UNIBEN, two others win £6.8m UK research grant

The University of Benin, Edo State, and two other institutions have won the Global Challenge Research Fund Grant provided by the United Kingdom to promote research and development.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, disclosed this on Tuesday while briefing journalists on activities lined up for the 43rd convocation and 47th Founder’s Day ceremony of the institution.

Orumwense explained that the university was awarded the grant worth £6.8m in partnership with Lancaster University, United Kingdom; and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Ghana.

He noted that the grant would assist to boost research capability to address the problems faced by developing countries.

“The grant, which is part of a new £225m rate of investment, aims to grow research capability to meet the challenges faced by the developing world.

“The Britain’s £6.8m project will be led by Lancaster University, UK, with the University of Benin and CSIR, Ghana, as core partners,” he said.

UNIBEN to graduate 9,993 students during the convocation ceremony

A total of 9,993 graduands will be awarded with various degrees and diplomas at the 43rd Convocation/47th Founder’s Day of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), scheduled to hold on Wednesday, November 22.

The awardees are made up of graduating students of 2015/2016 sessions.

Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN, Prof. Faradey Orunwense, disclosed this while announcing programs for the convocation ceremony which commences on Wednesday, 22 November.

Breakdown of the graduands are as follows: 100 made 1st Class, 1,843 made 2nd Class (Upper division), 4,607 made 2nd Class (lower division), 1,351 made 3rd Class, 188 Diplomas, 152 for Post Graduate Diplomas, 1,120 for Masters Degrees, 102 PhD and 2 unclassified certificates.

Other programmes lined up for the Convocation/Founder’s Day ceremony include Founder’s Day and Convocation lectures, exhibitions, commissioning of various projects executed by the incumbent Vice Chancellor at the two campuses of the University.

The University will also honour the first female Vice Chancellor in Nigeria and a former Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN, Professor Grace Alele-Williams, “for her outstanding contributions​ in the field of education at both national and international levels.”

Also to be honoured is Dr. George Osemwegie Agbonlahor, “in recognition of his outstanding leadership and tireless commitment towards the growth and development of education in Nigeria.”

Tambuwal Campaigns, promises to enrol 1.4m children in school

Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has inaugurated a state-wide campaign to enrol 1.4 million children into primary schools in the state.

Tambuwal, who flagged off the campaign at Riji village in Rabah Local Government area of the state on Tuesday, described the campaign as the largest enrolment drive in Nigeria.

Riji is the birthplace of late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto.

The governor also used the occasion to inaugurate the State Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme, the Nigerian Partnership for Education Project and a prototype Early Childhood Development Centre.

He said that during the enrolment campaign which targets 1.4 million new intakes in the next one year, government would reach out to communities and adopt house-to-house advocacy.

“The enrolment drive is a high level advocacy mechanism to ensure that all stakeholders partake in ensuring effective awareness and mobilization.

“It involves parents, guardians, communities, religious and traditional leaders as well as the School Based Management Committees (SMBCs).’’

Tambuwal stressed that government would empower relevant stakeholders to drive the campaign and sensitise communities and parents on the importance of enrolling their children in school.

“This will be achieved through empowerment of SBMCs, mothers’ associations, religious and traditional leaders and other stakeholders to conduct campaign in their communities.

“They will, in addition, regularly track and monitor attendance of enrolled children in their respective schools and communities as part of their oversight responsibilities,” the governor explained.

The Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Jabbi Kilgore, said the “ambitious’’ campaign was “realisable because of government’s target of integrating 4000 Qur’anic schools with existing school models, and other strategies.

“Moreover, the planning and implementation process for the enrolment drive involves working with state legislators and religious leaders as well as partnering with the media to successfully achieve the set objective.’’

He added that the mobilisation committee would collaborate with the National Population Commission for data of new births recorded in every community.

According to him, the state has recorded significant reduction in out-of-school children and recorded 7.3 per cent increment in enrolment, with girls having 4.4 per cent of the figure in 2016/2017 academic session.

In a goodwill message, UNICEF acting Chief Field Officer for Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi, Mr. Paul Mudzondo, described the event as unique and historic.

He noted that apart from the campaign to raise school enrolment, the “government has provided stipends to poor families to support enrolment and maintenance of children, especially girls, in schools.”

Best Graduating Law Student of UI tells his success story

The best graduating Law student of the University of Ibadan, 2015/2016 academic session, Joseph Ogunmodede, on Monday explained how he was able to achieve the academic feat.

Mr. Ogunmodede, who had a first class degree, said he was able to attain the feat due to hard work and diligence, adding that nobody can be a success except he or she can pay the price.

Mr. Ogunmodede also explained why he established an online platform to “creatively educate the world on their legal rights and duties.”

”In short, you can begin from anywhere and still reach for the stars. All you need is to summon the courage. As we move on in life, create value and watch yourself climb the ladder of success.

“As you know, for you to achieve anything, you must have a sense of purpose. My fellow graduating students, we need to set goals for ourselves and be focused. With patience, determination and dedication, we shall reach the better tomorrow that is ahead of us, for we have a very bright future.

”The world has gone digital; technology remains the future of human relations and we now have access to the global market if only we can make optimal use of our technological gadgets. Check out the lives of the most successful entrepreneurs, they look for a need and meet it. Why don’t we do likewise?”

‎He made the remarks on Monday while delivering a valedictory speech on behalf of his colleagues at 69th convocation ceremony of the university.

The graduand, whose father, Benjamin Ogunmodede, is also a legal practitioner said the online platform, www.thelegaldiary.com, known as ‘The Legal Diary’, would remain ”part of his testimony as a lawyer.”

