The Nation Newspaper

Tag: varsity

  • Entrepreneurs return to varsity which groomed them

    Entrepreneurs return to varsity which groomed them

    Years after graduation, ex-students of Salem University, Lokoja share acquired values that are helping them navigate the curves of life and careers, reports SUNDAY OGUNTOLA

    Fidelis Ekom was all smiles as he walked to the podium. Many in the audience clapped. Others nodded delightfully. All simply cheered the young entrepreneur that defines many values Salem University (SU), Lokoja represent. It was at the fifth convocation ceremony of the institution last Saturday.

    The cheering audience had reasons to be excited. Just three years after graduation, Ekom has set up three thriving business outfits.  Wear with style perfumes deals with sales and distribution of quality perfumes across the nation; Diplomatic Republic Entertainment-D.R.E is an entertainment company that has the recording artiste on its label; Under 30s C.E.O Naija, a media outfit profiles young entrepreneurs.

    The cheers over, Ekom said everything is down to the quality education he received, especially in entrepreneurship while in SU. The institution has an entrepreneurship programme that seeks to make job creators out of students as against being job seekers. He said: “The institution is not just an educational learning hub but truthfully a transformational, leadership training ground for optimistic, innovative, goal-driven minds,” Ekom submitted.

    His speech was punctuated by more applause. But he wasn’t done yet. “The trainings made me a pace setter and an improved being in the society. It’s not surprising that today I find myself so passionate about my engagements to the extent it has become a lifestyle,” he added.

    It was Precious Oyem’s turn to share how much difference the institution has made in his life. Amid cheers, he held the hall spell-bound. During his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) days, Oyem was one of those hired by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a by election into a vacant House of Assembly seat in Abia state. He thought his assignment was over after the results were declared. But few minutes after, agents and chieftains of political parties approached him for assistance.

    They were willing to offer him anything just to allow them thumb print and change the declared results. Oyem was stupefied. He knew he wouldn’t do it. But how can he tell the old men and women begging him frantically that he cannot help them? It wasn’t that he didn’t need the offered money but he cannot sell his conscience.

    Everything he learnt at Salem University flooded back to his memories. “I recalled how it was always being hammered into our hearing that smartness can take a man to the top but only integrity can keep him there,” Oyem recounted. He had to tell them anyway. Saying no is a no-brainer. It can hurt feelings but save one a lifetime of heartaches.

    “With God’s wisdom I refused the bribe and stood my ground based on my background in Salem University which I have imbibed,” he remembered. Even when the incensed party agents mobilised a mob to attack the unyielding, unprotected corps member, God was there to help him escape unhurt.

    Sandra Nnadozie is a 2014 graduate of Microbiology from the institution. In four years, she said the school transformed her “from a shy, naïve and timid girl to a reserved, god-fearing, relentless, goal-oriented woman.”

    Today, as an operation manager in an international networking company, Nnadozie said she owes everything to the tutelage she received from SU. “Salem University not only equipped me educationally but also spiritually and mentally and I was prepared to face the world and be a change agent anywhere I go.”

    Godwin Awojobi is Senior Software Engineer at Biscom. He said the Total Leadership Training Concept (TLTC) courses offered in the institution equipped him with the right skill sets for his current high-profile, demanding job.

    Awojobi said, “Paired with academics, my degree played integral role in the development and preparation of my quantitative and qualitative skills for career success in information technology. Salem University has helped me grow my skill-set and put me in a position to succeed and also help others to succeed.

  • Varsity applicants battle institute for results

    Varsity applicants battle institute for results

    Universities have started screening prospective students to meet the November 30 deadline of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for admissions. But for the Diploma graduates of the Fati Lami Abubakar Institute of Legal and Administrative Studies (FLAILAS) in Minna, the Niger State capital, their dreams of going to the university may remain just that. Reason: the institute’s alleged failure to release their results. They are worried that they may lose their admission if the institution does not release their results before the expiration of JAMB deadline, reports ABDULSALAM MAHMUD.

    They bought the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Direct Entry (DE) forms some months ago, in their quest to further their studies after completing their diploma courses. But except for divine  intervention, their dreams to become university undergraduates may be dashed. Reason: their final results are yet to be computed.

    This is the fate of thousands of diploma graduates of the Fati Lami Abubakar Institute of Legal and Administrative Studies (FLAILAS) in Minna, the Niger State capital, who have been battling the school management over their results. Admission and screening are ongoing in many universities, but their hope of gaining admission this year for degree courses is faint, months after they submitted their forms.

