The excitement in Dansol High School hall in Lagos during last Thursday’s Teachers Appreciation Day was electrifying.

After a sumptuous lunch of rice and drinks or swallow and soup, the moment the teachers and pupils had been waiting for – the announcement of the best teacher of the year  – came.

By the time the Director of School, Mr Esan Oladapo, announced the runners up, Mr Joseph Soyemi, who was rewarded with N500,000 for coming second, and Mrs S. N. Mbawuike, N300,000 for being third, the tension in the room was fever-pitch.

So, when it was time to call out the overall best, the audience could hardly bear Oladapo’s attempts to keep everyone in suspense. His eventual announcement of Joseph Oluwatosin Daramola, Mathematics and Further Mathematics teacher, as winner was drowned by a thunderous applause.

It sent many teachers rushing towards the recipient, who they half carried and half dragged to the podium to receive a cheque of N1million – Dansol High School’s reward for the teacher who came out the best in an assessment competition conducted for the school by Paul Esther Consulting firm.

Daramola attributed his success to God, saying it was his time.

“All glory be to God.  In Dansol, everybody works. The Bible says there is a time for everything so I see that it is my time,” said Daramola, who joined the school in 2009.

Mr Tunji Akinyemiju, Chairman, Dansol Christian Mission, said in an interview that the programme was an opportunity to show the teachers they were appreciated for their contributions to the school’s success.

“We do this annually to reward them.  We engage a consultant, Paul Esther Consulting, which also handles our recruitment, to do the assessment of the teachers.  They use their own parameters.

“In Dansol, there is reward for excellence.  Whatever you are doing and do well, you will get the reward.  The World Teachers Day is for the world to know the worth of teachers.  Here we know their worth and we want them to know they are appreciated.  Apart from the cash awards, all teachers were given gifts by the PTA,” he said.

In his speech, Oladapo said the school prioritises teacher welfare and as such pays good wages in addition to other benefits.

“The Board of Dansol Christian Mission is not unaware of the enormous roles played by teachers, hence, the welfare of teachers and even the other staff members are always top priority in the budget.

“Teachers/staff in Dansol yearly travel to USA, Canada, UK, Ghana and South Africa for further training so as to be better teachers.  These are fully paid for by Dansol at no cost to the teachers,” he said.

In the Dansol Primary School category, Mrs Oluwakemi Olumide won a prize of N500,000 for coming first; Mrs Favour Odhe got N250,000 for second place, and Mrs Oluchi Ibekwe got N100,000 for third position.

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National President, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Michael Olukoya-Alogba, has issued a warning to states owing its members backlog of salaries.

Comrade Olukoya-Alogba, said the union would embark on strike if state governments refuse to pay its members.

He said: “The non-payment of salaries or portion (part) payment or deciding how much to pay on monthly basis, not paying our members when they retire, working conditions of teachers, all these are challenges and we take joy in highlighting these challenges to people that matters.

“Tell the government, our employers, that we will not allow this to continue, it is not going to be sympathy as before. Number one, all the states that are owing – 17 of them, we have given them the last warning, that if the trend should continue, we should not be held responsible because the moment we now go on strike, or we try to tell our people to do to the contrary, they will be saying that we are being sponsored.

“Now that people are owing us in Benue – almost one year (primary school), other categories of workers eight months. In Kogi, the same thing, in Nasarawa percentages, in Plateau, just mention them like that.

“We have seen the opportunity on the 5th (World Teachers’ Day) to tell them that look, enough will soon be enough. Again, apart from the welfare something, we have the working condition of teachers. Our schools-many of them, no furniture. Infrastructural decay, we are not going to allow this to continue.

“UNESCO has given a directive that total budget of nay tier of government 26 per cent to education. How many of them are doing it? Even from federal to local, how many of them are doing it?

“As long as we don’t have our education sector correct, as long as you don’t have adequate investment in education that is the end of that government. That means all these social menace will continue. Until we have our bearings right, we may continue to chase shadows.

“You cannot imagine for somebody to work for 35 years only to retire into poverty and penury. All these must be checked and must be corrected.

“We have told them this year it is not going to be an annual rhetoric. We are going to match it up with action and we are going to start from all these orchestrated local government autonomy. We are not opposed to it as teachers but don’t tie primary education to local government autonomy because he that wears the shoe knows where it pinches and experience they say is the best teachers.

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The Governing Council of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), at its meeting of last Friday, appointed Mr. Nurudeen Olalekan Lawal as the new University Bursar.

His appointment will take effect from November 3.

Lawal served as Chief Accountant at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (1997-2009) and has the Director of Finance (since 2009).

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and several professional bodies.