“Personally, with all sense of humility, I have led by example in this regard by founding “The Legal Diary,” which is an online platform to creatively educate the world on their legal rights and duties,” he said.......Premuim Times

UI: Produces 1st First Class graduate in history

For the first time in 69 years, the University of Ibadan has produced its first graduate with a First Class honours degree in History.

The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Idowu Olayinka, said Ozibo Ekele of the Department of History was one of the 186 students who earned First Class degrees at the 2015/2016 convocation ceremonies, which began Monday in Ibadan.

Mr. Olayinka said 5,629 students graduated in various academic programmes from 12 faculties, including the Distance Learning Centre at the convocation.

According to him, 186 passed with first class honours, 1,538 finished with Second Class Upper, while 3,133 finished with Second Class Lower.

Similarly, 434 students finished with Third Class, while 81 others graduated with Pass degrees.

The VC enjoined the graduates to be good ambassadors of the university, saying they should impact positively on their world.

He remarked that the students would have graduated a long time ago but for the strike embarked upon by the academic and non-academic staff unions.

According to him, the breakdown of the graduating list showed that 3.5 per cent and 28.6 per cent finished with First Class and Second Class (Upper) honours, respectively.

“I am aware that there has been strident public criticism of the large number of first class graduates from our universities.

“We are exceedingly proud of all Ibadan graduates.

“We see this phenomenon from the strategic point of view of input-process-output.

“The University of Ibadan has arguably the most competitive mechanism for undergraduate admissions in the country.

“This has been attested to consistently by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, in which Ibadan is the only university in the country ranked among the topmost 1,000 universities in the world,’’ the VC said.

He was full of praises for Ekele for breaking the jinx as the department had never produced a first class student since inception.

“We warmly congratulate Ozibo Ekele, who is graduating today with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 6.6 out of a maximum of 7.0,’’ the VC said.

Meanwhile, giving a valedictory speech on behalf of others, the overall best graduating student in Law, Tolulope Ogunmodede, attributed their successes to hard work and prayers.

On his personal experience, Mr. Ogunmodede said that although he faced challenges during his academic pursuit, he was focused on his priorities.

He urged his fellow graduates to generate ideas that could make them entrepreneurs and not to trade their integrity for anything evil. (NAN)

Education Ministers tells PMB to allocate more funds to Education

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to declare a state of emergency in education in Nigeria and to substantially increase government’s investment in the sector.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, made the appeal on Monday at a retreat the presidency held for ministers on education. The event was at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

According to Mr. Adamu, President Buhari should pay attention to education the way he has done to insecurity and the economy.

He said Nigeria is seriously underfunding education, even when compared to other sub-Saharan African countries, and warned that the federal government would have to spend significantly more, if it would achieve its goals as a change government.

According to the minister, to meet the 13 campaign promises he made to Nigerians on education, the president needs to spend at least one trillion naira yearly on the sector.

In the 2018 budget proposals he presented on Tuesday to the National Assembly, President Buhari allocated N605.8 billion, representing seven per cent of the budget, to the sector.

The minister said this is not adequate, as other countries at par with Nigeria allocate at least 20 per cent of their budgets to the sector.

“Mr. President, to achieve the desired change that education needs, there is the need for improved funding and a measure of political will in national governance.

“Such is the weight of the problems that beset our education and the deleterious effect it has had on our national development efforts that I believe that this Retreat should end with a declaration of a state of emergency in education so that we can face the challenges frontally and squarely,” he said.

The minister noted that since 1999 when democratic governments returned, annual budgetary allocation to education in Nigeria has been between four per cent and ten per cent.

“None of the E9 or D8 countries other than Nigeria, allocates less than 20 per cent of its annual budget to education. Indeed even among sub-Saharan Africa countries, we are trailing far behind smaller and less endowed nations in terms of our investment in education,” Mr. Adamu said.

He, therefore, urged Mr. Buhari for a major investment in education in the nation’s interest.

He stressed that such investment, which requires about N1 trillion each year, would be in line with the president’s as well as APC’s campaign promises before the 2015 election........Premium Times

PMB supports El-Rufia's decision to sack 22,000 teachers

President Muhammadu Buhari has thrown his weight behind the move of Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, to sack 21,780 teachers, who failed the competency test conducted by the state government.

The plan of the state government had sparked controversy, with many calling on the governor to back down because of the economic implication on the affected civil servants.

But speaking at a special retreat of the federal executive council (FEC) on the challenges facing the education sector, Buhari said it was no longer a secret that the sector was in crisis.

The president said the effect of decay in the education sector is glaring, vowing that his administration would change the situation for the better.

“Being an orphan, I still feel that boarding school moulded me. I spent nine year in boarding school, three in primary school and six in secondary school.

“In those days, teachers treat students like their own children. If you did well, they will tell you, you didn’t, they wouldn’t spare the rod.

“When I finished my secondary school, I didn’t work for a day, I refused to work for a day. I left home, I refused to work in the local government, and then I joined the army.

“And then I listened to one of the Nigerians I respect, he said after his training here in Nigeria and the United States, he went to his alma mater, his primary school to see what he could contribute. I won’t mention his name but when he went, he couldn’t differentiate between the students, the children and the teachers.

“And what el-Rufai is trying to do now is exactly what that man told me about 10 years ago. It is a very serious situation when teachers cannot pass the examination that they are supposed to teach the children. It is a very tragic situation we are in, and this our gathering is one of the most important ones in this administration.”