The Nation Newspaper

Tag: school

  • School graduates fifth set

    Tender Loving School (TLS), Ikoyi, Lagos, has graduated its fifth set of nursery pupils.

    The Proprietress, Mrs Olubunmi Egbeyemi, described the event as a milestone. She said it is good news that the pupils were transiting from nursery to primary school, noting that their success was as a result of hard work and diligence.

    Mrs Egbeyemi encouraged all schools to adopt the English curriculum because it is more of methodology.

    She said: “The English curriculum does not encourage pupils to cram. If they do not understand how to read, they are able to process so many things. The strength of the British curriculum is very key. We have seen that their approach is different and that way children learn without stress; and once you understand a concept it is so easy.”

    Mrs Egbeyemi also advised schools to adapt the British curriculum to the local environment.

    “What happens in most schools is that they want to adopt the English curriculum with its entire nuances.  We don’t want to teach them money in pounds or dollars, we want to teach them the Nigerian currency because at the end of the day this is where they will come back and work in future so we add the background of Nigeria curriculum to it,” she said.

    The TLS began as a pre-school in 2007 has included primary 1 and 2.

     

  • Lagos school eye screening records results

    Many parents came out to testify of how the Lagos State government rescued their wards from sudden blindness at the kick-off of School Eye Health programme in Education District VII which chose Owoseni Primary School, one of the schools in the district as venue.

    Mr Kehinde Adegbesan, whose daughter, Ireoluwa, developed visual impairment in Primary 5, said but for the alertness of her teacher, his daughter would have been dealing with “serious sight problem”, which he said, could lead to blindness.

    This was one of the testimonies at the event graced by the Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris, Dr Tofunmilola Shokunbi, and his counterpart in  Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, who was represented by Mr Kazeem Mohammed Muftau.

    Also in attendance was the District Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Mrs Iyabo Osifeso and officials of the Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area.

    Adegbesan said: “My daughter developed a sight problem during the first term but she never told me and her mother. It was her teacher that discovered and sent for us. This almost stopped her education because she could not see properly again. But the teacher advised us not to panic and gave us a form for free treatment.

    “We filled the form and took it to the General Hospital in Ikeja. The officials attended to us decorously. They told us the treatment was free. Although, Ireoluwa is yet to get the free glasses from the Lagos State government but we have been assured it would be ready soon.”

    The Lagos School Eye Health Programme was established in 2006 under former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to prevent blindness and provide free treatment to pupils with eye defects.

    The programme was scaled up by his successor Governor Babatunde Fashola with the training of teachers to carry out the eye screening tests every session to discover pupils with sight defects through the installed vision screening kits.

    After the screening, pupils with eye disorders and defects would meet eye experts deployed by the government for free correction and treatment.

    Over 92,000 pupils in Lagos school have benefited from this programmes, Dr Shokunbi said of the lot, she said, 2,882 pupils were discovered to have eye disorders and defects, adding that 549 pupils were given corrective eye glasses free.

    Shokunbi advised pupils not to hesitate to inform their parents whenever they feel unusual sight. She also urged pupils to read with bright light and not to expose their eyes directly to sunlight, saying such might result into impaired vision.

    Osifeso said the eye health programme had lowered the rate of school drop outs.

    “Instead of straining their eyes for not seeing what teachers are writing on the board, this programme gives them the opportunity to have their sight corrected and remain in school. If their condition warrants giving them corrective glasses, it will be given to them. And if it is drug, it will be made available for them free,” she said.

  • School appeals for infrastructure

    School appeals for infrastructure

    An appeal has been made to the Lagos State government to rehabilitate structures at the Abina Omololu Primary School, Surulere.

    Parents and teachers lamented the deplorable state of the infrastructure, which has forced some parents to withdraw their wards from the school.

    Abina Omololu is a merger of two schools, Abina Primary School and Omololu Primary School.  The junior pupils (nursery 1 to primary three) were housed in the structure on Abina Street, off Randle Avenue, Surulere. The senior pupils (primary four to six) were housed on Omololu Street.

    However, following the dilapidation of the facility on Omololu Street, the senior pupils were moved to Abina Street last September.

    A source at the school said efforts to get the government to intervene in the school did not yield the desired results.