    The applicants, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, have been shuttling between their homes and the institute since their graduation in June.  Majority of them, our correspondent learnt, travel from Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and other distant places to the insitution weekly to check their results.

    They flock their lecturers’offices to know when their results will be released. But, no one is ready to give them an answer, heightening their anxiety.

    Findings by CAMPUSLIFE revealed that most of the FLAILAS graduates, who applied to study in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Federal University, Gusau (FUG), Zamfara State, Kaduna State University (KSU) and Umar Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU) in Katsina State, were barred from partaking in screenings because they could not produce their diploma results.

    But, some of them who applied to study at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU) in Lapai, Niger State, University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) and Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) may be allowed to undergo screening, if they upload or present their diploma results before the screening window closes.

    An affected student, Idris Ismail, who applied to study at ABU, expressed disappointment over the “unnecessary delay” in computing and releasing their final results, saying he was annoyed after spending several hours in school to inquire about his result.

    He said: “The insensitivity being displayed by the institute management towards many of us who purchased DE forms can only be imagined. If we had known our results would not be released on time, many of us would not have purchased the N6,000 form. Only some of us who sat for the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have hope to be admitted this year. Many rely on the diploma results. The school management should know that we are terribly discontented, to say the least.’’

    Idris added that he had been going to the school for his result, but usually returned home frustrated. He pleaded with the school management to compel their coordinators and Heads of Departments to release the diploma results in the students’interest.

    Khadija Ahmed, another DE applicant, said travelling on “death-trap” roads from Kaduna to Minna without information about her diploma result has compounded her agony.

    “I travelled to Minna on several occasions to get my results. Unfortunately, my complaints and appeals to lecturers and my HOD did not yield positive result. Even if it would take them a year to release the results, I have already missed a university screening. Honestly, I am so dejected and even regretted applying at the first instance,” she said.

    Khadija, who applied to study for Sociology at UMYU, said some were not sure if they would not get extra year at the institute because of the delay.

    A diploma graduate, who simply identified himself as Usman, wondered why it is taking the departments time to release the results.

    Another diploma graduate, Mrs Salamatu Ibrahim, who hopes to undergo online screening of IBBU, said management needed to take proactive actions to help the affected applicants.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the institute management asked interested applicants to pay N6,000 for the DE forms. The school invited an on-line registration expert to register the then final year students. The method, according to source, is to save the applicants the stress of going to queue for long hours in banks and JAMB offices.

    Reacting, a top academic staff member of the institute, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE,  said there were reasons for the delay in releasing the graduating students’ results.

    He said: “It is offensive to say lecturers are insensitive to the plight of the affected students. Even though we empathised with the students, we want to assure them that very soon their results will be released. Some factors that caused the delay include the workers’ strike last July and the on-going Niger State’s labour screening. Besides, there are many exam scripts to be marked.”

    Another lecturer, who also pledged not to be named, said the diploma graduates should forget using the results for admission this year. He said: “It is only wise and appropriate for graduating students to be patient, collect their results before applying for a direct entry. This way, they can be sure of any university’s admission.’’

    A top administrative staff member of the school said the management was not unaware of the development. He maintained that the management was making frantic effort to resolve the matter.

    His words: “Let the graduating students know that the school management is genuinely addressing the matter and will not do anything that will affect future engagement of the students. The fact that their results are still pending is highly regretted. However, we want to assure them that there is painstaking effort to resolve the issue.”

    Parents who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE expressed frustrations over the delay in releasing the diploma results. They accused the school management of “gross incompetence”, saying it was unfair to collect N6,000 from students to put in for DE without ensuring their results are released for the purpose.

    Mallam Tijjani Abdurrahman, a civil servant, said the school had no reason for not enrolling the diploma students for DE programme. He said many of the applicants would lose admission because of the school’s ineptitude.

    Another parent, Mrs Rabi Adamu, who was upset said: “It is disturbing to learn that our children’s results are not ready about four months after their graduation. This is not a good image for a school that should be an example for excellence.’’

  • Benue Varsity owes N3.8b, says VC

    The Vice Chancellor of Benue State University (BSU) Makurdi, Prof Msugh Kembe, says the institution is owing N3.8 billion.

    He said this at the opening of a retreat for deans, directors and heads of departments of BSU in Makurdi.

    He explained that the debt included arrears of pension, death benefits and earned allowances liabilities.

    “The university is in arrears of pension in excess of N500 million; death benefits liability of the university is close to N300 million while earned allowances liability is in excess of N3 billion,” Kembe said.

    He said BSU was no longer receiving funds from the state government, adding that capital projects were mostly funded by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and the state Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON).

