The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Students

  • Students return from trip to UK

    Students return from trip to UK

    AS the students of the British Spring College, (BSC) Awka in Anambra State returned to Nigeria on Tuesday after an eight-day excursion to the United Kingdom, they would no doubt, revel in fresh memories of their exploits in the Queen’s land. The 29 of them jetted out of the country last Monday via the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The agitated students, who had travelled all the way from Awka to Lagos by road, were decked in their sky blue tops with black suits, ash trousers/skirts and a wine tie to match, at the Departure Hall of the airport.

    The travellers drawn from between JSS1 and JSS3 classes spoke of their plans to this reporter ahead of their trip.

    “I love to see different places and meet different people,” said Okeke Chinonye, 13 who is in SS3. “I also wish to see how their houses and food look like and also learn the way they speak,” Chinonye added.

    “I want to pay full attention to the way the whites learn their subjects compared with how we do it here,” cut in 12-year old Chukwuemeka Marvellous in JS2. I also want to learn how the whites have an edge over us academically and be able to relate this to my peers when I’m back,” Marvellous noted.

    According to the itinerary as drawn up in a document by the school management, the 29 ‘tourists’ in the course of their excursion, were to ‘engage in morning and evening indoor and outdoor sessions on environmental explorations covering many topics in science and Geography curriculums with hands on experiment including investigating the river as it enters the sea. Another is the concept of bio-diversity, inter-independence and adaptation of ecosystems life in local habitats and so on.”

    “It’s partly academic and partly tourism,” said BSC Vice-Principal (Academics) Mr Ozioko Joseph, “That is why the management decided the students should come to Lagos by road so that in the course of their journey, they will see some of the exciting places and rich tourist attractions within the country. I have told each of them to do a write up on their experience right from Awka to UK which is like a test they must all submit when they come back.”

    Oziokor said BSC management found the choice of UK most appealing since the school operates Nigerian/British curriculums.

    The school Matron, Rita Igwe hoped that the participants, after the trip, turned out more informed about the British culture.

    “I expect that after the trip, our students will have been more informed about the Culture of UK in relation to the school system. They will be better informed about the way British schools operate since our school also operates Nigeria/British curriculums.

     

  • Students called to chamber

    Students called to chamber

    The Lord Denning Chamber of Justice, a students’ chamber in the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), has held its Call to Chamber ceremony and award night. The event, which was well-attended by students, was held at BK House, Calabar.

    The guests and students were clad in black and white attires, the ceremonial colours of lawyers.

    Declaring the programme open, the chairman of the occasion, Magistrate Ekong Imona, extolled the virtues of Lord Denning, who he said stood for honesty and godliness and morality in his legal dispositions.

    Imona, a magistrate with Cross River State judiciary, enjoined members of the chamber to imbibe and emulate the sterling qualities of Lord Denning, stressing that with such a mindset there would be hope for the nation.

    In his speech, the Chief Principal Advocate (CPA) of the chamber, Divine Greatness, 500-Level Law, was delighted by the large turnout of members and guests to the occasion. He said the programme was predicated on the need to orientate budding lawyers on the implications of plea bargaining in our criminal jurisprudence.

    Barrister Ozimco Ozimco, while administering the oath of allegiance on inductees, challenged the new members to hold on to the tenets of the legal profession.

    No fewer than 40 Law students were called to the chamber in the ceremony. The highpoints of the occasion was awards presentation to members and guests as well as fund raising to cater for the financial needs of the chamber.

    An inductee, Usani Yemiode, said: “Being called to chamber and bar will enable me to learn the procedural aspect of the law to complement what I am being taught in the classroom.”

     

  • Faith-based varsities help students fear God

    president of the church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) Rev. Dr Soja Bewarang has said apart from bridging the wide gap in admission of the Nigerian secondary school leaver, universities set up by churches will help in instilling the fear of God in the youths who are leaders of tomorrow

    He said the number of universities in Nigeria including the private ones are not adequate to cater for the candidates who come from secondary school yearly.

    The cleric made the remark while addressing journalists on the proposed Kal Kum University (KKU) to be established by the church. Bewarang said: “The pressure of admission on public university has made it imperative for COCIN to establish one. COCIN church has over 100 secondary schools in Plateau State alone. These schools turn out thousands of university candidates every year.

