The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Students

  • Shun vices, HOD tells students

    Head of Department (HOD) of Mass Communication of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr Abigail Ogwezzy, has warned students to shun misconducts.

    Dr Ogwezzy gave the counsel while addressing freshers during an orientation organised by Mass Communication Students’ Association (MSCA).

    She told the freshers that they got a had rare opportunity to study in the school, saying they must not engage in vices, which could lead to their expulsion.

    The HOD said: “There are so many vices and dangerous trends students engage themselves in. Some people fraudulently collect money to help students manipulate their results. Don’t fall into their hands because they cannot help you with anything. You must not join them or seek for their help. You all have equal access to your lecturers. Our offices are open for you. Feel free to come to us and explain your challenges.”

    She advised the students to explore all open avenues to maximise their stay on the campus, imploring them to exhibit the highest level of discipline. She added that the school has zero tolerance for misconducts.

    Dr Ogwezzy said: “Ensure that you make good use of your time on things that are productive. Try as much as possible to avoid procrastination. If you procrastinate, you have yourself to blame at the end of the day. You have freedom to engage in anything but you must be careful not to lose focus.”

    Other guests, who spoke at the event, included The Nation Online Editor, Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, Head of Output, Television Continental (TVC), Mr Adedeji Ajayi, and the best student of the department, Godwin Iretomiwa.

    They also advised the freshers to be diligent and show positive mindset towards their studies.

     

  • 620 part-time students matriculate at PTI

    620 part-time students matriculate at PTI

    THE Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun in Delta State has matriculated 620 Industrial Continuing Education (part-time) students.

    Its Acting Principal Mr Jacob Orukele said the students should count themselves lucky that of the 1300 students who applied for admission in the 2014/2015 academic session, they were among them.

    He advised them to be focused and be serious with their studies to make it. Orukele said: ‘’Time, they say, is a resource, which should be used optimally to strive for good grades. To achieve this, you must draw a line between academic and social activities.’’ He warned that to shun vices and be disciplined.

    ‘’You must be disciplined. It is the hallmark of the oil industry for which you are being groomed. Management, therefore, does not encourage any type of social vices and deviant behaviours, such as drug abuse and peddling, cultism, examination malpractice and unlawful protest on campus.”

    He said there was need for the students to acquire relevant skills to complement their academic qualifications to enable them compete in the labour market.

    PTI, he said, was founded to actualise the then Nigerianisation policy of the government, now known as Local Content, by training middle and high level manpower to take over from the expatriates in the oil and gas sector.

    ‘’The concept of local participation in the oil and gas sector activities, which provides at least 80 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings has since been in the front burner. To facilitate this drive, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGID) Act, 2010, was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan on April 22, 2010 to provide the needed impetus to build local capacity and value addition to the economy,’’ he added.

    When the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is passed Orukele said PTI’s  by the National Assembly, role in content development would be further enhanced. He said the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), has equipped the institute with state-of-the-art facilities to train manpower.

    The part-time programme, he said, started in 1995 to assist workers, adding that its curriculum is not different from that of full time.

     

  • Be diligent in your studies, students told

    Be diligent in your studies, students told

    The Registrar of International Institute of Journalism (IIJ), Mr Olusola Afolabi, has urged new students of the institute to shun vices capable of truncating their career. He said they must show diligence towards their studies.

    Afolabi spoke last Friday during matriculation and oath-taking held for new students admitted by the institute for 2014/2015 academic session in Ado-Ekiti campus.

    The Registrar said: “As journalists in training, you are expected to conduct yourselves properly, avoid vices such as cult activities, violence and examination misconduct. I also advise you to focus on your academic activities and respect the constituted authorities, because IIJ awards certificates not only for learning but also in character.”

    Afolabi said the institute has contributed to the training and re-training of journalists and media practitioners. He congratulated the students on their admission, promising that the institute would not rest on its oars in giving them quality training in line with the best global practices.

