The Nation Newspaper

Tag: schools

  • Polls: Fed Govt, others meet over schools

    Polls: Fed Govt, others meet over schools

    Minister of Education Malam Ibrahim Shekarau has summoned an emergency meeting with commissioners of Education and stakeholders in education over the general elections.

    The development followed insinuations from different quarters that government was planning to close schools during the polls.

    The meeting, which is expected to begin this morning in Abuja, will deliberate on whether or not to close schools before the elections.

    Shekarau, who said this in Abuja at the weekend during a dinner with reporters and heads of education parastaters, said government would do everything possible to secure students and schools.

    His words: “I am summoning commissioners of Education and other stakeholders in the education sector to Abuja for a crucial meeting on Monday morning. And we will be discussing if there is any need to close schools and when will that be.

    “People should not carry any rumour about this as government has not taken any decision on this. There should be no tension as government will do everything possible to avoid crisis. The meeting is very important just as we did during the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) saga.”

  • ‘Schools must fight cultism’

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has urged the management of Gregory University, Uturu (GUU), Abia State to ensure that bad behaviours in other institutions do not spread to the institute.

    He spoke at the third matriculation of the university where 142 students took the matriculation oath into seven faculties namely: Humanities, Natural and Applied Sciences, Management and Social Sciences, Basic Medical Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences and agriculture.

    Orji, who was represented on the occasion by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof Nta Agwu, said: “Bad behaviours we hear in other institutions should not be in this university. There is zero tolerance for cultism and other bad acts in this state. The university management must ensure that cultism does not exist.

    He advised the freshers to follow their dreams and shun vices that could destroy their future.

    “There is no short cut to success. The amount the Chancellor has invested in this sector is encouraging. Students should manage resources and help their parents in these trying times of the economy.

    Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie, lauded the university’s progress.

    The NUC boss, who was represented by the Director, Physical Planning, Mr Bola Balogun, urged other private universities to emulate GUU.

    The Chancellor/Proprietor of GUU, Chief Gergory Ibe, said he established the university because of his passion to see more Nigerians get educated.

    He said: “I turned my weakness to strength in terms of education because I did not go to regular school like everyone was going. The only thing I chose to do well is education I thought of what to do to improve myself and others. I touched every aspect of education in trying to make a success. Starting a university education is something you must have a passion for.”

    Ibe said the government should also assist private universities  through grants from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

    GUU’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Juliet Elu, told the matriculating students that the varsity does not tolerate examination malpractice and other vices that promote cheating and reward for work not done.

    “The university authority will be firm in confronting all forms of anti-social behavior wherever it is found. I urged you to resist any overtures to join groups that operate clandestinely and canvass or promote violence and deviant deleterious behavior. Avoid groups that aggregate members of the student’s body with lower than expected woeful academic performance and seek to lure them into bad acts,” she warned

     

  • Schools marks silver jubilee

    Schools marks silver jubilee

    In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the Home Science Association Secondary School (HSASS), Alakuko on the outskirts of Lagos will inaugurate a borehole in its host community, Saka.

    The borehole is donated by the Home Science Association (HSA), founder of the school as part of its corporate social responsibility.

    The event which holds today at the school hall will also feature the inauguration of the e-library donated by the school’s Parents Teachers Association.

    Minister for Communication Technology, Dr Omobola Johnson, and her counterpart for Culture and Tourism, Edem Duke, are expected to grace the occasion.

    At a briefing to announce the silver jubilee, Mrs Folashade Bakare, President (HSA) said the association was formed by group of women home economists who are passionate about giving quality academic foundation for Nigerians.

    The primary arm of the school started in Ikoyi in 1961. As a result of the yearning of parents, the immediate past president of the association, Mrs Folashade Olatunde, said the secondary school was added on January 29, 1990.  It started with seven teachers and 57 pupils, and relocated to the permanent site in Ajegunle, Alakuko, in 1993.

    Mrs Bakare said the school has won many awards including: Examination Malpractice Free School, Centre of Sport Excellence in 2010; and second best student in the 2014 PZ Chemistry Challenge.

    Mrs Olatunde urged the government to expedite action on the road leading to the school, and provide water for the community.

    The principal, Mr. John Olokose, said the school built a bridge behind the school for the community to access.  The silver jubilee celebration will end with a thanksgiving service tomorrow in the school hall.

