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Tag: UNIJOS

  • UNIJOS still attractive despite insurgency, says VC

    UNIJOS still attractive despite insurgency, says VC

    Despite the security challenges ravaging Plateau State, the University of Jos (UNIJOS) is among the most preferred institutions for admission seekers.

    Its Vice Chancellor, Prof Hayward Mafuyai, said the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) rated the university ninth among preferred universities in the country and third most preferred institution in the north after the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

    Mafuyai told journalists this after presenting of the Olowo of Owo, Oba Victor Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi III, with his letter of appointment as Chancellor of the institution.

    Mafuyai said though they are worried over the unending crisis in the north but they are also happy that it has not affected the school’s enrolment.

    “Surprisingly, it has not. If you go by JAMB statistics for the last admission, University of Jos was the ninth preferred university in the country. That is JAMB statistics, not ours. And in the northern part of the country, we are third most preferred institution after Ilorin and ABU.

    “So we are quite happy with that. Inspite of that we think, when the security situation significantly improves, we hope to be the most preferred institution in Nigeria,” he said.

    Addressing the new Chancellor on his appointment, Pro-Chancellor of the university, Chief Don Obot Etiebet, who led other members of the Governing Council, said the monarch was chosen based on his wealth of experience in managing particularly human resources.

    The Pro-Chancellor recalled that the monarch was once a lecturer in the university, and praised him for the role he played in nurturing its Law faculty even after he had moved to the Nigeria Law School in Lagos State.

    “Kabiyesi, we will like to tell you that your faculty of Law in UNIJOS is one of the most recognised in the country.

    “We know you have been a chancellor at the University of Benin, and University of Abuja and we are very glad to have you as our chancellor. We believe that your experience in academic field will have a great impact in our institution,” he said.

    In his response, Olateru-Olagbegi promised to do more than what he has done in previous institutions he has served.

    He counseled lecturers to always show more commitment in anything they do, saying one day the reward will eventually come.

  • ‘No UNIJOS student died in blasts’

    The Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Haward Mafuyai, has said no student died as a result of explosions.

    It was reported in some media that 12 students of the university might have died in the blasts.

    Prof Mafuyayi debunked the report, saying no student died in the attack.

    He was addressing reporters in Jos.

    Said he: “Some media establishments reported that 12 students died. I wonder where they got that from. There was absolutely nothing like that. I contacted school and state security and we have been liaising with them. The dean of students’ affairs went round, and we are still monitoring the situation to ascertain the number of casualties.

    “From our records so far, only one student (a 100 level medical student) was injured and the injury was not fatal. The student has been treated and was discharged on February 27.”

    Prof. Mafuyai urged reporters to help allay parents’ fears. He assured of students’ security and safety, as the STF, Police and Civil Defence personnel were on the site of the incident.

    Plateau State government has said it has viewed with utmost disgust and sadness, the twin bomb blasts, which occurred last Thursday evening on Bauchi Road in a terminus.

    It said 13 people died in the twin blasts, while 14 were injured.

    The government  sympathised with the families of those who died  and appreciated the roles of the security agencies, NEMA and Red Cross.

     

  • ‘No UNIJOS student died’

    The Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Haward Mafuyai, has said no student died as a result of explosions.

    It was reported in some media that 12 students might have died from blasts.

    Prof Mafuyayi, however, debunked the report, saying no student of the university died.

    The VC addressed reporters in Jos yesterday.

  • Revisiting UNIJOS students’ demands

    Students of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) rioted last week over various levies charged by the university.  They complained about the N10,000 development levy; N4,000 ICT fee, as well as the N10,000 late registration fee.

    They also want the N25,000 acceptance fee for new students reduced, and the N13,400 hostel accommodation fee reverted to the N4,600 they used to pay some years back.

    I have no problems with most of their demands save for the hostel accommodation fee that they want reduced and the late registration fee they want scrapped.

    Regarding the accommodation fee, the problem is not that it wouldn’t be nice for students to rent their bed space for N4,600 for a session.  However, would the students be nice to themselves if this were the case?  It is common knowledge that students re-sell hostel bed spaces they purchased for peanuts from the school authorities for exorbitant amounts to their fellow students.  They then use the amount to pay for off-campus accommodation and furnish it.  When students engage in such practices, and the bed space becomes sold for as high as N40-N50,000, is it fair?  When making such demands from the school authorities, then the students should also be ready to be accountable.

