The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Students

  • Students invent products, hold exhibition

    Students invent products, hold exhibition

    Students of Nigeria Tulip International College (NTIC), Ogun on Thursday showcased their inventions as the school held its 2017/2018 ScCultural Art Exhibitionience Fair and Cultural Art Exhibition.

    The students exhibited 80 different products at the programme, tagged: ‘Science Discoveries: Human Advancement’.

    Mr Ercan Yilmaz, the College Principal, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the event was geared toward encouraging the students to show their talents.

    Yilmaz said that the students, through the exhibition, explained areas where scientific discoveries have contributed to comfortable living and advancement of the human race.

    According to him, so many entrepreneurs and industries within its environs have been able to grasp and develop some ideas and innovations that help their investment grow.

    “With this, the nation in turn will benefit; the various chemicals used to produce different substances and materials are exposed to such industries, which some of them now use for their production.

    “Through the cultural display, we are showcasing unity in diversity,’’ he said.

    Yilmaz said the event cost millions for material, service rendered and logistics, but the consolation is the fact that the students are better for it, which is more important.

    “At the science fair, students explain some discoveries and equally answer questions.

    “They get to display or exhibit what they have learned in laboratories, classes and even in various practical lessons.

    “This serves the co-curricular purpose, while the extra-curricular activities are the presentation of plays and dances from different parts of the country and a number of cultural art activities.

    “Skilful production of artworks also forms part of the exhibition”.

    The principal said that each exhibition stand of the students would be rated.

    He said they would be credited, and those who did not do well would be queried for an explanation of what went wrong.

    A parent, Alhaji Ayinde Gaffar, hailed the college for the yearly initiative and commitment to making the fair better, educative and innovative.

    Gaffar said the fair had been a source of inspiration to the students and promoted their intellectual and mutual understanding.

    NAN reports that the students, displayed items and materials such as the magic mirror, liquid soap, paper-made Automated Teller Machine (ATM), chemical substances, toys, games, fabrics and accessories among others.

    They also entertained the audience with drama, dance and songs from different tribes.

    Several schools within Lagos and Ogun States were also present to grace the occasion and be enlightened.

    The Nigeria Tulip International College was formerly called Nigeria Turkish International College.

  • OAU PG students accuse management of dismissing colleagues

    •VC: we’ll resolve issue 

    Some postgraduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) at Ile-Ife in Osun State have accused the management of victimisation.

    Addressing reporters at the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Osogbo, Osun State capital, leader of the students Andrew Segun Oguma said four members of the students’ committee who spearheaded the agitation against an alleged exploitation were terminated on the excuse of late payment of their last semester tuition fees.

    According to them, while other students, who had not paid ay their school fees were given till December to do so, members of the committee were dismissed.

    The students noted that despite several meetings and apology letters to the management and the PG College, the Provost of the College, Prof. Gbenga Alebiowu, insisted that “the apologies were not in conformity with his dictates”.

    They said: “The postgraduate students, on two different occasions, (aside other countless individual attempts) met with the provost of the college in interactive sessions within the hall of residence to extensively discuss our challenges.

    “After series of communications with the provost, which all proved abortive, an official letter on our demands, dated September 12, was sent to the vice chancellor and this was also ignored.

    “On September 26, there was a meeting of postgraduate students’ committee and the provost, which ended in a stalemate. Yet, he requested that the matter be rerouted and addressed to his office, rather than through the vice chancellor.

    “On September 27, postgraduate students collectively submitted the requested letter to the provost with a week timeline for response. During the one-week timeline, the responses we got were decision extract that addressed nothing in our requests but put the students in more frustrating conditions.

    “Directives were tailored towards putting undue pressure on students by compelling them to pay all outstanding fees, else the termination of studentship; termination of four committee members studentship among whom are students who have done final oral examination and another who the Senate had sat on his result.

    “All this response emerged just because we appealed that students should no longer be charged fees after the final oral examination.

    “Putting all of these efforts together, it is glaring that we, postgraduate students, have exhausted all meaningful internal mechanisms which have unfortunately yielded no positive result.

    “However, it has become a truth that the provost is not ready to critically consider our demands nor yield to appeals coming from different quarters but hell-bent on ensuring that students are continually exploited and made to unsparingly suffer.”

    Contacted, Prof. Alebiowu refused to comment on the matter.

    He advised our correspondent to speak with the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the university.

    Also, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, in a text message on the matter, said: “Sorry, I am presently outside the country attending a summit on higher education. The termination was because the students did not pay their fees and were also insulting.