     

  • Land grabbers take over public schools’ land in Ibadan

    Land grabbers take over public schools’ land in Ibadan

    Many public schools in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have lost part of their premises to land grabbers who have erected private properties, including factories, on what used to be school farmlands and football pitches. BISI OLADELE and OSEHEYE OKWUOFU report that many of the school have shrunk in size. Besides, the cries of the authorities and old students to halt the invasion and reverse the trend seem to have gone

    Eyinni High School, Methodist High School, Christ High School, Abbey Technical School and Liberty Commercial Secondary Academy are popular public secondary schools in the Orita Challenge area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Apart from their locations in the same axis of the ancient city, the schools which boast of rivalries in both academic and sporting fields spanning over five decades, share many things in common, including the sheer size of their premises, dating back to the 1960s when they were established by either the Church or private businessmen.

    Each located on large expanse of land measuring several hectres, their very large premises, housing many blocks of classrooms, hostels and sporting arenas, which were major attractions to parents and students in the past as they offered opportunities for both physical and academic development are gradually giving way to private properties leaving the schools a mere shadow of their glorious past.

    The private properties have sprang up on the schools’ premises in the last two decades or so due to the activities of land grabbers who in the absence of any serious challenge from government have encroached on the schools’ land and sold them off to private developers.

    This development is causing sleepless night for the authorities at the Oyo State Ministry of Education who are sweating to address the threat posed by these land grabbers to premises of public schools, not only in Ibadan but in other major towns in the state.

    Equally concerned are members of the old students association of these schools who have risen to the challenge posed to their amalmata by these land grabbers who are daily feasting on the unused portions of land of the schools as properties add value yearly.

    But they seem helpless because law enforcement by the government seems weak. And they are not being helped by the bureaucratic bottleneck that slows down decision-making within the government.  Besides, principals of public schools are unable to handle land grabbers given their position as mere civil servants who are not expected to be directly involved in some matters outside their official duties.

    Encouraged by these complexities, land grabbers, particularly children of the families who originally owned the land on which the schools were built, are prowling on large portions of unused school land without let or hindrance. This has gone unchallenged for several years.

    The result is that many of such schools have shrank in size over the years, and are now surrounded by residential buildings standing tall, sometimes forming a ring around the schools.  Such buildings also include factories, poultry farms and cottage industries. Some of the schools have been forced to adopt the option of erecting a fence to protect the remaining small portion as well as their students.

    However, the serene school environment originally created when they were established has been lost as residences form a ring-like structure around them.

    For some, the land grabbers have taken over their farmlands where students were taught practical farming, while some are unable to further expand through addition of more buildings because there are no more spaces for such. Yet, some are unable to offer sporting activities needed for the physical and psychological growth of children and adolescents having lost part of their sporting fields to land grabbers.

    At Eyinni High School, after over five acres of its land had been grabbed in the last 30 years, graders were rolled into the school compound a fortnight ago, clearing another large portion of land beside its football field.  When accosted, the suspected grabbers stood their ground, explaining to their challengers that the land belonged to their family.

    “How can this land in a school compound belong to an individual?” The challengers asked. The man, simply identified as Mr Olofe, replied that the portion of land was not part of the piece sold to Chief Jonathan Odebiyi, who established the school in 1966. The school was taken over by Oyo State Government in 1976.

    The graders worked there for days, clearing and leveling the land in preparation for sale to interested buyers. Local sources said the grabbers have approached them for purchase of the land if they were interested.

    According to old students, the foundation of the school was laid in 1968 with a total land mass of 14.79 acres. But today, Eyinni High School’s compound has been reduced to only about five acres, with residential houses and a factory surrounding it. The old students disclosed that the houses within about 500-metre radius to the north and eastern areas of the school stand on the school’s land. The buildings include a poultry farm, which they said was among the first to encroach on the land.

    One of the old students said: “Most of the houses between the old Toll Gate on the Ibadan end of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the school compound belong to the school.”

    Asked if any family has ever come forward to claim the land since inception of the school, he said: “No family has come up to claim any portion of the land till date. So, no portion has been ceded to anyone or any family by reason of court judgments. Nobody has also applied to use any part of the land officially. The land grabbers just jumped on the land and erected buildings of their choice without the school’s approval.”