He is married and  has children.

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Founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, has advocated a national emergency fund to address the challenges of inadequate funding of the education sector.

He suggested a minimum of 26 per cent of the national budget or four per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) yearly to the sector.

Chief Babalola made the call on Tuesday while delivering the keynote address at the 32nd Conference of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU), hosted by the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete.

Speaking on the topic: “University management and economic Change: The Nigerian educational system perspective,” he said: “To rapidly catch up with the rest of the world in terms of quality education, there is a need to designate a significant portion of annual budgets to education.”

He added that the government must be committed to revitalise and supporting public universities.

Babalola also stressed the need for an end in the incessant industrial actions in public universities in the country, to bring about stable academic calendar. He also pointed out that “the private universities are generally not vulnerable to the many common ills of public universities.”the AVCNU Chairman, Prof Debo Adeyewa, urged governments at all levels to fund education adequately.

Adeyewa, the Vice Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, also charged university administrators to come up with solutions to the “problems of paucity of finance, deficit of knowledge infrastructure, governance, policy inconsistency and other solutions relevant to the needs of society’’.

He said the employability of graduates, entrepreneurship, quality assurance, relevance to sustainable development, climate change, leveraging on Information Communication Technology (ICT) and open education resources and international collaboration in the Nigerian university system were some of the challenges confronting the universities.

“We need to address the nagging questions to ensure the provision of functional and quality education required for national development in the 21st century through our universities.”

Declaring the conference open, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed urged the vice chancellors to promote real research instead of the book reviews.

Represented by the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hajia Amina Ahmed also spoke of the need to match the training with the needs of the society.

“It is only through pragmatic approach that we can guarantee sustainable growth in our country. Unless and until we graduate students as job creators, our saturated market of unemployable youths can at best remain time bombs that would do us no good,” he said.

Earlier, Vice Chancellor of KWASU, Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah urged university administrators to collaborate with government to stop incessant strike actions by lecturers.

Na’Allah added that most lecturers don’t treat their students like clients, saying the unfriendly treatment would not allow the students to give back to their alumni after their graduation.

“If we are determined have 21st century universities, we have to ensure that our universities are theatres of research. There cannot be development without universities. Nigerian universities have no other cause but to change the fortune of Nigeria.

“This nation is spending heavily on university education, yet we don’t have anything to show for it,” the vice chancellor added.

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In many states across the country, public school teachers looked their best during the commemoration of the World Teachers’ Day last Thursday.

Wearing colourful uniform attires, they were found in public parks, squares and stadiums, under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), honouring the profession that earns them their daily bread.

However, salary arrears dampened the celebration in some states where the government owes salaries. Even states where salaries are regular, many teachers still expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of money they are paid and working conditions.

Many of the teachers in primary and secondary schools lamented that despite being noble and significant, the government did not accord teaching the necessary recognition compared to other professions.

Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Ogun, Ekiti, Abia, Oyo, Ondo, and Nasarawa states are among the 17 owing salaries (full or partial).

Others include: Taraba, Niger, Delta, Osun, Adamawa and Bayelsa.

A primary school teacher at Oba-Ile in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Mrs. Olubunmi Ajayi, said teachers impacting knowledge to their pupils on empty stomachs was uncalled for.

She noted that there was no encouragement to enable them push forward and give their best.

“We are ready to raise the standard of education if the government provides an enabling academic environment with adequate instructional materials.”

In Kaduna State, though Governor Nasir el-Rufai claimed that his administration allocated 35 per cent of its budget to the education sector, teachers are not happy.

Commissioner of Education Prof Andrew Jonathan Nok said the government had built and renovated public schools and equipped them, while the teachers mourned the non-payment of salary arrears and leave bonuses – displaying their displeasure with black hand bands they wore to the teachers’ day event.

NUT Chairman Audu Amba said the profession faced a series of problems, including non-payment of accumulated salary arrears ranging from one to 11 months in the various Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs).

“There is delay in the payment of LGEA teachers’ salary for up to two weeks after their colleagues in the state have been paid.  Another factor standing as a stumbling block to attaining freedom in teaching and teacher empowerment is the issue of outstanding payment of balance of leave grant for 2015, and non-payment of that of 2016.

“And for 2017, teachers don’t even know their fate on that. Mention must be made that, 10 per cent of teachers’ salary is deducted monthly and paid to them as their leave grant at the end of the year, so it’s a right and not a privilege,” Amba said.

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State gifted three teachers new cars to mark the event. However, even though many were happy for the recipients, the salary arrears of five to eight months dampened their joy.

A primary school teacher, Mrs. Beatrice Oluwole, said the payment of salary backlog would have appealed more than the cars a few teachers got.

