Academies for six years in Mukuru slum in Kenya, Ms May said there was the need to expand the opportunity to other parts of Africa and Asia.

    By 2025, she said, the schools would have trained 10 million children in several developing countries.

    Ms May said the schools would leverage on technology and economic realities to dispense quality knowledge at subsidised rate.

    May said: “The compelling case for this was the fact that, all over the world, poor children are likely to always under-perform their peers from affluent families, not because they are less intelligent, but because they are unable to access quality education.

    “We are in Kenya and Uganda to partner communities and government on this project. It surprised many people that the pupils we worked with were able to learn fast. We believe that the pedagogy approach to teachers’ training and the way we schedule the classes and how the teachers engage the children in activity-based learning can really help develop the children.”

    She said the success of the Academies in Kenya in 2009 led to the establishment of additional 412 pre-nursery and primary schools in different part of the country for the benefit of low-income families and wished the same to happen in Nigeria.

    Director-General of the Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs Ronke Soyombo said the Lagos State Ministry of Education was ready to partner with the founders of the Academies to make education affordable and accessible in education-disadvantaged areas of the state.

    The DG, who observed that an approval was given for the establishment of the Academies after assessment, said the ministry had reviewed the evaluation schedule to enable private and public schools to maintain the standard set by the government.

    Mrs Soyombo said: “We will not condone any teaching and learning that is not up to the standard set by the government. We have upgraded curriculum for the benefit of the pupils. We want care and guidance to be ingrained in our evaluation schedule, because we want to ensure every child is monitored and properly guided by the teacher.”

    Saka urged the parents not to jeopardise the future of their wards by keeping them at home, telling a story of how her father suspended construction work on his first house to pay his fees when he gained admission into university.

    She said: “Education is not money; but it is a key that will unlock opportunities, including money and every other thing we desire. I came from a poor background.  Because my parents struggled to send me to school, I can now have handshake with presidents and highly-placed people, who I think I could not have met. You parents must not allow your financial challenges to keep your children away from school.”

    The highpoint was the inauguration of the school building, which is located on Ibrahim Iyiola Street in Isheri Osun. The event also featured cultural display by the pupils and scholarship raffle draw, which had a Primary 2 pupil, Zikrullah Ambali, winning a year scholarship.

  • ‘We want our Chibok girls back in school’

    A representative of the Chibok community and secretary of the Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), Dr Mananseh Allen, has called on the Federal Government to ensure that the Chibok girls resume with other children for the new session this month.

    He lamented that many school children will be resuming this month but the Chibok girls or others in the Northeast would be denied the same privilege.

    The representative said the Federal Government should tell the public what it was doing so Non Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) could assist.

    Dr. Allen spoke yesterday in Abuja, after the usual sit out of members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG)  advocacy, who have been protesting the abduction of the Chibok girls over 500 days ago.

    He said the government was acting as if the problem was under control, noting that the world was shifting attention to the migrating Syrian refugees while forgetting the suffering internally displaced in Nigeria.

    “Federal Government has to speak out on what it is doing  to enable people and NGOs to assist. Right now, happenings in the Northeast is being overshadowed by the migrating Syrian refugees and in other parts while our people are forgotten’’, he said.

    “People have being displaced from their homes and livelihood for the past one year and till now, the government is yet to build an adequate camp for them; most  squat in people’s buildings and lands.

    “The children in Chibok and the Northeast have been unable to return to school for the past year, schools will be resuming tomorrow but they won’t have the privilege. We want our children back in school’’, Dr Allen said.

    ‘’Private schools in Borno have been in session but the children of the poor or IDPs, or even those in the local governments do not have the privilege of sending their wards to such schools; something really needs to be done.”

  • Shoprite lifts communities, school with donations

    Shoprite lifts communities, school with donations

    •Opens outlet in Festac Town

    Retail giant Shoprite has continued its Community Network in local communities in conjunction with Save Our Needy International NGO as it donates learning materials to the Progressive Nursery and Primary School in Festac Town, Lagos.

    The retailer which opened its new outlet in Festival mall Festac town of Lagos donated a set of chairs, tables, whiteboards and stationery to the principal of the school. The donation is part of Shoprite’s commitment to making a positive impact in the communities where they have stores.

    Speaking on its contributions to the school, Shoprite’s Festac store manager, Jide Ahmadu asserts that the donation forms part of the store’s CSR plans to impact their Community. “we understand the fact that learning materials are important because they can significantly increase students’ achievement by supporting their learning as well as assisting the teachers to efficiently perform their professional duties” “We also want a better life through Education for our youths that’s why we support early childhood development and also assist to create a conducive environment for learning” Ahmadu enthused.

    It would be recalled that the retailer recently partnered with the Kwara state waste management agency to drive the message of keeping the environment clean. In the same vein, it also organised a free breast cancer screening event in Ibadan and donated shopping vouchers to NGO’s in Kano and Abuja.

    The teachers and students of Progressive Nursery and Primary school expressed sincere appreciation for the donation and encouraged other well meaning organisations to emulate the gesture.

    Lagos state now plays host to five branches of Shoprite with the addition of the Festac store and brings to a total of thirteen stores spread across  as they continue to expand in the country.

  • School holds aptitude test Saturday

    The Topfaith Academy of Arts and Science (TAAS), Mkpatak in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, will on Saturday hold its aptitude tests for students for the 2015/2016 session of its one-year International University Foundation Programme (IUFP), International Degree Foundation Programme (IDFP) and two-year Cambridge A Level course.

    The exam will take place on the academy’s campus at Mkpatak.

    This was announced by the management at a briefing on the school’s premises.

    Chairman, Board of Governors of the Academy, Dr. Emmanuel Abraham, urged secondary school leavers and other applicants across the six geo-political regions to take note of the date for the test.

    Documents made available to the media showed that students undertaking Topfaith IUFP, IDFP and Cambridge A-Level programmes have the advantage of progressing to reputable affiliate universities and institutions overseas. Further, participating students have the option to select their preferred degree courses in world-class universities and institutions of their choice.

    In his statement, Programmes Coordinator of the academy’s A-Level/International Mr. Moses Udoudo, said incoming students would be glad to harness the institution’s infrastructure and staff capacity to actualise their dreams.

    He noted that the scope of Topfaith programmes has enabled the academy to bring strategic academic opportunities at global dimension to the reach of Nigerian students, parents and corporate organisations.

    Udoudo assured that Topfaith would explore modalities to maintain a competitive edge in the global academic arena.

    The next session of these programmes commences next month and qualifies students for fast-track, direct entry into leading universities overseas for a wide range of over 70 arts, technology and science courses, covering Management Studies, Medicine, Engineering, Computer/ICT, Aeronautic Technology, Law, Psychology, Accounting, Journalism/Media, International Relations/Development, Political Science, Theatre Arts, Tourism/Hospitality Management, and Criminology.