    The school management should outlaw re-selling of bed spaces allocated to students and put machineries in place to monitor such transactions.  If caught, both the seller and the buyer should be punished severely.

    Regarding the late registration fee, students need to be realistic that the school management must institute some form of discipline. While there are truly indigent students that may struggle to pay fees on time, many others fail to complete their registration within the stipulated time frame because of laziness, procrastination or gross indiscipline.  Some would push off the exercise to the last minute because they consider it too much of a bother to fill endless forms, queue for hours on end to get them signed, make photocopies of so many documents and the like.  Some others would divert the money they were given for their fees for other things and tell lies to their parents at home.

    How can the UNIJOS Students’ Union leaders defend such behaviour?  Have they made effort to find out what percentage of students fall short when the registration deadline arrives?  What percentage of those that fall short are truly indigent?  When they conduct research and are able to provide accurate statistics that support the premise that many of the students fail to meet the registration deadline because they are indigent, then they can present their findings to the management and seek changes.  However, for the university not to stipulate any punitive measures for failing to meet the registration deadline is to allow for indiscipline.

    On its part, the management should make efforts to address the concerns of the students.  If they make payments, it should reflect in the quality of services they receive.  For instance, in the case of the N4,000 annual ICT payment, students should see what that money is used for.  Since it is collected for a specific purpose, then there should be obvious advancement in that area every session.  The same goes for the development levy and the Acceptance Fees.

    The university should also institute a work-study scheme and solicit scholarships to help indigent students fund their education.  With such schemes in place, I am sure the students should cooperate better.

  • UNIJOS shut down over riot

    UNIJOS shut down over riot

    ***4 students wounded with gun shot
    ***STF deny shooting at students

    The Management of the University of Jos has announced an indefinite closure of the school and ordered its students to vacate the hostels immediately.

    The closure of the school is to prevent the escalation of the students protest which commenced from Monday this week.

    The protest which began Monday on a peaceful note escalated on Tuesday as the students set bonfire and blocked the highways.

    The university management had to invite security agencies to quell the students’ anger and to stop the riot to avoid been high-jacked by hoodlums.

    The school authority, in addition announced indefinite closure of the school.

    A press statement signed by the University Registrar Mr Jilli Dandam and made available to newsmen in Jos on Tuesday said, “in order to avoid further escalation of the situation, the management met yesterday morning and directed that the university should be closed down until further notice.

    According to the statement, “The university took steps to address all the grievance of the students including the shifting of the second semester examination by one week and the setting up of a committee to look at the issues.

    The students had at the early hours of Monday morning come out in their thousands to block all entrances to the school and locked the school management outside.

    The students demanded the revision of management decision to increase their development levy as well as school fees by next session.

    Meanwhile, the Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis, code named ‘operation safe haven’ has denied shooting at the students even as they confirmed four students were shot with gun bullets.

    Spokesman of the STF, Captain Ikedichi Iweha said, “I can confirme to you that four students were shot, but STF does not know who shot them, the students must have been shot by our sister security agencies because we are not the only ones there.

    “We came to the school the first day of the protest, Monday, we were able to manage the students and their protest for that day until the next day Tuesday when other security agencies joined us in managing the protest.

    “We as STF may not see any reasons to make use of fire arms in managing the protest but other sister security agencies may have reasons to do so.

    “All we know at STF is that because government hospitals are on strike, we picked the wounded student for treatment in our own clinic at the STF headquarters Jos and they have been treated of their wounds.

    According to Capt. Iweha, “Not withstanding, we are appealing to the students not to take laws into their hands in the name of protest. In as much as the students have their freedom to protest, they should do that within the ambit of the law.

    “Students right to protest shouldn’t be done to infringe on the rights of other Nigerians, they should stop blocking the highways or harassing innocent road users”

  • UNIJOS shifts exams over students’ protest

    UNIJOS shifts exams over students’ protest

    The management of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) has shifted the institution’s second semester examination, following the students’ protest.

    It was learnt that the students protested the payment of the development levy and admission acceptance fees.

    In a statement yesterday by the Registrar, Jilly-Dandam, the university said: “The management has shifted the second semester examination from November 24 to December 1, for obvious reasons.

    “A seven-man committee has also been constituted to look into the students’ complaints with a view to making recommendations to management for consideration.