She said poor working conditions had killed her interest in the job, adding that she would have quit teaching if she had the opportunity to do so.

She said: “I won’t deceive you my brother, my productivity has declined because we are working almost on an empty stomach because the government owes us eight months’ salaries.

“Apart from hunger, some of us have health challenges.  With no money to care for ourselves, how can we give our best under these circumstances?

“Rather than wait for Teachers’ Day to present cars and some cash to a select few, the government should look for ways to pay our salaries and provide other incentives that will encourage us to work harder.  The issue of non-payment of salary is affecting our productivity and motivation.”

In Ogun State, Babatunde Folarin, who has spent 23 years teaching Geography and Biology in a public school, said he was not happy with the profession any more.

The former Chairman, Ogun State Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), said: “Teachers’ productivity varies from one end to the other in Nigeria. Some schools have not what it takes to do anything productive, while in some schools the infrastructure are there.

“In Nigeria generally, teaching is in a sorry state. As far as I am concerned, I am not happy with teaching now. There are too many rotten areas in this sector.”

Malam Abubakar Liman, who has spent years teaching in Sokoto, said many teachers loved their jobs but the continued underdevelopment of the education sector made them unhappy practising their profession.

He said: “It is unfortunate and frustrating that from the university to the primary school level, the Nigerian educational sector has been relegated to the background with teacher quality being one of the most affected.

“Many Nigerian teachers love their jobs but are not happy with it. This can be largely attributed to the virtual absence of good salary, remuneration for achievements, basic equipment and facilities for teachers as well as training and re-training.

Others include government employment of low quality and unqualified teachers which adds more burden to the qualified ones; political involvement in the sector with many key positions in the ministries and even in schools now politicised to the extent that individual party membership serves as a key determinant of his/her position in a ministry or school.”

Even though Cross River State does not owe salaries, some teachers say their take-home pay was barely enough to survive.

Mrs. Theresa Odey, a secondary school teacher in Calabar, said teachers should be rewarded here on earth like practitioners of other professions.

She said: “They keep saying our reward is in heaven, but we would also like to enjoy here on earth before going to heaven. At least, we in Cross River State are regularly paid, even though the money is nothing to write home about. I cannot imagine what teachers who are being owed are facing. The bottomline of what I am saying is that teachers need better renumeration. The pay should be such that people should aspire to be teachers just as people aspire to be doctors or engineers. This is the noblest profession in the world yet it is treated with so much contempt by those who should know better.”

A primary school teacher in Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State, Mr. David Abang (not real name), said the poor pay affected his productivity.

“Honestly, I don’t believe my students get the best from me. Sometimes I honestly do not even have money to pay transport to school. Our pay is too poor compared to the job we do. The government is not even paying attention to teachers, who have the very grave responsibility of shaping the minds of the future. It is very sad and dangerous for the well-being of this country. Where I teach so many of the teachers are not even qualified. Most people only come in because they see it as a source of income and not as a vocation or calling. For most, at least the pittance that comes in is better than nothing, and so, the education of the child is not so important to them. The dignity of the profession should be restored, by getting only qualified teachers who have passion and further motivating them with good pay,” he said.

However, despite the poor or in some cases no salaries, some teachers said their satisfaction was intrinsic.

Philip Ajisola, a secondary school teacher in Ekiti State, believes he is a teacher by calling and delivers regardless.

“Teaching is a profession I chose by myself because I really love the job of moulding the future generation and I am putting in my very best despite being owed salaries.

“The non-payment of salaries has not affected my productivity because I see the students I am teaching as my children, and if my productivity drops, it will affect them. I love this job and I don’t want them to suffer for the offence they never committed,” he said.

For Paul Okoh, a primary school with Ben Nursery and Primary School, Makurdi, seeing his former pupils recognise him on the streets makes him happy.

‘’This acknowledgement from my pupils alone has brought joy and happiness to me even though the problem of non-payment of teachers for a year is pending in Benue State,” said Okoh.

Mrs. Theresa Odey , a secondary school teacher in Calabar said her conscience makes her productive.

“I would say I am productive enough because I am guided by a conscience, because if it is going by the reward we get for our jobs, our students would get nothing,” she said.

The NUT President, Comrade Michael Alogba-Olukoya, said despite the poor treatment of teachers, they were still doing their jobs because of the intrinsic reward that came from nurturing lives.

“We feel highly elated, happy because moulding people’s lives, to us, is a thing of joy. So the career fulfilment is there and we are happy with what we are doing. Any teacher must first of all have what we call passion, career love in order to deliver very well in the classroom. All of us feel happy and fulfilled in choosing that career. Even though people are not treating us well, it does not in any way mean that we should allow this to be seen in our psychic.”

