By Ese Williams

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), has accredited a private exam centre for Praxis Catholic eSchool, Jabi, Abuja.

The Proprietor of the school, Mr Ben Onwudinjo said this while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

Onwudinjo said that the gesture would enable candidates interested in writing WAEC have access to more exam centres.

He said that candidates interested in writing the January/February as well as the November/December WAEC exams could take advantage of the newly accredited centre.

According to him, registration for the 2024 January/February WAEC GCE external examinations is ongoing and urged interested candidates to use the opportunity to complete their subjects.. (NAN)

Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi

By Moses Kolo/Bashir Rabe Mani

Prof. Musa Garba-Maitafsir, the Director, National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) Kaduna, said on Tuesday that the institute has trained more than 18,000 primary school teachers in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno on e-facilitation.

Garba-Maitafsir made this known on Tuesday in Kaduna at the opening of the 1st NTI Annual National Conference 2023.

The theme of the conference is: “Re-directing the Focus of Education Stakeholders Towards Modern Process of Producing Competent, Dedicated and Professional Teachers in Nigeria”.

He said that the objective of the training was to make the teachers be in tune with the extant global digital trends and enhance their efficiency.

“It is no longer tenable to spend billions of naira on producing books and other educational materials, while the world has gone almost paperless,” he said.

Garba-Maitfasir urged Nigerian teachers to urgently overcome the phobia of computers and embrace digitisation.

He said that the fear was uncalled for as nobody would be eased out even with the use of computers.

The director said a lot had changed since he assumed duty over two years ago.

“The institute was not more than a mere Post Office when I was appointed to head it but I have transformed it into one of the leading teachers training institutions in the world in the last two years.

“It is now an academic institute of repute, boasting of over 100 PhD holders. All the stakeholders should do the right thing to get the desired change.

“If all of us do so, there will be a change in the next decade or more. If I leave this place without bringing the desired change, I will be doing an injustice to myself,” he said.

Garba-Maitfasir, therefore, advocated enhanced funding for the education sector, just as funds were provided for other sectors.

“We have to change what is wrong in the education system to secure the future of our children,” Garba-Maitafsir added. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Clara Egbogota

Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta has urged members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to contribute their quota to sustainable development of the state and the country at large.

Oborevwori said this on Tuesday at the closing ceremony of the 2023 Batch ‘C’, Stream ‘1’ Orientation Course for the corps members deployed to the state.

The governor was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Tonukari Johnbull.

“l am aware that perseverance, accommodating views which are opposed to yours, accepting and adapting to cultures, which are also different from yours.

“Spreading love and understanding among the people you will find yourselves, are some of the enduring lessons of the orientation course,” he said.

Oborevwori urged the corps members to respect the cultural norms and traditions of the people among whom they would find themselves.

“Coming from diverse cultural, social and educational backgrounds, this year of national service provides a very unique opportunity for integration and selfless service.

“Please ensure that as you leave here, you keep an open mind to enable you appreciate your new environment.

“Delta State is a land of great diversities and opportunities. Our people are generally warm hearted and accommodating.

“I appeal to you to cultivate a sense of belonging to place you in a better stead to harness these opportunities.

“One of the primary objectives of the National Youth Service Corps is to inculcate in our youths and fellow Nigerians, the virtues of selfless service, love, unity, peaceful co-existence and industry,” he said.

He urged the NYSC members to endeavour to make a difference by making use of innumerable opportunities around them.

“It is, therefore, expected that the service year provides an opportunity for you to make positive contributions to the society.

“Please resist negative tendencies by some persons who are enemies of society. Do not engage in frivolous travels, which often pose dangers through accidents.

“I sincerely hope that the exercise and attendant experience garnered in the past few weeks has helped to equip you for the tasks ahead.

“No matter how small your role might look like, it is important to the sustainable development of where you find yourselves during the service year.

Mr Olusegun Alao, the State Coordinator of NYSC, urged the NYSC members to see their service year as an opportunity to give back to the community.

“Go forth with humility, render rewarding service to your host communities, be exemplary teachers, and positively impact the lives of your pupils and students.

“Display your educational background, creativity, and leadership abilities,” he said.(NAN)(nannews.com.ng)

Edited by Benson Iziama/Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Moses Kolo

The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, on Tuesday reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government towards improving the quality of education in the country.

Sununu stated this while declaring open the 1st Annual National Conference of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), in Kaduna.

The theme of the conference was; ” Re-directing the Focus of Education Stakeholders Towards Modern Process of Producing Competent, Dedicated and Professional Teachers in Nigeria.”

Represented by Mr Sani Adamu, his Personal Assistant, Sununu said the Federal Government had particular interest in teachers training and their continuous development of in the country.

The minister emphasised the need for each stakeholder in the educational sector to play a unique role to help increase support for educational activities.

“ This underscores the fact that team efforts help to achieve much and increase the chances of success in reaching set goals.

“ There are several entities who serve as stakeholders in education including; government at all levels, teachers, parents, students, community and others,” Sununu added.

The minister, however, commended NTI for organising the conference, saying that the theme is apt and timely.

”This underscores NTI’s steadfastness to the realisation of strategic goals of producing competent, dedicated and professional teachers in Nigeria as captured in the recently developed Educational Sector Roadmap 2024-2027.”

Earlier, Prof. Musa Garba-Maitafsir, Director and Chief Executive of NTI, said in collaboration with other stakeholders, it was determined to brace up with the challenge that bedeviled the educational sector.