    “However, the issue is now being resolved as the students have written a letter of apology. The PG College board will meet next week.”

  • Sterling Bank trains students on savings culture

    Sterling Bank Plc has educated students in Lagos on the importance of developing the habit of saving from a very early age as part of the 2017 World Savings Day (WSD), which was celebrated recently across the globe.

    The main focus of the programme, which was organised by banks in Nigeria at the instance of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is to increase awareness of the importance of savings as a path to financial empowerment amongst Nigerians.

    Senior officials of Sterling Bank facilitated the programme at Our Mother Mary Schools (OMMS) located in Ejigbo in the Alimosho Local Government of Lagos State with about 200 students participating in the programme. This was also replicated at Broadway Schools located in Surulere, Lagos with about 50 students in attendance.

    Mrs. Eniola Obe, regional business executive of Sterling Bank, (Ikeja and Beyond), who led the team, noted that savings could be defined in different ways: income not spent or set aside, the act or instance of cutting costs, excess income not spent, income minus consumption and money that is kept in a bank or similar financial institution.

    Obe, who was represented by Mrs. Shola Ogudiji, Branch Manager, Dopemu Branch of Sterling Bank, also explained that there are several reasons why people save money. They include the need for financial independence, unforeseen circumstances, for accommodation, to get out of debt and for retirement among others.

  • 7 students arrested in Kano for culpable homicide

    7 students arrested in Kano for culpable homicide

    Police in Kano have arrested seven students of Government Technical College Ungoggo in Kano State in connection with alleged killing of their colleague on Saturday night.

    The Police Public Relations Officer of the command in the state, DSP Magaji Majiya, confirmed the arrest of the suspects in Kano on Monday.

    He said that the deceased, Mohammed Ali, a final year student, was reported to have been killed by the suspects following allegation of sodomy against him.

    According to him, the suspects allegedly invited Ali at midnight on Saturday and beat him to death.

    He said “the suspects were said to have invited the deceased around 11.30 p.m. on Saturday and allegedly killed him.”

    Majiya added that four of the suspects had made confessional statements, while investigation was ongoing to ascertain the extent of their individual involvement.

    “We are also waiting for result of the autopsy conducted on the deceased by medical authorities at Waziri Gidado Hospital in Dala Local Government Area,” the police PRO said.

    He added that the case had been transferred from Ungoggo Divisional Police headquarters to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation. (NAN)

     

  • Drug abuse: Unilag gets test kit for students

    Drug abuse: Unilag gets test kit for students

    In a bid to check drug abuse on campus, the University of Lagos has provided a drug test kit in its medical centre to examine students suspected to be on hard drugs.

    Prof. Rahaman Bello, outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the institution, confirmed this at a forum with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Bello said that the initiative was necessary because drug abuse was on the increase in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

    “Drug abuse is a major problem for every institution, particularly, those in the cities. We have gone ahead in the University of Lagos to address it .

    “With the test kit, anyone who is suspected, his or her urine or blood depending on what we want to do, is collected for test.

    “The thing about drug is that when you take it, it will be in your blood for a longtime , so you cannot say , I did not use it once the test kit detects it.

    “Before, we start using the test kit , everyone we picked denied using drug since we could not find any evidence, ” he said.

    According to him, with the test kit, the university has been able to pin down victims, but granted them amnesty.

    He said that although the university’s regulation provided that any student found dealing with drug should be expelled, the management had to warn and rehabilitate them.

    “With the rehabilitation, the victims are given two or three semesters to ‘get clean’. By this, we mean they will visit the medical centre on monthly basis to get tested.

    “If after two or three visits, you are found clean, we will admit you back to the system, if not you are sent out.

    “This we do not to unnecessarily punish them, but to assist them to find a way to regain themselves,” he said.

    Bello said that about 100 students of the university was detected to be using hard drugs in 2016.

    “One hundred out of over 50,000 students,(35,000 – full-time and 15,000 to 17,000 -part-time) may seem insignificant, but to us, one person on drug is a problem to the university community .

    “If the individual is not stopped, he or she will influence so many others,” he said.

    On cultism, Bello said that it was a cankerworms in the education sector as examination malpractice and drug abuse.

    He said that cultism affected even secondary schools and sometimes primary schools.

    According to him, some institution in cities such as University of Lagos would need to intensity efforts to check cultism because they were located in infested communities.

    Bello said that the university’s management kept a watch on cult activities through intelligence network.

    “We get to know once anything comes up, and we nip it in the bud. We may not have completely wiped off cultism but it has been drastically reduced, ” he said.