    But the source recalled that old students once challenged the owner of the poultry farm when he wanted to expand further, forcing him to stop the illegal action.

    According to him, the old students association wrote a petition to the Ministry of Education in 2013 officially bringing the encroachment to government’s notice but that the letter attracted no response. He said government only visited the school after an open letter by the association was published in a national daily. Even after the commissioner’s visit, no action had since been taken.

    As at now, no fewer than 20 buildings stand on the school land.

    The association is demanding a reclaim of all the plots taken over by grabbers and stoppage of further encroachment. Its National Secretary, Pastor Bayo Olugbemi, also confirmed the claims in a telephone interaction with The Nation.

    The situation is worse at Liberty Secondary Commercial Academy, Kolomi area of the city. The school, which was established in 1961, initially sat on a 10-acre land but which has diminished by about 40 per cent. Its former hostel, which was converted to Community Primary School, also recently has a large portion of its land taken over by a businessman who is currently fencing it for construction of a hotel, a source said.

    At Christ High School, Oleyo, about half of the original land has fallen into the hands of a family through a court judgment. The development forced the school to confine itself to the remaining portion though it affected their farmland for practical Agriculture. The school was established in 1966.

    Abbey Technical School also at Kolomi, was also established in 1961. A reliable source disclosed that the school started on a land spreading over 16 hectres. But today, residential buildings have virtually taken over about 70 per cent of the land, confining the school to a small portion.

    At the Methodist High School, at the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the case of encroachment is not different. A large expanse of the school’s farmland totaling over eight acres has been encroached. A close neighbour, owners of a privately owned tertiary institution, was accused of taking over the school farmland since 2004. According to a source close to the school, the principal had written several letters to the state Ministry of Education for a redress and eventual return of the land.

    “It was a big problem we have been having here. We realized that we have been facing some very powerful individuals in the society. The very day we confronted them, I mean the day they were about erecting fence over the land in question, the officials of the school went with them, but we were shocked to hear from one of the high officials of the university that none of us could stop them from erecting the fence. As am talking to you, the school has no land to be called farmland for practical agriculture”, the source said.

    However, investigation by The Nation revealed that after several efforts by the school authorities to salvage the land failed, the initial owners of the school, the Methodist Church of Nigeria have waded into the matter.

    “The church has done all the necessary talking with the authorities of the university to persuade them to reason on the evidences tendered by the church on the true ownership of the land but it seems that they are not yielding,” the source added.

    Also, the Old Boys Association of the school was said to have intervened in the tussle with a view to retrieving their parcel of land where many of them had their agric practical decades ago The National President of the association. Dr Joseph Fadeyemi Akinrinmade, admitted that at a point, the association took up the fight over the encroached land but later had to withdraw when the Methodist Church of Nigeria stepped in.

    The Church, it was gathered later took the institution to court over the alleged encroachment, praying for an order for the university to vacate the land.

    “The case is already in court and I have withdrawn as the representative of the Old Boys. So, the case is now between the Methodist Church of Nigeria and the university. So, I can no longer comment on it because the case is already in court, “Dr Akinrinmade said.

    When contacted, the Oyo State Government admitted that it got reports from many schools in the state whose land was encroached. It was learnt that virtually all the schools in state is battling with the problem of encroachment.

    The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Solomon Olaniyonu, said necessary action was being taken to redress the challenge as the ministry is abreast of the situation.

    Speaking with The Nation Olaniyonu said on the Eyinni High School , the authorities of the school have been charged to remain alert pending the erecting of pillars by the Surveyor General’s Office and subsequent construction of a fence by the government to put a permanent boundary on the school’s land.

    “This is the second time they would be there. Avian Poultry was there last year. Another set of people are there again. So our Ministry of Lands, Surveyor General Office and the Urban and Regional Development Unit are already coming there to fix our pillars so that we will be able to ward off intruders.

    “So, we have written those concerned. They are the ones who will help us fix the pillars so that we can now look for assistance in erecting a fence around whichever one is our own portion of land of the school there”.

     

    unheeded.

  • Daodu seeks ways to improve schools

    The Chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs Gbolahan Daodu, has urged all Quality Assurance (QA) officers in (SUBEB) and the 20 Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) to re-strategise ways to improve the performance of public schools.

    She said this at the training of the QA officers in evaluating and grading schools appropriately held at the SUBEB Hall, Maryland.

