The Nation Newspaper

Tag: STUDENT

  • Student loans

    •Low-interest loans will boost education

    One of the many challenges of Nigerian life is the huge difficulty that lies in the way of indigent students seeking to finance legitimate educational pursuits. In spite of the increased demand caused by the ongoing economic recession, the country’s student loans system is an inefficient mishmash of inconsistent service, high default rates and arbitrary policy.

    Reminding the nation of its obligations in this regard, Professor Friday Ndubuisi, the Vice-Chancellor of Christopher University, Mowe, Ogun State, has called on the Federal Government to establish a students’ loans board to help private university students to finance their education.

    With the advent of private universities, student fees can easily exceed N1 million a year. Even in the cheapest public schools, levies, dues and associated charges often approach N150,000, excluding accommodation and feeding.

    Few Nigerian universities have an established loans system for newly-admitted students. A few have scholarship schemes for their undergraduates who have met laid-down high educational performance targets. Banks and other financial institutions rarely grant loans for specifically educational purposes, instead choosing to offer dedicated savings accounts which require sustained contributions over a long period.

    Agencies like the Nigerian Students Loans Board are not as efficient as they should be. Information about the types of student loans on offer and the conditions governing their award is often hard to obtain. High rates of default and poor debt-recovery procedures have made it difficult to sustain the system.

    The end result is that needy students have no option other than to fall back on personal loans, inefficient state government bursary awards, and occasional philanthropy from individuals or non-governmental organisations (NGOs). With some 30 million students of its estimated 168 million population and a literacy rate of 61 per cent, it is clear that renewed efforts must be made to set up an efficient and equitable students loans system.

    Attempts at reform have included setting up a proposed Tertiary Education Fund and an Education Bank. The latter reached the second reading stage in the House of Representatives in May 2016. A Students Loans bill sponsored by Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila passed second reading last year.

    These legislative initiatives all aim at providing Nigerian students with reliable, low-interest loans with which to finance their education, as well as a fair, equitable and reliable means of repaying such loans. If they are successful, they would help to provide the new start the students’ loan system so badly needs.

    Schools would also be guaranteed a steady income from fees, enabling them to rehabilitate infrastructure and build new facilities, and ultimately achieve financial autonomy. Public schools would become less dependent on the charity of government.

    Fortunately, Nigeria now has the technological ability to monitor repayments much more closely than was the case before. The mandatory Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration process in banks enables funding agencies to track beneficiaries of loans and effectively sanction defaulters. Electronic banking procedures make the movement of funds seamless and dependable.

    As efforts to revive the students’ loans system gather pace, it is essential to remember that the huge demand for student financial assistance must be balanced against ensuring the long-term sustainability of the scholarship system. If the proper equilibrium is to be attained, there must be a fundamental alteration in the way these loans are administered.

    The new agencies proposed by the House of Representatives must not constitute another layer of bureaucracy in what is already an administratively-choked process. Financial safeguards must be built into their operation to ensure that they do not become another avenue for the promiscuous looting of public funds. Fully-audited accounts must be published when they fall due. Those who staff these bodies must be competent individuals dedicated to the efficient performance of their duties.

    Nigerian students have the intelligence and the commitment to attain their educational goals. All that they need is the guarantee of financial assistance.

  • Student goes missing

    A student of Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Mayowa Emmanuel Olamijulo, has been declared missing. The 300-Level student of the Department of Geophysics left home on March 27, and has not been seen since then.

    Mayowa was said to have boarded a bus from Ibadan to Ago-Iwoye, after his father dropped him off at Iwo Road bus station. He was declared missing when he could not be reached hours after and his mobile phone was switched off.

    His father, Mr Olamijulo, confirmed to our reporter on telephone that he dropped the missing student at the motor park, noting that he was yet to hear from him.

    The worried father went to the school to look for his son, but Mayowa was not found in his hostel.

    Mr Olamijulo said he had gone to the office of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to confirm if there was accident on the route, but said there was nothing of such.

    Office of Dean of Students Affairs urged members of the public to contact the father on 07031937092 if missing student is found. Mayowa is a students’ leader and constituency leader at the Faculty of Science.

  • Unilag student gets N500,000 bail for alleged gang rape

    A 17-year-old undergraduate of the University of Lagos (Unilag), Ugochukwu Daniel, who allegedly gang-raped a 17-year-old girl with others still at large, was on Thursday released on N500,000 bail by a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court.

    Chief Magistrate A. Ipaye-Nwachukwu, who gave the ruling, also granted the defendant two sureties in the like sum after he pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge of conspiracy, rape and sexual harassment.