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    Edited by Ijeoma Popoola

    Posted in General |

  • Civil Defence uncovers sex workers’ ring among students

    Civil Defence uncovers sex workers’ ring among students

    •Arrests 10 ward heads for alleged fraud

    Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) command in Borno State said yesterday it had uncovered a sex workers’ ring in colleges and tertiary institutions.

    The Commandant, Mr. Ibrahim Abdullahi, in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri, said the suspects were aged between 25 and below.

    He added: “The sex workers have their facilitators and a chief pimp outside the schools, who communicate on how to arrange them. They charge from N10,000 and above for a night.

    “The sex workers don’t go out looking for men, as they are patronised by visitors, who come into town for weekend or for a programme.

    “Our investigation shows the teenagers are into nefarious activities, such as smoking cannabis sativa and abuse of Codein cough syrup.

    “We appeal to parents to monitor their children. Bad friends cause this anti-social behaviour.”

    The commandant, who said the suspects would be prosecuted, urged school authorities to monitor students.

    NSCDC said it has arrested 10 ward heads in Maiduguri for alleged land grabbing and swindling.

    Abdullahi said most of the heads had perpetrated more than five land fraud, with the connivance of civil servants.

    He said: “The culprits take advantage of people who don’t check up on their land.

    “Whenever they notice that a land owner is not around, they make fake papers and sell the plots to unsuspected individuals.

    “There are instances where one plot is sold to five or six persons. They change their names during fraudulent transactions.

    “We will get back the money of the people they have defrauded and arraign the suspected ward heads.”

    The commandant said the Dispute Resolution Department of NSCDC recorded

    38 cases of land grabbing allegedly perpetrated by ward heads in two months.

    He advised the public to be wary of persons disguising as land owners, as some were out to defraud people.

  • Bank advises students to cultivate saving culture

    The management of Skye Bank Plc has charged students to cultivate the culture of savings, if they want to become responsible adults.

    At its ref and win promo and famous campus storm taken to tertiary institutions across Nigeria, the bank said the financial independence of youths is most paramount in order for them to achieve the desired socio-political and financial self-reliance.

    Speaking at the grand finale of the campus storm at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the Head, Retail of the bank, Mrs. Ayodele Olojede, said “the promo is aimed at putting our youths in the line of savings and the best way to get that done, is to get them sign on with this Skye  campus plus account.”

    According to her, there could be no better time than now to encourage students to develop the culture of savings, more so there is a clamour in the country for active participation of youths in politics.

    She said Skye Bank considers very imperative, the activation of the campus account saving package and financial literacy for students in tertiary institutions.

     

  • US trains 460 students, teachers on robotics

    The United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria, in collaboration with RoboRave International, a US-based robotics education academy, has begun a week-long robotics workshop for 460 elementary, secondary and university students, STEM teachers, robotics enthusiasts, and scientists.

    Holding at the American corner at the Co-Creation Hub (CCHUB), Yaba, Lagos, it will end at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Complex, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    The workshop seeks to boost technology education by engaging the participating students in hands-on robotics activities to stimulate their interest in mathematics and science as well as careers in the STEM fields.

    One hundred robots will be donated to participating schools in Lagos and Ogun states, many of them with little or no experience in robotics. This is expected to provide the students and their teachers with an opportunity to put their skills to use on the completion of the training.

    The US Consul-General, F. John Bray, explained that the US Mission was supporting the capacity building workshop in hopes that participants will be inspired to work collaboratively with the aid of technology to create innovative solutions to shared global challenges.

    “In a world that is becoming increasingly technology-driven, it is more important than ever before for our youth to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to become innovators, educators, researchers and leaders, who can solve the most pressing challenges facing our world, both today and tomorrow.

    “We are honoured to support this initiative, which promotes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects collectively known as STEM in Nigeria,” Consul-General Bray said.

    Programme partner and Director RoboRAVE Nigeria, Mr. Kingsley Imade, explained that the training sessions would be facilitated by an international faculty, including RoboRAVE International Director of Global Programmes Russ Fisher-Ives and RoboRAVE North American Director, Brian Montoya.

    According to him, the sessions, focusing on robotics designs and programming, will provide a platform for teachers to learn how to implement the STEM approach in the educational process via practical scientific activities throughout the training days.

    “An education to develop robotics skills places students on track to develop such STEM enabling competencies like critical and computational thinking, collaboration and creativity that have life-long advantages,” Director, RoboRAVE Nigeria, Kingsley Imade, said.