    The vice chancellor further lamented that efforts to improve the internally generated revenue of the university by increasing user charges were frustrated.

    BSU Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Zachary Gundu, warned lecturers against sexual harassment, admission racketeering and corruption.

    “There are vices we must avoid if we have to build a BSU of our dream. Lack of transparency breeds rumours and speculations.

    “We must also choose to be authentic and be prepared to cut away everything that is not ours.

    “If cultism is not ours, we must stamp it out completely. If cheating, sexual harassment and plagiarism are not ours, we must reject everything about it.

    “If admission racketeering is not ours, we must stamp it out quickly, and if corruption is not ours, we must do everything possible to be above board,” Gundu said.

    The don said the council was not satisfied with the quality of the institution’s projects and the quality of inventories kept in offices about suppliers.

    He charged management to explore new teaching pedadgogy which he belives would afford students opportunities to experience quality, thereby improving standards.

    “The student who is forced to put money in his or her project in order for the supervisor to grade it is passing through an experience that will destroy our reputation.

    He said available records from the visitation panel showed that the previous management was not truthful to both staff and students, leading to much compromises in the system.

  • Landmark Varsity seeks partnership with Kwara on agriculture

    Landmark Varsity seeks partnership with Kwara on agriculture

    Landmark University (LMU)  Omu Aran Kwara State, has paid a courtesy visit to Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. Leading the delegation was LMU vice chancellor Prof Aize Obayan and Registrar Dr Daniel Rotimi.

    The visit was to seek possible ‘agricultural marriage’ between government and the institution as both parties share some compatibility in their commitment towards revolutionalising agriculture, said Obayan in her opening remarks.

    Prof Obayan described the agrarian drive of LMU a ‘masterpiece’ that has brought the institution accolades and a testimony of its success. The university which held its third convocation in August, would remain resolute towards restoring the ‘dignity of the black man’ through sustainable agriculture, Obaya added.

    Shewho presented a proposal to the governor on behalf of the institution,  praised Kwara State government for instituting some agricultural programmes that have further portrayed the sector as a serious business. She also identified likely areas of partnership the university is considering with government.

    In his response, Alhaji Abdulfatah, described the proposal of the university as a ‘welcome development’.

    The governor eulogised the Chancellor/Founder Dr David Oyedepo for his contributions to human capital development of Kwara State in particular and the nation in general. He also identified with LMU agrarian drive which according to him, also focuses on resuscitating the nation’s economy.

    The high point of the visit was the presentation of a customised portrait which bears the governor’s portrait  as well as LMU signature.

     

  • ASUU laments poor funding of Kebbi varsity

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed concern over what it described as ‘unacceptable’ way the Kebbi State Government was handling its Science and Technology University, Aliero ( KSUSTA).

    Sokoto Zonal Coordinator of the union, Dr. Lawal Alkali Argungu, complained at a briefing in Sokoto, that apart from poor funding, the state had failed to constitute a governing council for the university.

    “This is indicative of how the state government has relegated the issue of education in the state to the background.  With the monthly overhead of N5 million only, since inception to date, the university can be considered abandoned by the government.

    “The state government has left the university without a Governing Council for over one year.

    “ASUU is appealing to the Kebbi State Government not to force the campus to industrial restiveness unnecessarily, because the issue of Governing Council is a serious business in any university system,” he said.

    Argungu also said the union had an “understanding” with Governor Atiku Bagudu, to the effect that, the Council was going to be constituted.

    “And, thereafter, the council will procedurally address the rest of the contentious issues as presented by ASUU/KSUSTA.  As a union, we believe any university without a Governing Council is just like a ship without a captain. KSUSTA has been a peaceful campus since inception. It has never had any course to embark on indefinite strike action,” he said.

    Argungu appealed to eminent Kebbi indigenes and others to prevail on the government to redress the ugly trend.

    “The state government should attend to its responsibilities on the University without further delay in the interest of peace and industrial harmony,” he said.

     

  • Benin Republic’s first private varsity graduates 2000

    Graduating students of Houdegbe North American University, the first private university in Benin Republic, have been charged to set their vision and make it a mission.

    The 24-year-old bilingual university known for its rich blend of students from different cultures and countries held her “Remise de Diplomes 2016’’ (“Convocation Ceremony 2016’’) at the Convocation Square with over 2000 graduates in attendance.

    Dignified citizens of Benin Republic were present to offer their final words to the graduates as they transit from the school to the professional world.

    Among those present were Dr Dare Arokoyo, who charged them to “go out there to make a difference and etch their names in the annals of history.”