    Ipaye-Nwachukwu said one of the sureties must be a relation of one of the defendants while the second surety should be a civil servant of not less than Grade Level 14.

    She said the case file should be duplicated and a copy sent to the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Anthonia Osayande told the court that the offences were committed sometime in January at High-Rise Quarters, University of Lagos.

    She alleged that the defendant and others at large conspired and raped the teenager (name withheld).

    “Daniel sexually harassed the girl with video clips in order to intimidate her. He had sexual intercourse with the 17-year-old girl without her consent,’’ she alleged.

    The offences contravened sections 137, 260 (2), 264 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015 (Revised).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 137 provides life imprisonment for offenders.

    The magistrate adjourned the case until May 18

  • IBBUL sex scandal: Lecturer, student to face suspension

    THE management of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), has recommended the suspension of the lecturer and student involved in a sex scandal that rocked the institution few  weeks ago.

    It will be recalled that a sexual scandal involving Malam Ishaq Yusuf, a teacher in the Department of English Language and Communication Studies, and a 400-Level undegraduate of the department, Chidimma Mercy Samuel, had gone viral on social media.

    The investigation panel set up by the management recommended the suspension of the duo.

    The panel headed by a Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof Samual Kolo Tswanya, which submitted its report to the Vice Chancellor, Prof Mohammed Nasir Maiturare, at the weekend, also recommended the referral of the principal suspects in the scandal to various disciplinary committees of the institution.

    The committee said 20 people, including the principal actors, were interrogated during its sitting.

    Maiturare thanked the committee for a job well done, adding that the recommendations would be studied and implemented.

    He said it had become imperative for the institution to remain focused and to produce high quality graduates who are worthy in both character and learning.

    He warned that the management team would not tolerate any misconduct by staff and students that could tarnish the image of the university.

  • Police arraign UNILAG student for alleged obtaining under false pretences

    A 32-year-old undergraduate, John Udoka, on Friday appeared in an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly obtaining N2.6 million under false pretences.

    Udoka of the Department of Marine Science, University of Lagos, was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on issuing a dud cheque, stealing and obtaining under false pretences.

    He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The Prosecutor, Sgt. Jimah Iseghede, said that the offences were committed on Sept. 29, 2015 at the University of Lagos Campus, Akoka.

    Iseghede said the accused had fraudulently obtained N2.6 million from Bolanle Ogundana under the pretence of supplying her 20 tonnes of sharp sand which he failed to do since 2015.

    He said the accused had gone ahead to issue a Guaranty Trust Bank dud cheque with No. 70304419 and had also gone to harass the complainant at her construction site.

    Iseghede said the offences contravened sections 166, 285, 312 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The Magistrate, Mrs K.A. Ariyo, admitted the accused to a bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.

    Ariyo said that one of the sureties must be a blood relation of the accused, and adjourned the case till Feb. 15 for mention. (NAN)

  • ‘How to revive student unionism’

    Mr. Jeff Onyeagbu is the principal cinematographer at the Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). He was one of the institution’s founding fathers of Students’ Union Government (SUG). In this interview with JAMES OJO (400-Level Mass communication), he speaks on the challenges facing students’ unionism in Nigeria and the way forward.

    What can you say about students’ unionism in the past and now?

    There are differences between the old SUG and today’s . I suppose this is due to the level of students’ interaction in the union. Then, there was a high level of students’ participation and interactions which constituted more solidarity. That solidarity was fired by the zeal for the oneness of the whole group. Students then wanted to make a mark in the sands of time and they put students’ welfare first. The first era of students’ unionism dealt with national consciousness. Then, they believed that whatever happened in the country affects everybody including institutions of learning.

    Students were not just concerned about their welfare, but about the whole country. You cannot get that today. In those days, the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) now referred to as the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) was together and there was neither faction nor tribalism.

    But gradually, the power attached to SUG began to reduce. It began to wane to state level and then to town level. Now it has reduced to just within the campus and even at that, some students are not conscious of their SUG president.

    What are the factors responsible for the dwindling fortunes of the union?

    I think two factors are responsible for students’ disinterest in the activities of the union. The first factor is the way the school authority regards SUG. How well does the school authority care about the SUG or is the SUG just there for fancy? Did they just set up the SUG because other schools have it or because they really care?