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The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, has urged higher institutions and the general public to disregard social media reports that he has cancelled Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination ( Post-UTME ).

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As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the International Day of the Girl Child 2017, the country has been ranked 27th in the world on the index of the toughest places for a girl child to be well educated.

The country Director of ONE campaign, Serah Makka-Ugbabe, made this known  in Abuja.

He said 52 per cent  of girls in Northeast  have never been to school, making it the toughest region for girls education in Nigeria.

According to her, President Muhammadu Buhari has recently acknowledged the depth of the problem and the Ministry of Education has developed the 2016-2019 Ministerial Strategic Plan.

“According to ONE’s research, the top 10 toughest places for a girl to get an education are South Sudan, Central African Republic, Niger, Afghanistan, Chad, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Liberia and Ethiopia based on factors including female literacy rates, rate of out-of-school girls, and more. All of these countries are fragile states, and nine  of 10 are in Africa.

“Nigeria is ranked 27th on ONE’s index of the toughest places for a girl to get an education, a ranking that underscores the need for action to ensure that every girl in Nigeria gets an education, with particular attention to the regional differences highlighted by the report. Education is in crisis in Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, it is not a crisis that many can see immediately that is what makes addressing it so hard. It is a crisis nonetheless. 52% of girls in Northeast Nigeria have never been to school, making it the toughest region for girls education in Nigeria. “In comparison, only 5% of girls in the South South geopolitical zone have never been to school. For those who are in school, what are the learning outcomes? Are we actually training the future of Nigeria for the 21st century?”

Ugbade also said:”This International Day of the Girl Child, ONE is launching ‘The Toughest Places for a Girl to Get an Education’ Index, which highlights the unique challenges faced by girls in the poorest countries and breaks down the toughest ten countries. Nine of the ten ‘toughest places’ are in Africa, and all are fragile states. “Nigeria is ranked number 27 on ONE’s Toughest Place for Girls to Get an Education Index, reflecting the urgency of the problem facing Africa’s most populous nation. With a population that is set to more than double to 400,000,000 people by 2050, educating Nigeria’s girls is crucial to the country reaping the potential benefits of its population boom”.

The Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development?, Barrister Mary Ekpere Eta, in his welcome remark at the occasion said the girl child has continued to face challenges in many countries of the world, including Nigeria.

She condemned the use of girl child as sex slaves, baby making factory and early and forced marriage resulting in VVF.

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JOINT Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede has vowed to always return every unspent kobo by the board to the Federal Government coffers.

He said the controversies trailing the huge amount he turned to the government coffers this year was uncalled for.

Prof. Oloyede said JAMB is not a wasteful agency and whatever comes in would be appropriately remitted into the federal government purse.

The former vice chancellor of the University of Ilorin told reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara state.

He said the board would be strengthened to make it a self-sustaining one as obtainable across the world.

“I am not aware of any agency that is with the nature of JAMB in the world that is being funded by government. But in Nigeria, because, we have used to something that is not proper and to get us out of what’s improper will even be strange,” he added.

He also promised that the board would improve on its activities in the coming years, calling on all stakeholders in the education sector to be up and doing and be honest in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Prof Oloyede revealed that the board might not review downward the fee for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in 2018.

He said the board had initially thought of reducing the fee but unwholesome activities of the so-called poor parents in the 2017 UTME no longer make the reduction attractive as it was at the beginning.

He explained that many arrested during the last UTME had collected huge amount of money from the parents of the so-called poor parents while seeking unholy support.

He said: “It’s one of the options but what’s mitigating against it is that I’m not convinced and I don’t think the Board too is convinced that the so-called poor people are genuinely poor.

“Our findings have revealed that what people spent in corrupting the society, what parents paid for seeking unholy support and what parents are prepared to part looking for how to cut corners show that if actually they are poor they will not be able to secure the resources they are wasting.”

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A student of Redeemers University, Debo Macaroni Adebayo who was expelled for a post on social media has faulted the decision of the management.

He stated in his post on facebook, that he has served redeemers university with all his life and does not deserve this kind of punishment.

In the expulsion letter, the management accused Debo of portraying the university and its officials in bad light.

‘All I did was served Reedemer’s University with all my life.’ He also appreciates his parents for taking legal action.

He said:

‘The University claim I put them in bad light. Most of you who have been following my posts on social media in the last two years would agree with me how I helped publicize Reedemer’s University like it was my Father’s school. This same me, would go to Ikeja city mall, different secondary schools advertising Reedemer’s University like I was being paid for it. Like I keep saying, the list is endless. I never expected it would result to this as I always wanted nothing but progress for my Alma Mata. However, the management of the school have a different point of view. I would like to thank my parents for deciding to take legal action and will hereby rest my case for now. I thank you all for calls, msgs and well wishes. Please help me let the world know what is happening to me because all I did was serve Reedemer’s University with all my life.’