    He urged the new graduates to embrace determination, patience, focus, confidence and discipline as the requisite dispositions needed to excel within the wider scope of life.

    Mr Innocent Ariremako, the Vice Dean of School of Language, Translation and Mass Communication, advised the graduates to achieve great things and strive for excellence whilst they put their trust in God all the way.

    The deans of each department presented their students to the university’s president, Prof Dada Awiyan Houdegbe, for the conferment of the degrees.

    Houdegbe congratulated all the graduates and commended their perseverance to have completed the school’s requirements necessary for awarding a Bachelors Degree.

    He also noted that the university system in Benin Republic needs a re-organisation that ensures that university degrees are not awarded for two-year studies.

    “Houdegbe North American University has been the first private university in Benin Republic and would remain the first”, he said.

    Some of the graduates received awards from the President for their outstanding performances both in character and in learning at the event.

  • Ogun varsity lecturers to begin strike over N3.5b subvention arrears

    •Govt: we’re still giving education pride of place 

    The two-week sit-at-home by lecturers at the Olabisi Onabanjo University(OOU), Ago-Iwoye, in protest against unpaid subvention, may transform into a strike if the state failed to address the issue tomorrow.

    Since three weeks, OOU lecturers have been observing the  “sit-at-home” directive following a decision of the Congress of the institution’s Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on August 8.

    The semester examinations at the time, came to an abrupt end, forcing hundreds of students, who had come to school for their papers to return home in disappointment.

    OOU-ASUU Chairman Dr. Deji Agboola told The Nation yesterday that the university’s management, reeling from paucity of funds, would be unable to pay them July and August salaries because the government had not paid OOU subventions in the last 24 months.

    Agboola, an associate professor and head of Department of Morbid Anatomy and Histopatology in the university’s teaching hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu,  said the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which the university management had been using to pay workers’ salaries, had “dried up”.

    He said the lecturers might be compelled to embark upon a strike this week, if the government failed to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it signed with them in December 2015.

    The MoU, he added, recommended adequate and regular funding of OOU through payment of subventions, among others.

    He lamented that the government owes the institution  subvention arrears of N3.5 billion as at last July.

    Recalling that they were last paid in June by the management, Agboola said there was also no assurance that his members would be paid July and August  salaries soon.

    However, attempts to reach the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. Modupe Mujota, was not successful.

    But in June, the Governor Ibikunle Amosun administration said “it’s giving education a pride of place in the scheme of things in Ogun State.”

    Mrs. Mujota, who spoke during the conference of Pro- Chancellors of State Universities in Nigeria, hosted by Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun,  last June, said the government was committed to continually providing infrastructure for its educational institutions to enable them deliver on their mandates.

  • Varsity only in name?

    Varsity only in name?

    Nine years after its establishment, the Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH) in Okitipupa seems to be a higher institution only by name. The school is facing many challenges that have led to incessant closures. The local Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared an indefinite strike over non-payment of salaries and the government’s inability to fund the school. DANIEL OLADELE reports. 

    Deep regrets. Disappointments. High expectations.These sum up the feelings of lecturers and students of the Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH) in Okitipupa. Weeds have covered the institution. There is little or no hope for the outgoing government’s attention.

    Established nine years ago by the state government to offer technology-driven knowledge to high school leavers in the state, the varsity  has become a ghost of itself and an eyesore to Okitipupa indigenes, who were elated when the insitution was built in the town.

    Despite spirited efforts by members of the university community to save the institution from extinction, it has remainsed in shambles due to  its neglect by the Ondo State Government since inception.

    To compound the woes of the university, its chapter of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared an indefinite strike over non-payment of six-month salary arrears. This has further worsened the plight of the students, who have been at home for three months.

    There seems to be no respite for the dying institution, as the state is currently bubbling with electioneering. The Visitor to the school, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, seems not interested in turning around the fortunes of the university before he quits office.

    A visit by CAMPUSLIFE to the main campus of the university showed a status that betrayed anything close to a university. For a first-time nothing, the campus can be mistaken for a game reserve. The only set of inter-linked buildings serves as the Faculty of Engineering, which is the only one in the institution since inception. Other structures on the campus have been overgrown by bushes. The road from the school gate is untarred and riddled with potholes.

    In this mess the school has become, undergraduates are ‘trained’ in disciplines that are far from technology. A check on the university’s website showed the courses being offered as: Botany, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Microbiology, Zoology, Biochemistry, Industrial Chemistry, Computer Science, Industrial Mathematics, Geophysics, and Physics.