    The SUBEB boss said there was a need to review their activities in 2014 and learn from the lapses and achievements in order to evolve a new method that will help improve the quality of schools.

    She noted that since the introduction of QA officers into the education system in 2009, schools have enjoyed cordial relationship with QA officers (former inspectors), making school managers to be at ease to discuss rather than hide problems.

    She also said that it has improved the teaching and learning outcomes, evident in the good results recorded in the Lagos State Placement Test for Primary Six pupils transiting to JSS1. In 2012, she said 75 percent pass was achieved, which increased to 95 per cent in 2013, and over 96 in 2014.

    Since then, she said care has been taken to prepare lesson plans, benchmark learning outcomes, and make teaching more pupil-centered.  Teachers’ skills have also been enhanced through various training programmes.

    However, Mrs Daodu said that with the huge investment in teachers, she expected much more from them.

    “When we visit our schools we want to hear more on what the pupils are acquiring; it should be more on what are the children doing; what are they learning.

    “We know infrastructure is key we are trying our best to put that in place, beyond that what makes education effective is the ability of our teachers to impact greatly in the pupils, which the evaluators must put first. We have spent a lot money on our teachers and it will be annoying that when competence is called we are found wanting,” she said.

    She added that things that are bad in schools should be better reported by them rather than outsiders.

     

  • Not all about good schools

    Whose fault is it that pupils are not doing well? The government’s? The schools? Teachers? Parents? To experts, parents should take a larger share of the blame because many of them have left everything in the hands of the school. This, they say, should not be so, reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

    When examination bodies release poor results,  teachers, schools and government are often blamed for not doing enough.  However, educationists say a lot depends on parents if pupils must do well in their education.

    While good schools, good teachers and a pupil’s commitment are important, parents are expected to combine all these ingredients to achieve success.

    Asked to give reasons for the poor performance in the May/June 2014 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in which the national average was 31.28 per cent, Mr Charles Eguridu, Head of National Office (HNO), West African Examinations Council (WAEC), said it was unfair to blame failure solely on the school when parents abdicate their responsibility as the first teachers.

    “We are quick to place the blame on the doors of the school or the government.  In those days, parents found time to supervise students, check their home work. Today, parents are busy looking for money.  But we cannot abdicate our responsibility to teachers. Those who excel in life are those who do things others cannot do,” he said.

    Researches have shown that children whose parents monitor their education perform better.  In their book: “Home-School Relations: Working Successfully with Parents and Families,” Glenn Olsen and Mary Lou Fuller referred to Henderson and Berla’s (1994) work, which reviewed 85 studies that documented the positive benefits of parental involvement in their children’s education.

    “This and other studies show that parent involvement activities that are effectively planned and well implemented result in substantial benefits to children, parents, educators, and the school,” the book said.

    The Michigan Department of Education factsheet on parent’s involvement gathered research data showing that children with committed parents “get higher grades, are more likely to graduate, have better self-esteem, lower rates of suspension, less trouble with drug abuse, less violent, and twice as predictive of students’ academic success as family socioeconomic status.”

    Despite such researches, many teachers complain about lack of parental interest in their children’s education.  A study by Eizabeth Apebende, Bassey Akpo, Idaka Idaka, and Akaase Ifere, all of the Department of Educational Foundation, Cross River State University of Technology (CRUTECH) published in the African Research Review of 2010, found that few of the 500 parents studied in Calabar Municipal Area were committed to their children’s education.

    They said: “From the findings of this study, it is concluded that parents have not been very responsible to their obligations towards their children’s education. They are in positions to impact on children’s education through the provisions of threat-free psychological home environment, educational materials and ensuring that the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme is successfully implemented. They need to complement the work of the teachers by supervising and monitoring their children’s academic activities.”

    With high-achieving children more likely to have parents who have high but reasonable expectations from them, experts advocate that parents should start intervening in their children’s education early.

    According to a medical doctor, Peter Olonade, that this nurturing precedes the school years.

    “Children that receive nurturing between 10 and 18 months and at two help the child towards the tendency of curiosity that boosts intelligence,” he said.

    Once they are in school, Mrs Oluwayemisi Oloriade, Principal of Wellspring College, Isheri, Lagos said parents must devote time daily to attend to their children’s school work.