    “Students are hereby advised to remain calm and continue with their revision. The management solicits the cooperation and support of all stakeholders to resolve the contending issues.”

    The students, early yesterday, blocked the gates to the university’s main campus, locking out their lecturers and non-academic workers.

    They vowed to continually lock out their lecturers and the vice chancellor until the management reversed the increase in the development levy.

    The Students’ Union Government (SUG) President Abel Nok Du said his colleagues were angry over the increase of their levies.

    He said: “We are calling for the removal of N10,000 development levy from our school fees. We are also calling for the reduction of N25,000 acceptance fee for admission.

    “In the North, UNIJOS students pay the highest development levy, including acceptance fees.”

    But the management denied the alleged increase in its fees and levies.

    It promised to address the students’ complaints.

    Addressing reporters yesterday, the vice chancellor, Prof Hayward Mufuyai, urged the students to disregard the rumours that the management intended to review its levies.

    He said: “There is absolutely no plan by the UNIJOS to review any school fee. If you hear anything like that, it is an evil rumour. We have not contemplated to review the school fees upwards. Up till the last hours of Sunday, we were with the students. I told them there was no such plan, and we agree to start our examinations today (yesterday). But I’m surprised by this development.”

    Prof Mufuyai added: “The issue the students raised on the development levy being charged by the institution is something I inherited three years ago when I became the vice chancellor. Nothing has been added to the development fund, which they also called a levy. These had been added since I came as the vice chancellor.”

    He said the university had never closed its doors for a dialogue with the students.

     

  • UNIJOS seeks funds for new courses

    Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Prof Hayward Babale Mafuyai, says that the university has to raise funds to be able to run the new courses it recently introduced.

    Mafuyai who disclosed this at a pre-fund raising media briefing on Tuesday, solicited for support for the programmes.

    “For the university to run these new courses effectively, it needs to rely on its friends and well wishers to raise funds with which to run the new course. The new programmes are in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, Agriculture and others.

    Apart from the three new Faculties mentioned above, there are several other new programs being introduced by the University in a number of existing Faculties which include, Music in the Faculty of Arts, Dentistry in the Faculty of Medicine, Physical and Health Education as well as Integrated Science in the Faculty of Education, among others.

  • UNIJOS mourns seven blast victims

    UNIJOS mourns seven blast victims

    Seven final year Medical Laboratory Science students of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) were among those killed in the twin blasts of May 20 in the Plateau State capital. ESTHER MARK (UNIJOS graduate) reports.

    · Two nursing mothers among the dead

    Jos, the Plateau State capital, was in the news last week, following the twin blasts at the Terminus Market. No fewer than 118 people, mainly traders, died in the blasts; scores were injured.

    The University of Jos (UNIJOS) lost seven final year Medical Laboratory Science students – Francisca Nwafor, Oluwadolapo Komolafe, Vivian Chioma Obilor, Mike Ogbole, Millicent Yusuf, Monday Wingak and Doris Udegbunem.

    That fateful day, the late Mike called out Christian faithful in the hostels for prayer – he had been doing this for years as a member of the G-Force Fellowship. After the prayer, he left for lectures. By 1pm, he was done and he headed home to eat. That was the last his classmates saw of him.

    The late Millicent was said to have got up early to prepare her eight-month-old baby for the crèche. She left for school afterwards. By 1:30pm, the lectures were over. The late Millicent, according to her classmates, left the school immediately to take her baby and return to her off-campus hostel.

    The late Francisca, the late Lydia, the late Vivian, the late Monday and the late Doris also had one or two things to do that day. They might have looked forward to returning home to rest, but they never had that chance. About 30 minutes after Haematology lecture, they left for the Terminus Market, close to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), where medical students receive lectures. They all died in the blasts.

    Some of their colleagues were still in the classroom when the incident occurred.

    Following the blasts, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that Daisy Odey, the victims’ classmate, told others that the deceased would have been on the scene. She mobilised others to search for their seven classmates.

    The late Mike, who hailed from Benue State, was described as a “dedicated Christian” by hostel mates, who were still in shock when they spoke to our correspondent.

    His close friend, Hendrick Idajo, who was in tears, said: “If I were to receive virtues from you, I would have your zeal to serve God, moral decency and wisdom to handle issues. I love you, Mike, but God loves you more.”