    The Speaker of Ekite State House of Assembly, Hon Dele Olugbemi, donated a block of three classrooms to the institute. He laid the foundation for the building before the matriculation started.

    Olugbemi, who is an alumnus of the institute, said the gesture was part of his objective to give back to his alma mater.  The Speaker said: “Let me promise and reaffirm here that before the end of March (next month), the three classrooms will be ready for use.”

    Responding, the chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalist, Ekiti State Chapel, Mr Laulo Omosulade, hailed the Speaker for the gesture. He urged other alumni to toe similar path.

    Omosulade advised students of the school to be agents of change and uphold the ethics of the profession at all times.

    The coordinator of IIJ in Ado Ekiti, Mr Dare Daniels, congratulated the new students, urging them to cooperate with the management to have a hitch-free session.

     

  • Ekiti varsity students protest late registration fee

    Ekiti varsity students protest late registration fee

    •Police teargas protesters

    The imposition of a N10,000 late registration fee by the authorities of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) triggered a protest by the students yesterday.

    The placard-carrying students took to the streets of Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, as early as 7am, singing anti-management songs. They blocked the Ado-Iworoko Highway.

    The protest forced some motorists to use one side of the dual carriage way; others took alternative routes.

    Besides the contentious late registration fee, the students are also enraged by the N5,000 entrepreneurship fee, epileptic power supply on campus and closure of portals.

    The students marched on the Governor’s Office but were prevented by armed policemen, who teargassed them.

    The students regrouped at the gate of Christ’s School, where Governor Ayo Fayose came to “pacify” them.

    Their spokesman, who pleaded for anonymity, accused the management of making life difficult for them, by imposing what he called “underhand levies”.

    While calling for the abrogation of the late registration fee, the protest leader also called for the reversal of the entrepreneurship fee and advocated the reopening of the university portal.

    Fayose announced the reversal of the N10,000 registration fee and other issues, which triggered the protest.

    He said his administration would not interfere in the running of the university.

    On electricity, the governor urged the students, especially those living outside the campus, to tell their landlords to pay their electricity bills.

  • Students seek justice over murder of Ogoni leader

    Students seek justice over murder of Ogoni leader

    The students of Rivers State Polytechnic (RIVPOLY), have protested the gruesome murder of one of them, Comrade Nfiri Sabastine, who was reportedly killed by unknown gunmen while standing at a filling Station located at Bori, the capital of Ogoni.

    The late Nfiri who was the Financial Secretary of Ogoni Students Network (OSN) and a National Diploma I student of Medical Laboratory Science, was shot on Sunday afternoon and buried on Monday by the family.

    Speaking on Monday after a protest in Bori, the spokesman of Ogoni Students Network, Comrade Legbaris Yamaabana described late Nfiri as a peace loving youth.

    Condemning the murder, he said that the students would continue to protest until the police unveils those behind his death.

    Legbaris said: “We condemn in strong terms and in its totality the brutal killing of our student and an Ogoni student for that matter. We are calling on the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Civil Liberty Organization and other law enforcement agencies to do something fast.

    “As a matter of urgency we want them to launch a full -scale investigation and to leave no stone unturned until the murderer are arrested. The students will continue to protest on daily basis except the killers are arrested.”

     

  • Engage new media, The Nation Online Editor urges students

    Engage new media, The Nation Online Editor urges students

    Mass Communication students have been urged to embrace the new media if they want to be relevant in the emerging trend of communication. The charge was given by the Managing Editor, Online and Special Publications of The Nation, Mr Lekan Otufodunrin, at a seminar marking the Mass Communication Students’ Association (MCSA) Week at Babcock University.

    The event with the theme: Preparing for a Mass Communication Career in a New Media Age, was held on the campus.

    Otufodunrin noted that the teaching of traditional journalism was changing with the advent of the new media, which he said youths are championing. The knowledge of new media, Otufodunrin said, would increase the chance of the youth to get job in the media.