    “Parents have a lot on their hands because these children are exposed to many things in their absence.  If we are available for them, we teach them the right things.  A day should be devoted by the mother/father for the children,” she said.

    Proprietress of Rockcleft School, Surulere, Lagos Mrs Titilayo Odutola, faulted some parents who believe that paying a lot of money could replace their supervisory role in their children’s education.

    She said: “A lot of parents don’t monitor their children’s education because they think once they have paid school fees, that is all.  Research shows that parents are the best teachers of their children.  This is because children know their parents’ body language and can easily accept what they teach them.”

    The lawyer-cum-educationist said there is a difference in the performance of children monitored at home and those without guidance.

    “There will always be a difference between children that are supervised and those that are not.  For instance, if a child takes homework home, and the parent can just sit down with the child and put that child through, what that child would learn would be more than that of child without such help.  Of course that child will be losing something every day,” she said.

    Vice Principal (Academics) of Jextoban Secondary School, Lagos Mr Bamitale Jude Ogunkola, said in his 13 years in the school he has seen both types of parents.

    “We have parents that are very committed to the success of the children – in terms of discipline and performance.  Some parents don’t care about the performance of their children.  All they are after is that he is moving from one class to the other, not minding the academic performance.  But some are very keen.  Some will come to the school, check out their children.  If the teacher asks them to buy anything, they are ready to sacrifice anything for the success of their children.  And for such parents, they smile at the end of the day.”

    Ogunkola, however, noted that some self-motivated children are able to excel despite lack of parental supervision.

    “We have seen students who are on their own, not minding whether their parents cared or not.  They set goals and they achieve it, coming out brilliantly in their exams.  In 2012 or so, one of the students that we least expected came out as the best student on her own she’s been reading.  These students can spring surprises,” he said.

    Notwithstanding, he insisted that parental supervision is key.

    He said: “I will say parental supervision helps.  Imagine a child that comes up with a performance that is far below average, the parents cry out foul, not just deal with the child – but coming to the school; they want to know why the child is not performing; they come to school and say, ‘please help me to see to this child’.  He or she will have to work on the child at home, while the school does its part.  By the time the school is working here and the parents are working there, the child will have no place to hide; he will have no option than to come out and perform.”

    Mrs Esther Fabelurin, a nurse, is glad she monitors her children’s education. Last month, a Senior Secondary, SS3, her first child, Fehintoluwa, pupil of Maverick College, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, came first in the UBA Foundation National Essay Competition for Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria and won a N1 million scholarship.

    The mother of four said she is dedicated to Fehintola’s education.

    She said: “I was so dedicated to her. Instead of employing a teacher, I did the training at home, and when she was around two to three, I started teaching her two letter words and so on.  Right from when she was in play group she has been coming first.  Throughout her primary school, she came with lots and lots of gifts and presents.”

    Mrs Fabelurin advised parents not to sacrifice their children’s education for money.

    “I will advise all parents to take good care of their children; draw them closer and not depend solely on teachers. That’s what I did, though it was strenuous. I did not have any housemaid and the resources was not even that buoyant but despite that I just believed that education is the only legacy I can give. If I said I should rush to have a building of my own or whatever, after the building, and the child is not educated, it won’t be good.  I suffered at that time.  I couldn’t buy many things my friends had.  But I am happy I made that decision,” she said.

    Dr Yemi Ayeobasan of the department of educational psychology, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka believes that parents pay more attention to their children at the pre-school and primary education level than the higher levels of education, which he said is not good enough.  He said the level of dedication they give to young pupils should be maintained till tertiary level to avoid decadence.

    He said: “In my own opinion, at primary level, parents are quite involved in their children’s education because of the young age.  They show care whether they are educated or not.  You even see poor people, even a roadside vulcaniser, taking their children to private schools.  But once they get to secondary school and the tertiary levels, they reduce such commitment.

    “If they show the same care at secondary level and tertiary level, it would have been better and we won’t have all the crisis we have in our schools today.  When you lay a foundation and you don’t maintain it, there would be problem.”

    He advised parents to get closer to their children, no matter their ages.

    “You must know your child psychologically, morally, emotionally, in all ramifications,” Ayeobasan said.

     

     

  • SON sets new bus standards for schools

    In line with its effort to reduce the rate of casualties involving mostly school children, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has developed new standards/rules or guidelines for school owners with regard to the kind of buses schools across the country would use in conveying students to and from school.