    A classmate of the late Mike, who did not give his name, wrote on the board: “Mike, to think you are no more is rather shocking. What a life you have lived. Since our paths crossed in 100-Level, you became my Bible teacher. It was just like yesterday. It is so hard to believe you are gone. You were an icon; the bearer of the light. I will continue to remember you until we meet to part no more.”

    Mike’s remains were buried last Thursday in Benue State.

    The late Monday was also a member of the G-Force Fellowship. The late Francisca was described as a “beautiful scientist” by classmates.

    Unlike others, the late Doris and the late Millicent left behind babies whose ages are between eight months and one year. The duo got married before their final year.

    While others seem to have accepted their fate, friends and family members of the late Vivian  believe she is not dead. To them, she is missing and admitted in a hospital where she has not been identified among the charred bodies removed from the scene.

    Chizaram Orji wrote on the late Vivian’s Facebook page: “My sister cannot die now. It is not yet her time. I believe she is somewhere. She is not dead. She is still alive. May Almighty God protect her and make her to find her way back home, in Jesus Name. Amen.”

    In honour of the late students, the UNIJOS management declared last Friday a lecture–free day. The  Students’ Union Government (SUG) urged the Federal Government to find the masterminds of the blasts, urging proactive steps in dealing with the rising menace.

    The Deputy Registrar (Information), Steve Otowo, urged members of the university community to be security-conscious.

  • UNIJOS graduate, other beggars arrested in Anambra

    •150 parents taken to court over child-begging

    A graduate of Linguistics from the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Rose Ali and a civil servant in the Anambra State Ministry of Environment were among the 180 beggars evacuated from the streets yesterday by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

    Over 150 parents were also caught using their children as beggars.

    The Director of Social Welfare in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Lady Rose Udeagbara, spoke yesterday during a raid on beggars and the destitute.

    She said government would prosecute them in the family court.

    Lady Udeagbara said the beggars would be rehabilitated and empowered before those not from the state would be repatriated in an arrangement with their states through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

    She said the majority of the beggars taken off the streets in Awka, Amawbia, Enugwu-Ukwu, Abagana, Ogidi, Nkpor, Onitsha, Nnobi, Nnewi, Ekwulobia and Umunze were not from the state.

    According to her, findings showed that most of them were from Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Plateau and other northern states, while others are from Cross River, Abia, Rivers, Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu states.

    Lady Udeagbara, who led the campaign against begging, decried the use of children by parents to beg for alms.

    She said men of the underworld in Onitsha used begging as a strategy to carry out their devilish activities at night.

    Rose, the graduate, who initially refused arrest, said Governor Peter Obi must give her job before she would stop begging.

     

  • UNIJOS student wins La Casera ‘Apple Story’

    UNIJOS student wins La Casera ‘Apple Story’

    A 400-Level Biochemistry student of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Shangevlumun Michael Dagu, still cannot believe that he is the star of La Casera Company’s Share Your Apple Story campaign.

    The 26-year-old’s entry will form the copy for the next advertising campaign of La Casera, a popular soft drink.

    Dagu was hosted by the management of the La Casera Company Plc in Lagos.

    He got an undisclosed cash prize, gifts and VIP tour of the La Casera factory as his reward.

    For the student, the experience was special since he never anticipated winning by telling his personal experience around the La Casera drink.

    “I still find it hard to believe that my Apple Story will be shown to the whole world as the new La Casera advert. I have received first-class VIP treatment from La Casera and an opportunity that would motivate me to aim for the stars in whatever I do, which I deeply appreciate. I must say, with no iota of doubt on my mind, that I truly love the drink,” he said.

    Chief Operating Officer, La Casera Plc, Mr. Dileeban Ponniah, said the firm had successfully run the Apple Story campaign for the second year.

    “At the La Casera Company, we hold our customers in high esteem and will stop at nothing to foster the relationship we have established with them. The idea behind the ‘Share Your Apple Story, Be A Star’ Campaign is simply to engage customers as well as reward their loyalty,” Dileeban said.

    The firm’s Marketing Manager, Mr. Bayo Obarotimi, said Dagu’s entry scaled through a rigorous process.

    “We are happy a ‘star’ has emerged after a meticulous process of assessing the stories, which has once again produced another Apple story winner,” he said.

    He disclosed that before long, the company would release the Apple Story as the brand’s new TV commercial as well as an interesting radio jingle.