    “Apart from filling the vacuum created by inadequate universities in the country, universities created by churches will instill the fear of God in our leaders of tomorrow, which is what is lacking in public universities.

    “The youth need to be trained on morals, sense of truth fear of God and submission to leaders. By so doing we will be adding to quality to human resources.”

    The COCIN president said the university, which is preparing its facilities ahead of take off later in the year, will seek funds from well wishers.

    “The Kal Kum University will take off before the end of this year when all the buildings at the permanent site are completed because we will not start on temporary site, we are not in a hurry and we have the capacity. We are organising an endowment fund this month to source for money for the smooth take off of the university before the end of the year,” he said.

     

  • Four LASU students arraigned for alleged cultism

    Four students of Lagos State University, (LASU) Ojo Campus, were yesterday arraigned before an Ebute Metta Chief Magistrate’s Court, Lagos Mainland, for their alleged membership of secret societies.

    They are: Olaleye Jaiyeola Habib, 20, Olawuyi Olalekan Temitayo, 23, Olaosebikan Ibrahim, 22, and Akinniyi Adedapo, 26.

    Three of them, Temitayo, Ibrahim, and Adedapo are 400-level students of the Department of Economics; Habib is a 200-level student of Mass Communication Department.

    They were alleged to have conspired to commit felony to wit, by belonging to unlawful societies in March, 2013, on the Ojo campus of the institution.

    The police also alleged that while Habib, Temitayo and Adedapo belong to the Buccaneer confraternity, Ibrahim is of the Eiye group.

    According to the prosecutor, Inspector Frank Inah, the offences are punishable under Sections 409 and 42 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011. All the defendants pleaded not guilty.

    The defence counsel, Mr. Lanre Folahan, R. O. Olubambi, Emmanuel Adebayo and Lekan Adebanjo applied for their clients’ bail on liberal terms.

    They told the court that the defendants had been in the costody of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in for three weeks without trial.

    The prosecutor did not oppose the bail application.

    Magistrate Mr. A. O. Komolafe, granted them N200, 000 bail sum of with two sureties each in the like sum.

    Komolafe also ordered that one of the sureties must be a blood relation to each of the defendants, while the other must be a Grade Level 14 officer, either in the Lagos State or a federal ministry, who must show to the court, evidence of a three-year tax payment to Lagos State Government.

    He said the tax, residential addresses and means of livelihood of the sureties, must be verified by the court’s prosecutor. The case was adjourned till April 24 for mention.

  • VC blames student’s death on rumours

    The Vice-Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof Rosemund Osahogulu, has blamed the death of a student on false rumour.

    The VC spoke at the matriculation ceremony, where 1,168 freshmen were inducted into the seven faculties of the institution.

    She said: “I want to welcome all students into this great institution, but to be honest we are mourning, particularly me.

    “The shock of what took place two days ago has not left me.

    “On this note, I want to caution every student here to be mindful of rumours.

    “It was rumour that the school hall was about to collapse that made students jump out of the three-storey building, leading to the death of one.”

    The VC advised the freshmen to focus on their studies and shun vices in the campus.

    “You must be aware that we have a zero tolerance on cultism, provocative dressing, demonstration and riot as you will be punished and even asked to leave the school,” she added.

  • LASU students arraigned for alleged cultism

    LASU students arraigned for alleged cultism

    Detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, Lagos, on Thursday arraigned four students of Lagos State University, Ojo Campus, before a Chief Magistrate Court,   Ebute-Metta, Lagos for allegedly being members of  secret societies.

    The four students are Olaleye Jaiyeola Habib, 20, Olawuyi Olalekan Temitayo, 23, Olaosebikan Ibrahim, 22, and Akiniyi Adedapo, 26.

    Three of the defendants Temitayo,  Ibrahim, and  Adedapo are 400 level students of the Department of Economics, while  Habib is a 200 level student of Mass Communication Department.

    They were alleged to have conspired among themselves, to commit felony to wit, by belonging to unlawful societies in March, 2013, at the Ojo campus of the institution.