    The Ota Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Assistant Corps Commander Sunday Omafu, revealed this at the public enlightenment campaign organised by the command for proprietors of private schools.

    He said the standards were set in a bid to reduce the number of casualties involving school children due to lack of standard school buses.

    He said: “The guidelines have become necessary in order to satisfy the urgent need or demand for minimum requirements for school bus operation in Nigeria.

    “The guidelines were ratified by the Technical Committee for School Bus Standards with reference to national and international regulations and guideline as well as inputs from relevant stakeholders across the country.”

    He said the guidelines for school bus operation specify operational and personnel requirements for operating school bus services in Nigeria.

    He said a school bus is a large vehicle that takes students to and from school or on school-related trips. School bus drivers are persons who are professionally trained to operate school buses, while school bus assistant, according to him, is a qualified or licensed driver that acts as assistant to conduct the students on the school bus.

    School bus operator, he said, is an entrepreneur who acquires an approved school bus type and engages in the business of conveying students to and from school. Operators’ permits, according to him, are documents which certify the technical and managerial competence of an entrepreneur to operate a school bus.

    On types of school bus, he said there are many types which include types A, B, C, D and E, which the SON approves.

    Type A bus accommodates 18 people, including the driver and his assistant. Type B, he said, is an extended capacity bus that accommodates 22 people including the driver and his assistant, while type C accommodates 28 people, including the driver and his assistant, type D bus accommodates 35 people, including the driver and his assistant.

    The school owners are at liberty of choosing any of the types of buses enumerated above that suits their needs.

    Omafu said: “The school buses are to be uniformly coloured and the exterior is to have a yellow background with two white stripes three centimetres spaced by two centimetres, running from the bonnet upwards across the roof down the back end.

    “The exterior must have the name of the school, the logo, serialised code on both sides and at the front view of the bus and must be conspicuously marked ‘school bus’ above the wind screen close to the roof.

    On requirements for drivers and assistants, he said the professional school bus drivers must be medically fit, pass alcohol/drug test, pass mental health and acuity test and must have no criminal record or indictment or jail terms, he must have a minimum of five years driving experience, junior school certificate (JSS3) or trade test II certificate as minimum academic qualification, he must possess a valid National driver’s license, operating license/permit which must be valid for three years and must not be transferable.

    The in-service training/on the job programmes, such as knowledge of routes and child psychology, seminars, workshops or conferences must always be organised for school drivers and assistants.

    “Mandatory rest period must be encouraged among the drivers and assistants; which might be between beginning of classes and the time the students will be conveyed back to their various homes,” he said.

    Omafu said the school bus operator must acquire a comprehensive insurance that will cover both the buses and the occupants of the vehicle from a registered insurance company by National Insurance Commission.

    School bus operators with up to five vehicles in its fleet must establish a safety unit and appoint a qualified safety manager to head the unit, to ensure drivers, assistants and parents are educated on safety measures to be observed while pupils board and alight from a school bus.

    Any public investor interested in school bus operation is advised to acquire appropriate bus type and enter into contract agreement with school proprietors for this purpose and must, however, comply with the provisions of these guidelines.

    The Nigeria Industrial Standard, according to him, has said any bus intended for use as school bus in Nigeria must meet the stipulated interior, exterior and mechanical standards.

    Omafu advised school owners to start working on the guidelines to avoid arrest when enforcement of the guidelines begins.

    The Unit’s Head, Desk Information Officer, ARC Adebola Babalola and Staff Officer, Public Enlightenment Department, ARC Temitope Ogundimu, enjoined parents/school owners to always ensure the safety of their children/wards right from home and school.

    A representative of Golden Flourishland School, Iyesi Ota, Mrs Akinwande Funmilola, urged the FRSC to stress this sensitisation exercise to the National Association of Proprietors of Nigeria (NAPPS), to ensure compliance.  While Mr Isiaka Ayinde from Jacobs High School, Ifo, appealed to government to make roads motorable, noting that no school or parents wish to be carrying children in rickety vehicles.

  • Schools learn to cope with insurgency

    The Exam Ethics Marshals International (EEMI) gathered heads of primary and secondary schools located in the insurgency at the Nugget Hotel, Abuja last Friday to learn how to keep their pupils and workers safe from the activities of insurgents.