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Prof. Peter Okebukola, former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, (NUC)  has urged graduating students of the Caleb University, Imota, Lagos to deploy their God-given talents and quality training to develop Nigeria.

Okebukola, who is the Chairman, Board of Trustee of the institution, made the appeal at the institution`s seventh convocation on Friday in Lagos.

He told the graduates to allow their entrepreneurial spirit come alive and stick to the noble ideas and core values of the institution.

He listed such core values to include Godliness, innovation, service, integrity, teamwork, excellence and creativity.

“To my ‘Emerald Graduating Class’, the entire country looks forward to you to be God-Solution Persons (GSP’s).

“You must be ready to deploy your God-given talents and the quality training, you have received at Caleb, to action beginning from your time at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme,’’ Okebukola said.

Brig.-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson, (rtd) who is the University`s Chancellor, urged all the alumni to be worthy ambassadors of the university.

Johnson commended the Council, Senate, and Management of the institution for maintaining high academic and moral standard.

Prof. Fola Tayo, the University Pro-Chancellor, advised the graduating students to be an unusual and strange person, “who is out to make a change’’.

“Be an odd person that cannot be fitted into the Nigerian corrupt and inhuman cage.

“Be a man or a woman, who can ask questions and will never compromise the standard of established laws, regulations and procedure.

“Remember, you are answerable to God, not man and in the choice between obeying man or God, you are enjoined to be on God’s side,’’ Tayo said.

Also, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Daniel Aina, remarked that the seventh set of graduates produced by the university, “comprise of the most brilliant minds, who will positively affect the future of Nigeria and Africa’’.

“That they are the seventh set itself is a study in excellence and perfection, and for us, that is a journey and it begins with these privileged individuals,’’ he said.

The VC said the institution produced 405 graduates this year as against 355 graduates in 2016.

He said 361 out of the 405 graduates received the Bachelor degree honours while 44 post-graduate students received the Master’s degrees.

“In the breakdown of the 409 graduating students, 14 persons made First Class honours, 142 are in Second Class Upper, 162 are in Second Class Lower divisions while 47 finished with Third Class division.

“Others in the class of higher degrees were 12 for Master Business Administration and 32 MSc Architecture’’, he said.

Aina named the best graduating student as Miss Elizabeth Nejo from the Department of Mass Communication.

Nejo made a Commutative Grade Point Aggregate (CGPA) of 4.85.

According to the VC, Mr Qadri Ahmed of the Department of Architecture is the best post-graduate graduating students with a CGPA of 4.91.

He announced that the certificate and transcript of the new graduates were ready, signed and would be issued to them, once they have been cleared by the university. (NAN)

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The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has released details of Online registration for 2017 Batch ‘B’ corps members.

The registration is scheduled to commence 23rd October.

Click to read details of the timetable here

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology has suspended its four-months-long strike after a meeting with its members at the university’s main campus in Ogbomoso on Tuesday.

This will be the second time the academic staff union will be suspending its strike which, in sum, has spanned, at least, two years.

The Secretary of ASUU LAUTECH Dr. Abegunrin, corroborated by the union’s Zonal Coordinator Dr. Ade Adejumo, confirmed that the strike had been suspended with immediate effect but academic activities will kick off on Monday, October 23.

“The zone will have to be briefed, national will have to be briefed, but the Congress have suspended the strike in principle as from today but full lectures will resume on Monday,” Dr. Adejumo said. “Skeletal things will continue, preparatory to the commencement of full academic activities on Monday.”

Read : Lecturers, others begin warning strike in Otuoke varsity

Over the months, LAUTECH had been riddled with numerous resumption dates which turned out to hold little water. First, the university management widely publicised September 15 and October 3 for reopening the university and resuming academic activities, respectively.

Although the gates of the institution were reopened as scheduled, lectures did not commence as the academic staff union refuted the announcement saying none of their issues had been addressed and that “strike is still in full force.”

With mounting pressure from the agitated students, LAUTECH’s Vice-Chancellor Prof. A.S. Gbadegesin, once again, promised Monday, October 16, as an alternative resumption date. That date also passed, to no avail.

However, the students are confident that this new date by ASUU will stand. Oleghe Enike, a 300 level of the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, reacting to the news said: “I believe we will definitely resume on Monday because, unlike the other dates announced by the school management, this one is coming directly from the body [ASUU] that actually embarked on the strike.”