    “We have written to the government many times but got no response.  We have been losing pupils because of the unavailability of a modern school structure.  We decided to relocate them to Omololu when we saw that many parents were taking their children away. Even the present structure is both small and dilapidated and we record injuries on daily basis while the pupils play,” he said.

    A parent, Mrs Ebolg Ike, appealed to the government to respond to the letters people in charge have written.

  • UNIMAID,Nursing School mourn as eight students die in road crash

    UNIMAID,Nursing School mourn as eight students die in road crash

    The University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) and Borno State School of Nursing lost eight students in a road crash while on their way to Abuja for the yearly Conference of Fellowship of Christian Nursing Students. They died when one of the three buses in which they were travelling veered off the road and raced into the bush. TAIWO ISOLA (300-Level Human Anatomy, UNIMAID) reports.

    Students of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) and Borno State School of Nursing are in grief. They are mourning the death of eight of their colleagues in a road crash, last Wednesday. Five were injured.

    The Nursing students were travelling to Abuja for the yearly Conference of Fellowship of Christian Nursing Students when they had an accident in Bauchi State.

    When the news hit both campuses, academic activities were disrupted. Students gathered in groups, discussing the mishap.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that over 60 students from both institutions left Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for the conference in three buses.

    It was learnt that the driver of one of the buses attempted to avert a head-on collision with a vehicle coming in the opposite direction, but lost control and somersaulted. The bus crashed into the bush.

    Among the dead was the president of Fellowship of Christian Nursing Students in UNIMAID, Edward Peter Mshelia, and Benita Wilson.

    The news of their death shook their colleagues, who recalled their last moments.

    In tears, Mary James, a 300-Level Pharmacy student of UNIMAID, said she saw the late Benita a few minutes before she embarked on the journey. “I saw Benita this morning when she was leaving the hostel for the park. She stopped by at my room and bade me goodbye. She promised to return by weekend. The next thing I heard was that she died in an accident. I wished she was not among the dead but I have not heard she is among the survivors.”

    The late Edward’s friend, Bitrus Dalori, said: “I was with him for about two hours on Tuesday night and I was the last person he saw before going to bed. As I left for the campus on Wednesday morning, I called him to ask about the journey; he told me they had already left Yobe State. I was happy they were out of the crisis-ridden area. After my lecture, I called him again but he did not pick up. I thought he was asleep. Several minutes after, I called him again but what I heard from the other end shook me. The voice said ‘sorry, we lost him’. Is this how people die? It is still like a dream to me that Edward is dead.”

    It was gathered that Edward’s sister, a student at the School of Nursing, was also among the dead.

    According to Janet Yagana, a student of the School of Nursing, the deceased were dedicated students. “But we accept the fact that there is nothing we can do about it,” she said.

    Ruth Edet, a graduating Nursing student of UNIMAID, said: “It is sad and my heart goes out to their families. We lost our president. Edward was focused and courageous. He was a blessing to the department. His death is a big loss.”

    Idris Mohammed, a student, said: “The students survived gun and bomb attacks in Maiduguri and Yobe, only to die in an accident on the highway. It weakens my heart that they had to die this way. They won many battles but they lost this one.”

    The deceased have been taken to their home towns for burial. The injured are still in a government hospital in Bauchi State.

  • Council distributes free school uniforms, books

    The Chairman of Ogori-Magongo Local Government Area of Kogi State, Maj. Olafimihan Akerejola (rtd.), has distributed free school uniforms, over 70, 000 textbooks and other instructional materials to pupils and other students across the area.

    During the presentation, which coincided with a thank you visit to the area by the Kogi State Governor Idris Wada, Akerejola also announced the commencement of payment of bursary to students in tertiary institutions in the area.

    Students studying engineering, law and medicine received N10, 000 each, while N5, 000 each is given to students in other disciplines.

    During the occasion, which had in attendance former Vice-Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria and Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede, Akerejola said the importance his administration attached to education informed its decision to embark on the gesture.

    His words: “Education from time immemorial has been the industry our people are known for. The prowess of our people in the field of education is universally acknowledged judging by the high number of intellectuals and academics from the local government area scattered around the globe. This is the more reason we cannot afford to toil with the sector.