    Students admitted for disciplines related to technology are confronted with infrastructure challenges. They are only taught theory; there is no functional laboratory to engage in practicals of the courses they are taught in classrooms. In a few months, the institution would graduate the second set of students, but the majority of the first set of its graduates are unable to go for the compulsory National Youth Service due to the incessant closures of the institution.

    Unable to entertain the government’s excuses, ASUU, at its congress last Wednesday,  reiterated its calls for the reorganisation of the institution, and maintained its “no pay, no work” stance. The union vowed not to resume work until all salaries and allowances of its members have been fully paid.

    A communique issued after ASUU’s congress, obtained by CAMPUSLIFE, reads: “We have observed that the state government has totally abandoned the university and the reality on ground is a far cry from the impression created by officials of the state government in the media. It is visible even to the blind that the university is in a state of total neglect.

    “The Union has chosen to maintain a dignified silence on the attitude of the Olusegun Mimiko-led government to the university for a very long time, because of the integrity and image of the university. But, the fallacious statements being circulated by the Ondo government officials have prodded us to speak. Continued silence by the Union will do more harm than good to the image and integrity of the university.

    “Also, there has not been any improvement or maintenance on the structures on ground or any effort to erect new ones since the take-off of the university. There has not been release of subvention to the school in the past few years. We have observed low morale among staff and this is affecting research.”

    ASUU said the government had been inconsistent with the funding of the university, a situation, it said, has led to irregularity of salaries, recruitment of unqualified and inexperienced academic staff and decline in staff welfare.

    The lecturers said problems facing the university were beyond what the Governing Council could solve.

    “Only serious intervention from the state government can put an end to the challenges facing the school” ASUU said.

    In a letter titled: OSUSTECH: A duty of care, addressed to Mimiko by the local chapter of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the varsity workers said the institution was on the verge of collapse.

    The letter, signed by SSANU chairman, Dayo Temola, reads: “The university has been running only on one faculty (Faculty of Science) since it was inaugurated for academic activities by Your Excellency in 2010. Years after, the university still glorifies itself with one faculty. Other universities established after, including Kwara State University and Osun State University, boast of more than four faculties with different architectural masterpiece. We wonder what knowledge students can get in a one-faculty university.”

    Temola said contractors handling various projects on the campus left site since 2011. The level of infrastructural decay on the campus, he said, should be a wake-up call for any serious government to intervene urgently. It is on record that the university has not taken a capital grant since 2013.”

    Lending its voice to draw attention the plight of students in OSUSTECH, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) expressed displeasure over the state of the institution. Its Public Relations Officer, Gbenga Akinsuyi, blamed the government for the decay in the institution, urging Mimiko to restore the glory of the institution before he leaves office.

    A final year student, Nicolas Olorunfemi, was dissatisfied with the strike. He said the incessant closure of OSUSTECH had affected its academic calendar. He urged the government to pay the striking workers for students to graduate on time.

     

  • No work, no pay, varsity warns workers

    Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi (UAM), Prof Emmanuel Kucha, has warned striking unions in the university of the Federal Government’s policy of “No Work no pay” policy.

    The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) of the university have been on an indefinite strike to demand for the immediate implementation of all components  of earned allowances.

    The strike started last week after the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum.

    Leaders of the unions turned back all non-academic and senior members of staff that showed up for work from the gate.

    Most of the offices were locked to enforce compliance with the strike.

    At the Vice chancellor’s office, which also houses the Registrar, Bursar, and General Administration, no worker was seen on duty.

    A page of the bulletin of the UAM, signed by the Registrar, Mrs Helen Nyitse the university administration cited a circular from the Executive Secretary of the National University Commission (NUC) dated  13th July, 2016, where the VC stated that he has been directed to strictly implement the “No Work, No pay“, rule as contained in section 43 of  the Trade Dispute Act Cap T 8, laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004.

    The circular advised all staff of the university to be mindful of the consequence of participating in any strike which will disrupt the service of the university.

  • Varsity refutes story on death of six students

    The Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, has refuted a story being circulated about an accident that allegedly claimed the lives of six of its students.

    A statement signed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru ?noted that the accident did not claim any life.

    “Actually, there was such an accident involving our students two days ago.  However, there was no death recorded as a result of the road traffic crash. As at today (Wednesday), only one female student is responding to treatment at our clinic and she is nursing a deep cut.

    “The accident as depicted in the picture of the affected bus that had gone viral in the social media has therefore not claimed any life,” the statement read in part.

    The statement further appealed to the students and other members of the university community to desist from spreading “dangerous rumours” but seek clarification on issues.