Read Also: LAUTECH to end strike in days, VC assures 

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Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) in Kaduna Polytechnic (Kadpoly)has suspended its seven weeks old strike.

The students of the institution were writing their second semester examination when their lecturers decided to down tool.

Chairman of the union, Dr. Aliyu Ibrahim confirmed the suspension of the strike to newsmen in his office on Tuesday saying that, the suspension followed the resolution of the emergency congress of 17th October, 2017.

According to him, “following the resolution of the emergency congress of 17th October, 2017, the seven weeks old strike has been suspended.

Read: LAUTECH: ASUU Suspends Strike

“Therefore, members are called upon to immediately resume their normal academic activities”.

He further clarified that, the suspension is for a period of six months after which a congress would be reconvened on 17th April, 2018 to reassess the memorandum of understanding between the management and the union.

ASUP has opted for industrial action in August this year to press home its demands bothering on improved welfare package and conducive working environment from the management team of the federal Polytechnic.

Read Also: Kadpoly ASUP begin indefinite strike

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday signed University of Petroleum Resources Bill with a pledge to continue to support the socio-economic development of the Niger Delta region.

The President made the pledge while signing bill to establish University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta into law at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Read: Igbo not marginalised in cabinet appointments —Buhari

He said Federal Government was committed to supporting Niger Delta region to achieve socio-economic development.

Buhari, therefore, appealed to communities in the region to strive for peace through dialogue in resolving all conflicts not only among them, but also with business entities and authorities.

It was reported that with the signing of the bill into law, the path has now been cleared for establishment of the specialised university in the Niger Delta.

The institution will be charged with training and research in petroleum technologies. (NAN)

Read Also: Buhari worried over unpaid workers’ salaries in states

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The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has urged the Federal Government to invest more in the education of youths, especially the girl child, to enable them harness their potential and reap demographic dividends.

Dr Natalia Kanem, the new Executive Director, UNFPA, made the call at a media briefing on Tuesday in Abuja.

Kanem said that they deserved quality education and information to enable them make intelligent plans for their future.

“Government should focus more on the education of the youths, especially the girl child because the girl child is a precious member of Nigerian society.

“She has the potential to change the world when she is treated equally as the boys, as such, the girl child needs education; she needs to be protected and she needs to be informed.’’

Read: Governor advocates girl-child empowerment

The executive director said the organisation endorsed the efforts of Nigeria to bring education to every girl child in the country.

“We should not shy away from giving correct information to young people; so, we need every young person to seek correct information not misinformation or misconception.

“This means that parents, teachers, religious and traditional leaders as well as midwives in the communities must be informed to enable them become good sources of information for the young people,’’ she said.

According to Kanem, education is the indicator for progress in the family because once the mother is educated, her family will be healthier than the family of an uneducated mother.

She said that an educated mother would have a healthier family and as such the education of the girl child was a very important investment.

“Women are half of the equation of the solution to most challenges of any country; that is also true here in Nigeria.

“A well-equipped young woman who can support herself and contribute to the economy is part of the great equation that is going to make Nigeria great and strong,’’ she said.

The executive director also said that demographic dividend was inseparable from family planning, of which women should be in-charge of.

She, however, said that family planning should be completely voluntary.

According to her, UNFPA in collaboration with partners will ensure that the right information and right services are available in the country for people to access. (NAN)

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I had deliberately told myself when Governor Udom Emmanuel assumed office that the number one index I will use in judging his performance and impact in office will be the strategic interventions and policies he brings to the Akwa Ibom state education sector.

The reason is simple: before his foray into Public service, Emmanuel sat as an Executive Director in one of Nigeria’s top banks – Zenith Bank Plc. As someone who was largely transported to that enviable position in his banking career by the ladder of education, his interventions in the education, or the lack thereof,  will say a lot about the kind of future he wishes to bequeath to Akwa Ibom people.

For as pioneering American educator Horace Mann had insightfully established as far back as 1848, Education…beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of conditions of men – the balance wheel of the social machinery…It does better than to disarm the poor of their hostility toward the rich; it prevents being poor.  It goes without saying that a reliable way to judge if Governor Emmanuel is serious about alleviating poverty which is one of his five-point agenda would be to look at his efforts in repositioning the state’s education sector.

On Tuesday, May 16, 2017, Emmanuel earned for himself my first reverberating applause when he moved in to commission a set of strategic futuristic education projects at the Akwa Ibom State University,(AKSU) Obio Akpa and Ikot Akpaden campuses.

The projects, about seven in number include Digital Language Library, Commercial Farm Palm Oil Mill, Commercial Farm Feeds Mill, Vegetable Screen House, Ultra-Modern Mass Communication Studios, Standard Performance Arts Theatre and an administrative block, Administrative Block.