    At the event, 1,350 Safe School Kits endorsed by the United Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) were distributed to 114 schools, State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB), National Union of Teachers, Nigerian Institute of Teachers, Nigerian Union of Journalists, and State Emergency Management Agencies in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, which are currently under emergency rule as a result of Boko Haram insurgency.

    Each primary school got 13 kits, while secondary schools were given 10 of the kits.  The other institutions got one each.

    Founding Chairman of the EEMI, Mr Ike Onyechere said the kit, consisting of a Safe School Manual, Video DVD and Audio CD on security tips, as well as a bottle of hand sanitizer, was the result of research conducted years ago which revealed that schools would need education on how to manage insecurity.

    He said: “In Exam Ethics, one of the things we do is that once every five years, we conduct a SWOT analysis of the education sector.  It is part of our strategic think tank moving forward.  And we say what is going to be the major challenge.  And in 2010, one of the things that we had on the top of those challenges was safety and security.  And when we came back from that 2010 conference in Ghana, we took the report to the government.  And we made a proposal that we need to prepare a situation where the administrators of schools have the skills for best practices in security and so we need to prepare.  We were able to convince the police, the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ministry of Police Affairs to work with them.

    “So we started what we call the Safety and Risk Manual in 2011.  It was on until 2014 when the Chibok thing happened.  It became a wakeup call for us to hurry up with it, so we fast tracked it.  We were able to launch it at the National Universities Commission on August 1.  It was at that event that UNESCO came and they were very impressed that this is the first document they can see in Africa where there is an organised body of knowledge for schools to know what to do in emergency situations and promised to work with us.”

    In her speech, Prof Hassana Alidou, Director, UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja, who was represented by Mrs Ifeoma Amanze, Head, Education Desk, UNESCO, said the agency got involved in the donation of the kits because of the need to intervene in the emergency created by the insurgency in the north.

    She praised EEMI for coming up with the manuals.

    She said: “UNESCO is a member of the Child Protection and Education working group for North-East established in May 2014 as a result of the need to coordinate development responses aimed at ensuring access to education under safe schools initiatives and the restoration of the protection rights of children in the north east.

    “We are also working with all the UN Agencies in Nigeria to intervene in North East through an integrated support package within which this donation is supported.

    “We commend the Exam Ethics Marshals International for painstakingly developing the manual and kit. We know you are here today, not only because UNESCO wants to make this donation but because you are committed to exploring and engaging in every discourse that would bring back normalcy in your communities including schools and education institutions.”

    Presenting a paper titled: Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness Tips and Best Practices for School Administrators, Principals, Teachers, Students, Parents and Other Stakeholders, Major Gen Mathias Efeovbokhan (rtd) gave the participants practices they could incorporate into the school administration to protect them as much as possible.

    Many of the participants lauded the workshop and suggested it should be organised in all the affected states to reach all stakeholders involved.

     

  • Yero retools schools

    Yero retools schools

    The ugly face of schools in Kaduna State is giving way, thanks to the Mukthar Ramalan Yero administration. The policy of fixing the schools, according the Director General, Media and Publicity to the governor, Ahmed Maiyaki, is to tackle deficiencies in such key areas as manpower, infrastructure and construction. The institutions are being equipped and stocked with books and scholarship awarded to graduate and post-graduate students.

    As part of this effort, the government recently approved post-graduate scholarship worth about N800 million in foreign universities. Concerned about the delay in the completion of the Kaduna State University Teaching Hospital to offer clinical training for students of the state owned university, the government, according to Maiyaki, has entered into partnership with the International University in Kampala, Uganda where 29 students from the state University are currently undergoing their clinical training.

    He said, “29 medical students from the state university have already enrolled at the prestigious International University in Kampala, Uganda for their clinical studies as part of the MBBS programme. The second sets of beneficiaries have emerged and would be sent to reputable universities across the World to acquire additional qualifications for the purpose of improving the human capital of the state”.

    Maiyaki told The Nation that following the sack of some unqualified teachers in the state and the directive to others to upgrade their qualifications or leave the service, the government was concerned about the gap being created in the the teaching service in the state and made move to fill those gaps.