    He said: “Media organisations and other employers of communication graduates now give preference to those who are skilled in new media not only for social interaction, which was the original purpose of the platform, but to those who know how to apply it professionally.”

    The Editor, however, said journalism training could not be substituted for skills in the use of new media, saying not many of the users of the new media possessed knowledge required to practise journalism.

    “Students must realise that they can only become professionals in mass communication if they acquire skills in the use of social media to complement their knowledge in traditional journalism. It would not be good enough if you know how to use the new media and you don’t have the required media knowledge in traditional journalism,” he said.

    The event also saw him engage the students and staff of the department with tangible ideas on how to start making earnest and intentional preparations towards a successful career in the field.

    Otufodunrin urged the students improve their activities on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms, but cautioned them against the wrong use of social media.

    The seminar also featured an interactive session, where the guest speaker engaged participants on how to use social media.

    Alaba Abodunrin, a 300-Level student, described the session as educative, noting that he Otufodunrin’s message was clear and straightforward on the need to engage the new media.

  • LAUTECH students make case for cheap cancer drugs

    Students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, have called on the government to provide grants to researchers and local pharmaceutical companies to enable them to produce cheaper drugs for cancer treatment.

    The students led by a 400-Level Medical Laboratory Science student, Oluwatosin Ogunwola, made the appeal in Osogbo, the Osun State on Monday.

    Oluwatosin said the students were in the state to sensitise the people on the need to go for regular cancer screening. Many Nigerians, he said, were living with cancer without knowing about it.

    Oluwatosin said: “The government should provide grants to researchers and pharmaceutical companies to produce cancer drugs, which will be cheaper and affordable to the poor people. Many Nigerians have died of cancer because they learnt about the disease late. Many do not bother to go to hospitals because they believe it is an incurable disease. But early detection and prompt treatment has a way of cushioning the psychological trauma.”

    Oluwatosin urged people, especially those whose family members suffered cancer, to regularly go for checkup.

    He said the theme of 2015 Cancer Day, Not Beyond Us, was appropriate, noting that although cancer elimination seemed insurmountable, but early detection and prompt treatment remained the best measure to stop the disease.

  • Anti-graft club advises students on violence

    Anti-graft club advises students on violence

    The Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) chapter of Zero Tolerance for Corruption (ZTC), an anti-graft campaign initiative, has implored students to steer clear of corruption and electoral violence.

    The lecture with the theme: Role of tertiary institutions in the fight against electoral violence was held in the university auditorium. It was chaired by Dr Abubakar Matazu of Faculty of Law and attended by the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, his deputy, Prof Muhammad Lawal Ahmadu, Registrar, Mallam M.K. Jabbo, represented by Mrs K. Abdullahi, Chief Security Officer, Col Abdullahi Muhammad Gwandu (rtd), Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr Adamu Aliero.

    Prof Ahmadu spoke on Corruption, post-election violence and the role of youths. He said corruption gave rise to underdevelopment, political instability, insecurity and collapse of infrastructure. He added that electoral violence was the direct outcome of a corrupt system.

    He said: “Discussions on Nigerian politics should address factual issues affecting the people, as against frivolities relating to religious or ethnic affiliations. The role of youth in curbing electoral violence include acquiring education and training on ethical conduct and imbib good moral behaviour. As students, you must be among the vanguard promoting justice and fairness in all areas of our national life.”

    A Christian leader, Reverend Father Onuh Ladi, represented by Prof I.S. Ogundiya, said havoc wreaked by electoral violence could not be quantified, stressing that there was the need for the youth to maintain high moral standard and discipline.

    Mallam Musa Aliyu Zuru, who represented Muslim community, suggested that ethical and civic education courses should be introduced in curriculum of tertiary institutions to train the youth on morality and ethics. He said it was pertinent for people to be tolerant and live in peacefully with others regardless of religion, ethnicity or language.

    The VC remarked that poverty, corruption and underdevelopment remained the cause of electoral violence. He urged students to shun violence, adding that politicians were fond of using religion and ethnicity to brainwash the youth and incite them to foment trouble.