Apart from seeing this as a daring effort by the Emmanuel administration to create the needed infrastructure and provide facilities that will engender qualitative teaching and learning at AKSU, there is a profound message the Governor appears to have sent to the management of the University about the future he is hoping to see there.

It is safe to think that as someone who clearly understands that universities by their original design and philosophies are meant to serve as innovation and knowledge transfer centers to the society, Emmanuel with some of these projects was telling the management of AKSU that he has outsourced part of the responsibility of recreating THE CALIFORNIA STORY in Akwa Ibom state to the state-owned University.

Why California?

Rated as the 6th largest economy in the world, California, although just a state in the United States of America has an economy estimated to be larger than that of France or Brazil. The state of California has little offshore oil, yet its economy is larger than states in the US that are famous for their oil reserves, like Texas. California generates much of its revenue from non-oil products.

Although not the mainstay of California’s economy, Agriculture as a sector also makes significant contribution to the state’s economy.  The state of California leads the American nation in the production of fruits, vegetables, wines and nuts. California produces the major share of U.S. domestic wine. Dairy products contribute the single largest share of farm income. California is also home to the famous Silicon Valley – an area in Santa Clara Valley, which continues to stay as a leading hub for high-tech innovation and development, accounting for one-third of all of the venture capital investment in the United States.

But then, available facts indicate that California would never have reached this enviable height without the remarkable contributions of Stanford University. A study released in 2012 estimates that companies formed by Stanford entrepreneurs generate world revenues of $2.7 trillion annually and have created 5.4 million jobs since the 1930s. Companies founded by Stanford alumni include tech giants like Google, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems.

With the allocation of funds for the construction and then moving in to commission the Commercial Farm Palm Oil Mill, Farm Feeds Mill, and the Vegetable Screen House at AKSU, the Governor was clearly telling the institution that his administration is betting big on it to lead a knowledge-based diversification of Akwa Ibom state economy to commercial Agriculture.

And to be honest, I expect that Management of the university understands that this is a great opportunity for the institution to create a new story among Nigerian universities.  For instance, it will be gladdening to see AKSU become the source of all the feeds for livestock farmers in Akwa Ibom and the Southsouth and Southeast region in the next few years. As a university, they have the advantage of deploying their research efforts into producing sought-after feeds, mill palm oil in commercial quantities for sale and produce a high-yielding breed of vegetable in the Screen house to farmers. This of course will also serve a reliable revenue source for the University.

Away from providing these infrastructures, Emmanuel has been attracting accolades from the AKSU community by his commitment to funding the university and the prompt payment of salaries to the staff. The big bet by the Governor on this is that with these motivations, the staff will approach their duties with high morale and committed verve.

But Emmanuel is not only betting big in the tertiary education sector alone. This year, the first batch of teachers out of the 5,000 recruited by the State Secondary Education board has been added to the workforce in public secondary schools in the state.

This is coming on the heels of the bold decision by the Governor to have cancelled the former recruitment exercise which many alleged was fraught with irregularities.

In a deliberate effort to also lay a firm foundation for public primary school pupils, Emmanuel is currently recruiting another set of 3,000 teachers under the Akwa Ibom State Universal Basic Education Board. These teachers who will pass through a thorough selection process will afterwards be saddled with the responsibility of moulding the future of prospective world changers.

These efforts are in addition to the continuous construction of more school blocks and renovation of old blocks in Public Primary and Secondary schools in the state.

It is safe to wager that Governor Emmanuel might be making this big bets the Akwa Ibom state education sector against the backdrop of the knowledge that investments in education has the power to trigger developments in other sectors of any society’s economy. Education is a fundamental driver of personal, national and global development. And as Akwa Ibom state journeys towards industrialization, there is need to prepare a generation who will take up the task of driving these developments in the future.

The future looks bright!

Borono Bassey writes from Akwa Ibom

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The Federal Government on Monday said efforts were underway to accord teachers special status in the society.

Minister of State for Education, Prof Anthony Anwukah, disclosed this to reporters in an interview in his office in Abuja 27 days after returning from the U.S. for medical treatment.

Anwukah said he has prepared a memo that will enable the government review teacher quality and training.

He said: “I am proposing a memo to the government. We have to look again at teacher quality and training in Nigeria and to get the right people into (the) teaching profession.

“We have to give a particular unique status to teachers in this country. Remove them from the normal grade level strata. You employ a teacher on Grade Level 8, you employ an agric attendant on Grade Level 8, there is nothing special for teachers.