     

  • A nugget as we commemorate the world students day

    A nugget as we commemorate the world students day

    There is a popular saying that “the moment you stop learning, you start dying”. Therefore, the subject of learning is a never-ending journey; one that is embarked on regardless of status, age or skin colour. Who is a student? By definition, a student is anyone who studies a particular academic subject or a student is one who is seriously devoted to some subject whether academically or not.

    From the writer’s point of view, a student is anyone with an open mind to acquire knowledge for things they do not know; especially of novel tasks and experiences.

    Taking a cursory look at the learning processes in our institutions of higher learning, we would readily recognise the banal and mechanical way of teaching and learning between lecturers and students. It is as if the students in the classroom are some robots that operate by “garbage-in, garbage-out”.

    Students are not machines that can be easily programmed and then expected to work accordingly. They’ve got flesh and blood; minds and hearts. Like Albert Einstein said, “if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will feel stupid for the rest of its life”. So, it is important that our curriculum and teaching methods be adapted to the students, and not just one-size-fits-all.

    According to A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM, “Every child is shaped by the mind of the teachers”. Therefore, teachers should learn to encourage, speak positivity to their students and make them realize nothing is impossible to assimilate.

    More also, the use of foul languages on students, give them reasons to think ill of themselves. You should understand that there are two (2) types of students seated in the class room.

    One of which are the fast learners; they are quick to learn, understand and even assimilate before the teacher hits the nail on the head. The other categories are the slow learners; they find it difficult to assimilate quickly like former. They need things to be broken down in smaller pieces before they can assimilate.

    Interaction and communication play a vital role in the teaching process; therefore, teachers should ensure that everyone is following and not face the “brilliant” ones in the class.

    An advice to parents and guardians, please avoid comparing the skills and abilities of your children; doing that makes them feel down casted and begin to doubt their abilities.

    How many times do you as a parent assist your child when he or she needs to do his or her assignment? How many even create time for their children to talk about issues bothering them? How many as much as notice or pay attention to the emotional needs of their children, especially when they get unnecessarily silent?

    Encouragement, love and care are the things that a child needs. Children need you around whenever and wherever the need arises; they want to turn around and see you behind them, giving them words and reasons to press forward. Let them know that with hard work, consistency and perseverance, success will definitely come.

    Students! You need to realize that nothing comes easy and that hard work pays! A.P.J. Abdul Kalam whose birthday, the United Nations declared as world students day says “man needs difficulties in life to enjoy the success”.

    Also, our very own Tai Solarin (of blessed memory) said, “may your road be rough”. Please don’t get it twisted, that was not a curse, but a silent reminder of the vicissitudes of life, and the ubiquitous benefits it has.

    Therefore, expect difficulties because after that comes success. Those “unpleasant words” we get from both our parents and teachers are for the betterment of our lives.

    Their intention is to push you to strive harder to become someone great in life. If you don’t seem to be getting the encouragement that you expect, don’t get discouraged…encourage yourself by doing those things that secures your future.

    You start by planning your future from now because excellence is a continuous process not an accident. Start now to create a better future for yourself and put on the “I can do it” attitude…truth be told – YES YOU CAN!

  • Four OAU students suspended  for criminal activities

    Four OAU students suspended  for criminal activities

    The authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife, have suspended four students of the institution over criminal activities and breach of the code of conduct for the university community.

    According to a statement by university’s spokesperson, Abiodun Olanrewaju, the students are OMOLE, Ibukun Ayodele of the Department of Civil Engineering; JACOB, Tosin Grace, Faculty of Law;  UDEH, John, Department of Arts and Social Sciences and OLUWALADE, Babatunde  of the Department of English.

    The students were said to have led some other persons in protest and violently disrupted academic and extra-curricular activities of the University by forcefully chasing other students out of the lecture halls under the guise of demonstrating against an alleged unsatisfactory power supply to the campus.

    Together with other persons, they also  vandalised commercial transport vehicles of the members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Ile Ife, and drove two other vehicles and a Cabstar van, fully loaded with their groups, to More Police Station where other students, who were been interrogated by the police, were forcefully released by their group.

    The statement further said  that the criminal aspect of the students’ conduct would be referred to the police for appropriate action, adding that the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, upon careful review of the facts and circumstances of the matter, has come to the conclusion that the students involved be suspended from the University in the interim, pending police investigation.

    However, the statement said the concerned students have been ordered to vacate the campus and are accordingly forbidden to participate in any activity of the University, either within or outside the campus.