    The Police also alleged that while Olaleye Jaiyeola Habib, Olawuyi Olalekan Temitayo and Akinniyi Adedapo belong to the Buccaneer confraternity, Olaosebikan Ibrahim was of the Eiye confraternity.

    They were arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy to commit felony and belonging to unlawful society.

    According to the prosecutor, Inspector  Frank Inah, the offences  are punishable under Sections 409 and 42 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos state of Nigeria, 2011.

    All the four defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The defence counsels, Mr. Lanre Folahan, R. O. Olubambi, Emmanuel Adebayo and Lekan Adebanjo respectively applied to the court to grant their clients bail in the most liberal terms.

    The counsels told the court that the defendants had been held in the SCID’s detention for three weeks for interrogation and without trial.

    The prosecutor,  Inah did not oppose the bail application.

    The presiding magistrate, Mr. A. O. Komolafe, granted them bail in the sum of N200, 000, with two sureties each and in the like sum.

    Komolafe also ordered that one of the sureties must be a blood relation to each of  the defendants, while the other must be a grade level 14 officer either in the Lagos  state or a federal ministry, who must show to the court evidence of a three- year tax payment to Lagos state government.

    He said the tax, residential addresses and means of livelihood of the sureties must be verified by the court’s prosecutor.

    The case has been adjourned till  April 24, 2013 for mention.

  • Don seeks support for indigent students

    Don seeks support for indigent students

    To mitigate the impact of indigence on the education of the girl child, a professor of ophthalmology, Prof Ajesola Majekodunmi has urged public-spirited Nigerians to support her foundation to sponsor more female students.

    Speaking last Thursday when the Ajesola Solarin Majekodunmi Foundation (ASMAF) presented scholarships to three female undergraduates at the Julius Berger Auditorium, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Majekodunmi was worried that those too poor to afford education tend would go astray.

    She said from her interactions with young females over the years, she had noticed that the indigent ones amongst them have complex and lack confidence in themselves – with many doing unethical things to survive and improve themselves.

    Making a case for financial support for such category of students, Prof Majekodunmi said: “In developing countries such as Nigeria, economic dependence is one of the road blocks to success. It is worse with women. Education is one of the medicines for the treatment of poverty and economic dependence.

    “Those of us who had parents that trained us through our professional courses or had government scholarships, often take things for granted and may not understand what the indigent students undergo.”

    She said having benefited from scholarship at all levels of education on merit, she decided to give back to the society.

    “My thinking changed from what can my country do for me to what I can do for my country? The answer to my question is the birth of ASMAF in 2009.

    She said after screening online applications from students from universities across Nigeria, each year, three of them are offered the scholarship. Each awardee gets direct N150, 000 for academics and additional N50, 000 for training in leadership programmes. Scholarship awardees are also attached to notable female professionals in their various fields of studies as mentors.

    The award winners were Rukayat Odubanjo 500-Level Mechanical Engineering, University of Lagos; Aderiola Adebanke Opemipo, 400-Level Medicine, Lagos State University; and Nwojiji Blessing Ogechi 200-Level Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger State.

    In an interview, beneficiary of the 2010/2011 edition of the scholarship, Agnes Usolor, a 400-Level Law student of UNILAG, praised ASMAF for intervening in her life and others, urging them to give back in future.

     

    “I hereby use this opportunity advice the past and present winners that have benefitted from ASMAF not to forget this great thing they have done in our life, therefore when they are out of universities they should support this great programme.

     

  • Abia students hold press conference

    Abia State students under the banner of National Association of Abia State Students (NAASS) have briefed reporters on issues affecting them and the security of the state.

    The briefing was held at the press centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Umuahia, the state capital. The NUJ chairman in the state, Mr Hyacinth Okoli, thanked the students for identifying with the press.

    Okoli challenged students to restore the glory of education in the state, urging them to shun violence and embrace negotiation as the best tool for agitation.

    At the press briefing, the NAASS national president, Jude Ezeibe, noted that the essence of the conference was to redeem the image of students following the rumours that politicians were using students to disrupt peace in the state.

    Jude said: “It has come to our notice that students are being used by some politicians to cause mayhem in some parts of the state. We want to state it categorically that we are students with dignity and character. We cannot be bought over by any proponent of chaos or their agents. We are not political but we are a pro-development group.