“I am making a proposal that the teachers will have some attraction that will make quality people get into teaching.

“If you want to get quality teachers in this country, we must accelerate teachers every point for instance to be at Grade 9 while others come into Grade 8; that will be an attraction for special talents to go into the teaching profession to improve the quality of teaching and learning in our school system.

“We must have to rethink teacher training, teacher quality in this country. Quality persons must be attracted into the teaching profession. We must have to provide incentives for teachers so that it will attract quality people into the teaching profession.

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A new variant of tomatoes named Eva F1 has been introduced into Nigeria, courtesy of a collaborative effort between the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT) and the Teaching and Research Farm (TRF) of the Federal University of Technology, Akure. The Eva F1 Tomato is a variety five times bigger in size than the commonly available one in the Nigerian market and is capable of producing paste  four times more. The Eva F1 tomato has the rare quality of imperishability over a period of two weeks from date of harvest.

At a formal presentation of the first harvest of the product to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adeola Fuwape, the Dean, SAAT, Prof Taiwo Amos, in company with FUTA Farm Manager, Mr. Olajide Adedayo said the Eva F1 seedling was imported from Israel and carefully nurtured in FUTA’s Green House under controlled temperature.   Adedayo, described the development as the actualisation of part of the mandate and determination of the university to put science to work for the society.

He said the Farm under the supervision of SAAT has gone into the farming and production of Tomato Eva F1 variety in the Green House, using modern farming technique.  He said high crop yield is achieved under a small area of land as a unit of the Green House  which covers 192m2 (8m x 24m)”.

Speaking further on the advantages of the new variety and its potentials, Adedayo said: “With this technology, the tomato crop will be grown and produced round the season.  The Eva F1 Tomatoes are organically produced and an indeterminate hybrid variety with an extended shelf life, good resistance to cracking with flower setting at high temperatures”.

On the gestation period, he said: “the first harvest of the fruits started after three months of planting and we hope to continue the harvest for the next six months”.

Departments under SAAT such as Agricultural Extension and Communication (AEC) and Food Science Technology, (FST) are already involved in a joint research effort to determine its nutritional content for finished products  such as Tomato paste and Ketchup.

Prof Fuwape described the successful cultivation and production of the Eva F1 Tomatoes as another proof of FUTA’s robust contributions to the development of the country through pursuit of excellence in its area of core mandates. He called on investors and interested agencies to partner with the university to facilitate the massive cultivation of the new variety.

FUTA road to the cultivation of Eva F1 tomatoes began with the immediate past Dean of SAAT, Prof Shadrack Akindele who saw the product on a working visit to Israel, got linked with Dizengoft Nigeria, had a discussion with the organisation and sold the idea to the university management and got approval  for its cultivation and production   through a Green House modern farming technique.

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It was excitement galore at the 2017 World’s Teachers Day programme of Mind Builders School, Lagos as three teachers were rewarded with plots of land for their commitment.

The lucky teachers, Mr Gbenga Abatan, Mr Oluwaseyi  Alabi and Mr Adekunle Babagbohun, were rewarded with a plot of land each at the Mind Builders  Housing Estate located in Mowe, Ogun state.

The gifts were courtesy of the Mind Builders Education Trust.

The school’s Education Director, Mrs Bola Falore, said the trio were deserving of the gift for their loyalty and dedication and promised others who are so dedicated such reward.

Responding on behalf of the recipients, an elated and surprised Abatan was full of thanks and praises to the God and the management of the school.  He promised that they will be more dedicated to their duties in future.

Other deserving teachers also got gifts at the event.

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The Proprietor, Victory Group of Schools, Chief Christian Francis Olaniyan, has urged government at all levels to appreciate teachers for the roles they play.

Speaking during the school’s first Teachers’ Day celebration Thursday, last week at Victory Hall, Ikeja, Olaniran described teachers as pillars of development.

“Governments at all levels should appreciate the positive hard work of teachers who are the pillars of our socio-economic development by giving them their dues.  The idea of teachers reward being in heaven should become a thing of the past,” he said.

Olaniran said that the Presidents, governors, ministers, doctors, lawyers and other leaders attained ladders of success through teachers who iimparted knowledge in them.

He said teachers were the most important tools in propelling education, saying any nation that realized this would grow in leaps and bounds.

“The qualities of the schools’ products depend on the quality of teachers. Good teachers will produce good products,” he said.

The proprietor praised the Christian Missionaries who brought the evolution of schools and got people trained to become teachers today.

Other speakers who presented the papers are Venerable (Dr) Sunday Fajemisin and Uchenna Johnson Ezeagwu a former student titled ‘Role of a teacher in Nation Building and the Essence of a Teacher motivations’

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