    “Also, we undertook the renovation of 12-classroom and the administrative block at the Community Comprehensive High School, Ogori, to create a more conducive teaching and learning atmosphere in the school.”

    Wada, who performed the official tape cutting of the building, called on the council not to relent in its efforts at ensuring a better future for children of school age.

     

  • School heads retool at summit

    School Heads, who attended the National Head of Schools Summit (NAHOSS) organised by the Standard Mandate International (SMI) in Lagos, left the three-day summit re-energized to overcome challenges in their schools.

    Thanks to an array of topics that addressed pertinent issues in school management delivered by experts, who addressed the school heads at the Mainland Hotel, Oyingbo, Lagos. They now know how to be alive to their responsibilities.

    Mr Nelson Ayodele, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SMI, in his remarks, said it is important for administrators to benchmark their schools against others they desire to be like and adopt practices that help to give them a corporate outlook.

    He counseled them to regularly leave the comfort of their offices to know what is happening in the classrooms, playgrounds, dining halls and toilets.

    “At no point in time does a head of school sit for hours in her office without going out to check what is happening; and you will be shocked.  Go to the toilets twice a day and you will see how inefficient the cleaners are.  Go to the kitchen and you will see how unhygienic the food is.  You need to look at what your prospective customer that you desire to have look like.  You have got to move up to the next level,” he said.

    Speaking on ‘Developing Clear Instructional Goals and Common Vision of Effective Instruction’, the Principal, Noble House College, Abeokuta in Ogun State, Mr William Pope,  said to run a school effectively, administrators have to determine goals they must work towards.  To achieve their goals, he urged them to create a disciplined environment, entrench teaching strategies, and get workers to be passionate about their jobs.

    He also said parents should be encouraged to get actively involved in the education of their children.

    Other topics treated at the summit included: Cultivating Leadership in others by Maj-Gen S. A Adebayo of the Nigerian Army Education Corps & Schools; ‘Organisation Culture; Shaping a Culture Hospitable to Learning’ by Mr Lere Baale of Business School, Netherlands; ‘Nigeria: Improving Leadership Effectiveness: Lessons from Successful Schools’ by Mrs Adun Akinyemiju, Director, Dansol Educational Organisation; and ‘Managing People, Data and Process to foster School Improvement’ by Otunba Yomi Otubela, Chairman, Lagooz Schools.

  • Staff School fetes head teacher

    As Mrs Dorcas Akinduro bowed out as Head-teacher of the AAUA Staff Primary School, members of staff, Parent-Teacher Association, (PTA), and pupils of the school organised a befitting sendoff party for her last Wednesday.

    Those who spoke at the event described Mrs. Akinduro as an exemplary teacher, mother, God-fearing and administrator par excellence.

    The Acting Head-teacher, Mr. J.O. Ehineni, said her huge contributions to the development of the school would remain indelible.

    Mrs. Akinduro joined the then Ondo State University Staff School, Ado-Ekiti, in 1985 as a teacher.

    She acted as Head Teacher from 2000 to 2008 when she was confirmed as the substantive head.  She retired at 60 July last year after 28 years of meritorious service.

    In her response, Mrs. Akinduro, thanked God for seeing her through her service years. She appreciated the university management for giving her the necessary support.

  • Insurgency: Ondo CP seeks pact with school owners

    In a bid to secure primary and secondary schools in Ondo State, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Isaac Eke has called on the proprietors of schools to cooperate with the police command.

    The commissioner gave the advice at the stakeholders’ meeting with proprietors of schools and other security agencies, in Akure, the state capital.

    Eke, who noted that the issue of security should not be left with the security agencies alone, said the directive to hold the meeting  came from the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, adding that it was one of the efforts at tackling the security challenges facing the country in the recent times.

    The police boss urged the proprietors to erect high fence around their schools premises in order not to give room for intruders  to perpetrate criminal act, especially kidnapping of the pupils.

    He said: “I urge all school proprietors to instruct their security guards not to allow anybody to enter their premises to take away any child without any concrete identification.

    “The school authorities should not allow any student to roam about the streets during the school hours because there is tendency for students that are not in schools while others are in schools to join bad gangs. We have to be very vigilant on our wards.”