    “Our goal is to make sure that the interests of Abia students are protected. We encourage the performing government and suggest ways the performance can be sustained.”

    The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Theodore Orji on Students’ Matter, Mr Christian Afulike, stated that the governor would continue to partner with students to ensure peace.

    Former president of National Association of South East Nigerian Students (NASENS), Kingsley Lawrence, urged the students to support the governor to develop the state.

  • Commissioner counsels students on good conduct

    Commissioner counsels students on good conduct

    Indigenes of Ogun State in higher institutions of learning have been admonished to let the spirit of ‘omoluabi’ be their guiding principle wherever they find themselves.

    In addition, they were enjoined to refrain from all acts that could tarnish the image of both their families and the state in general.

    Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Barrister Segun Odubela gave the charge while receiving an award of “OSAN icon of nation building” from Oduduwa Student’s Association of Nigeria ‘OSAN’ in his office in Abeokuta.

    The Commissioner, who noted that most vices now ravaging the country are usually perpetrated by the youths, advised the students to always remember the homes they left behind and be mindful of the company they keep. He added that the state government will continue to support students of the state in institutions of higher learning.

    “Your welfare will remain sacrosanct in the life of the present administration. Governor Amosun holds education in high esteem. He will continue to do all that are necessary to make life worth while for you,” Odubela said.

    Earlier in his address, the secretary general of OSAN, comrade Ayano Adeola described the commissioner as a distinguished leader whose contribution to the educational development in Ogun State cannot be over emphasised.

    “It is gratifying to note that the sincere and nationalistic disposition of our amiable recipient in delivering his mandate to improve qualitative education, service delivery in the education sector, enlightenment, commitment, effectiveness, dedication, leadership and genuine service delivery for all has further endeared you to us,” he said

    Meanwhile, Odubela has commended authorities of public secondary schools in the state for contributing to the smooth conduct of the second term unified examination ended recently.

    The commissioner gave the commendation while performing symbolic presentation of results sheets to pupils attending public secondary schools in Abeokuta.

    The commissioner, who noted that the unified examination has come to stay, urged parents and guardians to always monitor their wards, especially during the holidays.

     

  • Deputy Governor urges students on greatness

    Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire has urged students to dedicate themselves and challenge life to bring out the talent God has given them.

    Mrs Orelope-Adefulire gave the advice during her motivational speech at the programme organised by the Chief Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Dr Abdurrazaq Balogun for senior secondary students in his Surulere 11 Constituency to mark his 43rd birthday. The event tagged: Bringing legislature and mentorship to the classroom’ and held at Aguda was to mark Balogun’s 43rd birthday.

    Mrs Orelope-Adefulire said: “Your parents have nurtured you and the government has created opportunities for you to take advantage of and become great in life. Nothing stops you from getting to the highest height but you must dedicate yourselves to your studies, be determined, have a focus today, start reading your books, ask questions if you don’t understand, that is the only way to get it right.

    “You must have passion for education and you must have ambition and work towards achieving your ambition. You must not nag or be proud. Be humble, responsible and abide by rules. Do not keep bad company; respect yourselves, parents, teachers and elders,” she said.

    Balogun told the students that it is only education, and not poverty alleviation programmes that can take one out of poverty.

    He advised them to stay focused and not be discouraged no matter the challenges confronting them today and that they should be ready to participate actively in the political process in the future so that good leaders can emerge.

    “You must continue to be obedient, our role is to continue to give you the best and ensure that the education sector continues to thrive,” he said.

    “I strongly believe it is only education that can take them to greater height. It is an opportunity to inspire and encourage them, talk to them about life so that they can excel in future and also drive it home to them the importance of exercising their civic responsibility in future”, he said.

    The lawmaker who assured that the event would henceforth be annual, used the occasion to give out prizes which included cash, books and school bags to two students each from three secondary schools who came first, second and third in the quiz competition he organised the previous day for the five senior secondary schools in the constituency.

    While Sanya Senior Grammar School, Ijesha Tedo came first, Jubilee Senior Model College came second and Ijesha Tedo Senior Secondary School came third. The other schools that participated in the competition are: Coker Senior Secondary School, Orile Iganmu and Aguda Senior Grammar School, Aguda.