    The substance is lost.  The school authority does not allow the SUG to handle their money. That is the secret. If it is a government, it should have access to its treasury. How can people pass a budget blindly? To get money from the school authority is very difficult. At the end of the day, the speaker would impeach the SUG president and say that the president is corrupt, that he is not even sure of what he is saying. The economy of that office is not in the hands of the SUG president, hence, their powers; the substance of that office is diminished.

    Secondly, we should talk about the electoral process. During election, the school authorities want to choose their own candidate and these are people who would not really put students’ welfare first.

    Now, SUG functionaries who are supposed to come into office do not even know how to legislate in the House. When you see them, you would find out that the person is bereft of ideas. If one is able to have entrepreneurial ideas, that person will be able to oil some of the projects from entrepreneurial activity. He would carry himself with comportment; he would have the power of bargaining, the power of transaction and negotiation. The person can call the school authority and tell them that even though they don’t want to fuel their projects, it will be done.

    Today, look at the condition of students on campus. Whenever an SUG functionary becomes confrontational, they do something to his certificate.

  • Give us a chance, physically-challenged student writes

    For four years I have waited to make this request. So long it has been that it seems like an impossible quest now. Hence, I am on a special mission, not in a competition. I want your attention, not your ovation. I do hope to effect a change after this speech, but not by miracle. I will speak the truth like an oracle, because I have heard the voice of the neglected crying from the wilderness of isolation, with the depth of their pain piercing into the depths of the deepest oceans. After I fell from the staircase in my Hall of Residence and fainted, spent couple of days in Jaja and even missed my test, I felt it is time I asked the authorities of the University of Ibadan (UI) and the entire society to give us a chance.

    I have come to confront the society with the consequence of its silence; the silence that accompanies the notion that disability is inability. There exists a negative attitude and social taboo towards persons living with disability in many parts of the world, including Nigeria. This has hampered the physical and mental development of this special group of persons.

    According to EFA Global Monitoring Report in 2011, majority of the children with disability in Africa do not go to school at all. And of the 72 million primary school-aged children out of school worldwide, one-third of them have disability. Discrimination is as old as human society itself.

    For instance, in the days of old, some characters are consistently described with their disability so much that history eventually forgot their names. In the Bible, we read, ‘the woman with the issue of blood’, ‘the lame man at the pool of Bethsaida’ and ‘blind Bathemeus’. I cannot remember the number of times I have wondered if the surname of Mr. Bathemeus is actually the word “blind”.

    Unfortunately, the discrimination against these special persons survives in intellectual environments. On November 28, 2015, Premium Times, an online newspaper, reported the expulsion of Miss Jane Ottah from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), because she has speech defect and hearing impairment.

    Our very own University of Ibadan (the first and the best) is not totally left out of this business of insensitivity to the needs of the physically-challenged. The builders of our legendary Trenchard Hall never thought a student like me, sitting in a wheelchair, will ever have to give a speech tonight. Hence, there is no provision for a ramp for me to get to the stage.

    We have our entire textbooks beautifully printed in English, but we forget that we have blind students who need braille machines to read them. Worse still, the fact that the Department of Special Education sits comfortably on the second floor in the Faculty of Education causing great discomfort to the physically-challenged students in that faculty.

    I can only stay in my white and black as a law student to imagine the shame and pains these students go through everyday while their disability is being emphasised as they are carried like bag of rice to their classrooms.

    I am not here to point accusing fingers, neither am I saying that the university has done nothing. All I am saying is that, we can do more. There is always a room for more. We pretend to feel, understand and share the pains of physically challenged persons, but our actions speak the opposite because we don’t. I am not asking for preferential treatment or pity on behalf of special persons. No. All I am asking for is that, special facilities needed by special students should be provided so that we don’t feel like we are less human being.

    I was a little kid about four-six years old when one of my mother’s friends advised her never to take me back to school, because, according to her, sending a disabled boy to school is a waste of time and resources. But, my mum declined. That term, I failed woefully. I came 22nd out of 32 pupils in my class. But my mom looked me in the eye and told me: “You are an intelligent boy”. She died two years later when I was eight years old. She did something I will never forget; she gave me a chance and that’s why I am here today.

    Therefore, I have come to plead with the authorities to give us a chance. We have disability but we are not liability to this society. We are not a majority, but our interest is also a priority. We do not need your pity or sympathy, just show us a little more of empathy. We do not need a special consideration, just change your perception about our condition.

    When you give us a chance, you would have given us the opportunity to contribute to solving the problems of the society and not become a problem to be solved by the society.