    He said, “I am sure that you are aware that the last administration carried out a verification of teachers and discovered that some of the teachers in the state were not qualified. Some of those teachers were asked to go and upgrade themselves while those who could not be redeemed were asked to go. The exit of those teachers created a vacuum which needed to be filled. So, in order to fill that vacuum, the government, in the last few months, employed over 1,800 teachers while providing training and retraining for teachers in the core science subjects.

    “The State Government has entered into collaboration with the National Teachers Institute (NTI) for the training and retraining of its workforce in the areas of science based subjects, diploma qualification and regular Teacher’s Summit in partnership with other development partners annually. This was aimed at improving the atmosphere of teaching and learning. This is already yielding results with improvement in results of candidates that sat for major examinations in the State.

    “In 2014, Kaduna State emerged third best in the country on the list of States with the highest number of students that passed the West African Examination Council (WAEC) organised Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

    Students from the state also performed to the pride of the entire nation at the International Quiz Competition held at Bangkok, Thailand and other international and local debates and quiz competitions”.

    The state university, he said, has enjoyed a lot of attention from the present administration in the state. He explained that the law setting up the university made it a dual campus institution, stressing that this made the development of the Kafanchan campus of the university as important as the main campus.

    He dismissed claims that the government was not interested in developing the Kafanchan campus, adding that the Yero administration has committed a lot of resources to the campus which houses the Faculties of Environmental Studies and Agriculture as well as the School of Basic Studies. Other projects already completed in the university include the development of Kafanchan Campus for take-off of Environmental Sciences and Agriculture programmes, rehabilitation of various classroom blocks, conversion of existing hostel blocks to academic office buildings, rehabilitation of residential quarters, construction of Multi-purpose complex, construction of Convocation Square, construction of various model twin lecture halls. development of  Faculty of Science Phase II, development of Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, development of university library, development of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences building, development of Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences complex, Faculty of Arts building complex and 500 sitting capacity Lecture Hall and Entrepreneurship Centre.

    He said that the government was determined to fully develop the education sector in the state and has began the construction four new science secondary schools in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The schools to be located in Koreye in Sabon Gari Local government, Manchok in Kaura Local GovernmentAarea, New Millennium City in Chikun Local Government Area and Rigachikun in Igabi Local Government Area will cost about $17.2 million. When completed, the schools are expected to train students from the state in science and technical subjects. In addition, the government, he said has built two more Tsangaya schools in Jere and Birnin Gwari area of the state as part of efforts to take almajirai out if the streets. These schools are expected to compliment the first Tsangaya school established by the government in Sabon Barki Local Government Area and named after the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

    He said further that “Governor Yero also approved N90m for the purchase of computer science equipment for senior secondary schools, which was distributed in March. Government also plans to increase students’ bursary and a committee has been constituted to assess and improve allowances of students. The government, through the Universal Basic Education (UBE) expended over N1.2 billion on Whole School Development Strategy in 46 primary schools across the state renovating and constructing classrooms, toilets and offices for primary schools as well as junior and senior secondary schools across the state”.

     

  • Schools shut in Adamawa as moves to free Mubi suffer setback

    Schools shut in Adamawa as moves to free Mubi suffer setback

    A joint operation of the military and Mobile Police units known as Operation Guerilla yesterday failed in their bid to recapture Mubi, the home town of the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Sabundo Bade, from the grip of Boko Haram

    Members of the joint operation, who departed Yola in high spirits are camped at Pakka near Maiha but have been unable to overrun the sect three days after arriving Pakka, which is about 7 kilometres from Mubi.

    Soldiers are also said to be camped at Mararaba, about 6 kilometres from Mubi, and are making frantic efforts to gain access into the insurgents’ hideout with a view to dislodging them.

    The troops, led by a general, were said to have moved to Pella, about 80 kilometres from Mubi, to join forces with Operation Guerilla to flush out the insurgents.

    A resident of Mararaba, Miss Phebe James, said: “There is the presence of stern and heavily armed soldiers manning the roads leading to Vimtim, Mubi and Michika towns, which are under the control of Boko Haram insurgents.

    In the mean time, most primary and secondary schools in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State have been shut down indefinitely over fears of possible attack by the sect.

    Fears in the city were heightened by an attack on Ashaka Cement where the insurgents were alleged to have carted away large dynamites and explosive devices.

    The outlawed group had earlier declared their intention to overrun Yola.