    He added: “There is a need for parents and teachers  to be checking the bags of these young children regularly.  On our part, we have been trying our best in this Command to ensure that cultism among the pupils of primary and secondary schools are checkmated to the barest minimum.”

    On the issue of social media, the commissioner also cautioned parents not to be buying phones that may expose their children to negative content of the internet so as not to corrupt them.

    He said school proprietors will be meeting with the Divisional Police Officers (DPO) of their areas on the issue of security while the police patrol team will visit the schools on regular basis. According to him, this will go a long way in checking the security challenges.

    He appealed to them to always feed the police with useful information that could lead to the arrest of criminals in their environment, saying security matters should not be left with police alone.

  • Free ‘admission’ school opens in Lagos

    Free ‘admission’ school opens in Lagos

    A new school that seeks to teach professional skills to students has opened in Lagos.

    Unlike conventional practice, the RCA School of Business will not be asking applicants to submit O Level, diploma/degree certificates, or United Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scores to register.  All they need do is to pay the fees stipulated for any of the eight courses on offer then start attending classes online.

    The RCA School of Business, an initiative of the Revival Assembly, Ogba, is partnering with the prestigious Regent University, United States, to run the programme.

    The courses on offer, for which successful graduates would earn certificates, include: The Art of Effective Negotiation; Time Management and Organisation for Managers; Emotional Intelligence for Effective Leadership Practice; and Managing Workplace Communication.

    Others are: Entrepreneurship and Business Launch; World-Class Consulting; Digital Media and Web Design; and Project Management.

    Dr Julianne Cenac, Assistant Vice President, Professional and Continuing Education, Regent University, who signed a pact with RCA on behalf of her university, said at a press conference that though taking the course does not require qualifications, students would only earn certificates if they complete their course work and take the required tests to meet the quality desired of graduates.

    “The scope of the programme is the professional end of continuing education. There are no entry requirements. We try to make it accessible to all.  It will be intense and taught by professors and the same business faculty that teach at Regent,” she said.

    Dr Cenac said to help students the school would live stream the classes on the internet twice daily.

    For those without internet access, the RCA would beam the live streaming in its Ogba premises.

    Speaking on the significance of the pact, President of RCA School of Business and General Overseer, Revival Assembly, Apostle Anselm Madubuko said the school was set up to equip people working in the formal and informal sectors with practical skills to achieve success in their fields of endeavour.

    He said: “It is about building up people and making them better.  The kind of education we live with in this country makes it difficult for young graduates to do many things on their own.  I will suggest that every young graduate should apply for the programme because it will help them do many things effectively.”

  • Kogi teachers may return to school soon

    •Govt begins payment of arrears.

    Teachers in Kogi State public primary schools may resume at their duty posts following the payment of salary arrears by the state government.

    Interim Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr. Stephen Akwu, said he is optimistic that striking teachers will soon return to work, since the board has cleared the arrears owed since September 2013 up to February.

    “We have almost completed payment of February salary and in the process, payment for January came up, and I don’t know how that can be, because we have finished with that.

    “But, I wish to say that within the last three weeks or so, thousands of teachers whose names were omitted have been paid. As I am talking to you, March salary is almost ready,” he said.

    Pupils have been out of school since last year because teachers refused to work.  However, Akwu absolved the government of being responsible for the situation.

    “We never stopped the children from going to classes, but teachers said they were not strong enough to teach because of non-payment of their salary. Some of them said that the pupils were stronger than they were,” he said.

    After settling the salaries, Akwu said the board would embark on a verification exercise to check the sharp practices of teachers who also receive their pay check elsewhere.

    “Teachers are supposed to be shining light and beam of hope, but unfortunately, like in other areas of the society, there are some bad eggs.  There are some teachers working in Abuja and collecting salary here. So, we are going to embark on verification. What you don’t have you can’t give; we are going to embark on verification of certificates,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the state government is yet to reach a decision on the discovery of 800 ghost schools it is funding.

    The sham was discovered by the old SUBEB board in 2012 after the state directed the office of the Accountant-General to set up of a committee to verify the number of schools in its care.

    Akwu declined comments, saying it does not have the Accountant-General’s report on the case.