     

    Adeyemi, 400-Level Law, UI

  • Graduating student hacked to death at ABSU

    A fresh graduate of the Abia State University (ABSU) in Uturu died during a clash with a security guard at an off-campus last Tuesday. The victim, Maxwell Okpubo, was said to be a dreaded cult member.

    Trouble started at 6pm when the late Maxwell visited Pentagon Lodge located closed to the school to see his girlfriend, identified as Dammy. On getting to the hostel, Maxwell met a group of boys discussing in front of the hostel. He allegedly asked one of the boys to help him notify his girlfriend he was around. When the boy refused, Maxwell allegedly slapped him.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the security guard, whose name was given as Philips, requested Maxwell to leave the compound. Infuriated by the guard’s statement, it was gathered that the late Maxwell pounced on the gatemen and a fight broke out.

    An eyewitness, who declined to give his name, said Maxwell reached for a sharp iron rod and hit Philips, injuring him at the stomach. Philips, it was learnt, ran into his room to pick his dagger and stabbed Maxwell to death. Philips, who is to be receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital, claimed he killed Waxwell in self-defence. It was gathered that the late Maxwell celebrated his 25th birthday last October.

  • LASTVEB, firm sign MoU on technical students’ conference

    The Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Trantouch Ltd to organise a conference for students of the five technical colleges in  state next month.

    The Technical Students Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Conference (TECHSEEC) is the brainchild of Mr Collins Uwadia, CEO of Trantouch Ltd, and an alumnus of Government Technical College, Ikotun.

    Uwadia said at the signing at the LASTVEB headquarters in GRA, Ikeja, that the conference would expose about 6,000 students of technical colleges to best practices and opportunities in the skills sector by bringing them in contact with seasoned experts, both local and foreign, in a five-star venue.

    He also said the students as well as firms in the technical/vocational sector would be able to showcase their creativity through a product exhibition that would feature as part of the event.

    During the conference, three lucky students would win slots to get trained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); and afterwards, about 1,000 final year students of the colleges would also get opportunity for three to six months of training in graphic design, basic computing, business writing, GSM repairs, social media engagement, customer relationship management to be provided by three seasoned ICT firms.

    “This initiative was borne out of passion and my experience, having being privileged to work locally and internationally in the technical field,” he said.

    Lauding the initiative, Director, Technical and Vocational Education, Mr Laolu Oguntuyi, who signed the MoU as Acting Secretary of LASTVEB, said the board needed private sector partnership to boost the quality of training the students  so that they can be relevant in the work place.

    “I am happy about this programme because it will correct the poor perception about Technical and Vocational Education.

    “All of us know that there is inadequate linkage between the educational institutions and industry. This training would bridge the gap,” he said.

    CEO of Rhoda Michael School of Fashion, Mrs Rhoda Agbeyo, who chaired the organising committee for TECHSEEC, underscored the need for Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) training. She said it was not inferior as evidence of its usefulness was demonstrated in increasing number of graduates seeking training at her fashion school.

    “This is what Nigeria needs right now. We have so many graduates in Nigeria without skills. I am a graduate/masters holder who is back to vocational studies. Now I am a teacher of many students at Rhoda Michael School of fashion, who are graduates

  • Student launches book service

    Student launches book service

    A new book delivery service, Streem, has been launched in Lagos by an undergraduate.

    The Founder is Tejumade Adeyinka,  a  200-Level Economics student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    Tejumade said she was inspired  by the need to help resolve the difficulties parents face in searching for textbooks for their wards.

    She said she was determined to use the service to meet the needs of “busy” parents and professionals who will prefer to have textbooks and inspirational books delivered at their doorsteps.

    Tejumade said the difficulties her mother passed through in her secondary school days spurred her to find solutions to the problem.

    “When I was in secondary school, I was usually given a list of books to be used at the beginning of a new session and my mom would pass through a lot to purchase these books from several bookstores.

    “But now, I’ve realised that every parent is on the move and one hardly has a stay-at-home mom or dad anymore. We recognise this and felt there’s a need to bring to parents a fast and convenient way to purchase books for their children and importantly, have these books delivered at their doorsteps,” she said.

    On how Streem service works, Adeyinka said: “Customers are expected to send a message to streemng@gmail.com with a list of books they would like to buy.

    “After, we’ll send an invoice based on the price list that we currently have. After approval, we agree on a delivery location as well as a mode of payment- which can be either cash on delivery, online transfer, full payment before delivery or half payment before delivery.”

    On how she got the inspiration for Streem, she said it came while she was in secondary school, adding that the likes of Sunkanmi Aladenaye as business partner has helped the idea  materialise.