    He said: “You must acquire education as youths and you must show a difference. I appeal to you to use your intellectual knowledge to promote peace and harmony. You must take the responsibility to educate some of your peers who are not in the school to learn the art of living together.”

    Col. Gwandu advised the students not to indulge in violence or vandalise properties. He said: “If you participate in violence and you lose your life, you are gone forever, and life will continue with those that are living.”

    Dr Aliero believed the seminar would open up the minds of the students against violence and any form of corruption.

    The ZTC chairman, Hassan Maikasuwa, a 500-Level Veterinary Medicine student, urged everyone to join in the fight against corruption.

  • OAU matriculates pioneer ODL students

    The pioneer set of the Obafemi Awolowo University’s Centre for Distance Learning (OAUCDL) took the matriculation oath of the university with assurances that they would receive top quality education online.

    The OAU is one of the universities accredited by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to operate the Open Distance Learning (ODL) mode of education.

    The students, numbering over 200, were admitted to study Nursing and Accounting.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole, congratulated the students for being the first set to enrol for the university’s ODL mode of education, which has been designed to fully function on the e-learning platform.

    The students will receive all their lectures on customised tablets (Vigitab) that have been pre-loaded with various learning resources for them.

    Assuring the students of the worth of the programme at the matriculation which held at the Oduduwa Hall, OAU, Omole, said: “You have the singular honour of being the first set of students in our eLearning programme, the first of its type in Nigeria. I congratulate you on being pioneers of the eLearning revolution in the country. I want to assure you that your distance learning mode of admission does not in any way imply inferiority in status, compared to our conventional students, either in terms of lecture delivery or the certificates you receive at the end of your programmes.

    “Our university guards jealously the integrity of its degrees and diplomas whether obtained in the conventional or distance learning mode. Hence your various curricula have gone through the usual high standards of excellence of the University Senate for which Obafemi Awolowo University is well known.”

    The Director, Centre for Distance Learning, Prof Bode Asubiojo, said the students would find their tablets function as their classrooms irrespective of their locations.

    “This development is the first of its kind in Nigeria and we are pleased with it. We have replicated the classroom experience on a tablet device for students. For the first time, students can receive lectures, submit assignments, participate in forums, take quizzes, and even rewind their lectures, all from the comfort of their homes, offices or wherever they may be in Nigeria or abroad,” he said.

    The eLearning solution is powered by a Learning Management System (VigiLearn) that allows students to receive lectures, submit assignments, discuss with their classmates, participate in group discussions and get graded without being physically within the four walls of a lecture room. The Vigitab is specifically built for Nigeria and allow for users to continue to study and receive lectures with limited internet connection. Asubiojo said with the online platform, many more Nigerians would be able to access university education.

    “Our primary charge at the Centre for Distance Learning of ObafemiAwolowo University is to provide quality education to the teeming number of Nigerian youths who possess the prerequisite qualifications for entry to Nigerian Universities but are denied admission owing to inadequate facilities on campus and the working class who are desirous of pursuing undergraduate and post graduate programmes whilst still retaining their jobs,” he said.

  • Students to Mimiko: pay our bursary or lose election

    A PRESSURE group, National Association of Ondo State Students (NAOSS) has appealed to the government to pay their bursary. The students said Governor Olusegun Mimiko has not paid them in the last two years.

    They accused Mimiko of “deliberate neglect”, saying the governor left them to suffer. They said they had written several letters to the government with no response.

    The students, who spoke through their association’s leaders, said the bursary was the only benefit they  get from the government, expressing disappointment in the Mimiko-led administration for not paying them for two years.

    In a statement signed by the NAOSS senators, the students lamented that the delay in bursary payment was affecting their education and association’s progress. The  students said they have stopped attending weekly meetings because of the development.

    According to NAOSS president at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Fisayo Falusi, students would mobilise to work against the government’s interest in the impending general elections if their bursary is not paid in two weeks.