He said the institute had in the last two years changed its style of operation to serve not just as an administrative but academic outfit.

“ Our focus now is on e-facilitation as we have now embarked on the training of our staff to be e-facilitators.

“ We have already implemented the e-facilitation programme in; Borno, Adamawa and Yobe where we have trained over 18,000 primary school teachers.”

Garba-Maitafsir, who described the stakeholders at the conference as the backbone of education, urged them to convince their governors on what should be done right.

According to him, when we do this, we are going to have change in 10 years to come.

“ We are determined to change the narrative of what is obtained today in the educational sector for the betterment of tomorrow,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Joshua Olomu

Mr Bamidele Salam, Founder and President of Children of Africa Leadership and Values Development Initiative(CALDEV) has called for a strong national education system to address problems of out-of-school children.

Salam made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the four-day National Children’s Leadership conference to mark the 2023 Universal Children’s Day in Abuja.

The conference with theme:”Rebuilding Nigeria through investment in children’s education, welfare, and security’, and is meant to bring together hundreds of children from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory holds from Nov. 17 to Nov. 21.

Salam also said that a strong national education system will engender early learning, and innovations to extend education opportunities to the hardest-to-reach children and adolescents.

CALDEV, an NGO, teaches and mentor children and young adults on leadership and life values.

He said the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria was on the increase.

He noted that the welfare and security of citizens, especially the Nigerian child, cannot be guaranteed now or later, if the menace of out-of-school children is not addressed.

Salam also said the conference will focus on discussions and deliberations centred on identifying causes and making recommendations on how to tackle challenges facing the education, welfare and security of the Nigerian child.

“It is so unfortunate that Nigeria has the largest population of out-of-school children of primary school age and this is part of our discussions at this conference.

“We believe strongly that one of the ways through which we can tackle this problem is to raise children vanguard and children advocates who will talk to the conscience of parents and government.

“They will talk to everyone that has a duty to ensure that we gradually begin a process of reducing the number and eventually having a zero number of out- of- school children in Nigeria.

“So from here, we are going to be having more children who are acting as advocates to access education for their fellow children in every part of Nigeria.

“I believe that having this number of voices everywhere on the team will help us to address this emergency ,” he said.

He said the event was organised to provide a national convergence platform to give Nigerian Children the opportunity to express their God-given talents and innovative skills and give their suggestions in nation building.

He said young Nigerians who have displayed excellent feat in their careers will be given awards at the Conference.

Some Participants who spoke with NAN on the sideline of the

conference expressed delight on how the conference was shaping their mindsets.

Miss Adedolapo Ogunbayo said: “I have learnt that in life things do not just come easy, you have to make sacrifices, and also that winners never quit and quitters never win.”

Also, Joshua Agboola, a 14-year-old Programmer, who was nominated to receive an award at the conference , said : “ I am happy to be here and I think all children should be entitled to free education because it is very important for their future.

NAN reports that the conference has in attendance over 300 children between the ages of 12 and 17 from over 24 states of the federation.

It features leadership training,children parliamentary session, children’s dialogue on values, national unity and patriotism, as well as children’s financial literacy session.

Other highpoints include panel discussions, quiz competition, children’s films and books exhibitions, art exhibitions, books presentation and awards.(NAN) (nannews.com.ng)

Edited by AbdulFatai Beki/Sadiya Hamza

By Joshua Olomu

The Chief Executive Officer, Gosima Group, Dr Gideon Osi, has called on government at all levels to make entrepreneurial studies compulsory in academic curriculum of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Osi made the call on Saturday at the investiture ceremony into the Governing Council of the board of Havilla University in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Osi was inducted into the council of Havilla University, Cross River State, by its founder and chancellor, Mr Jones Tangban.

Osi said that making entrepreneurship studies a compulsory component of all courses of studies in tertiary institutions would inspire undergraduates to seek to become creators and not seekers of job on graduation from school.

According to him, government alone cannot create jobs for teeming Nigerian youths. They need to become self-reliant by acquiring entrepreneurial skills that are relevant to their course of study while still in school.

“Entrepreneurship is one of the fundamental support base of every society that will succeed, so we must build a institutions that will have an entrepreneur mindset in students from the day of resumption.

“Every students should understand that what they are studying have an entrepreneurial components. So, if you are reading any course, you must ask yourself what is your place in the market place .

“From the beginning, students should be aligned with mentors they can link up with, so that during holidays they do not just go home to waste time on their phones and social media.

“So when they go home they link up with their mentors and they spend holidays with companies so they will prepare their minds on their place in the labour market and what they want to become.

“So, we imbibe in them attributes of entrepreneurs, the ability to take calculated risk, ability to make sacrifices, ability to build something from nothing.

“University must have a council that will ensure this is carried out so that at the end of the day we will have graduates that create jobs and not job seekers,” he said.

He expressed gratitude to the leadership of Havilla University for considering him worthy to serve in its Governing Council.

He pledged to use his wealth of experience as a seasoned entrepreneur and a leader as contributions to repositioning the institution as a council member.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Havilla University, Prof Adewale Banjo, congratulated Osi as the a new member of council.

He said he was happy and willing to work with members of the governing council in building the university.

“Based on your antecedents, you have shown competence and character.

So, we strongly believe that your wealth of experience and character will be significantly felt in Havilla University,” he said. (NAN) (nannews.com.ng)

Edited by Deji Abdulwahab

By Sani Idris

Prof. Muhammad Muftahu of the Kaduna State University (KASU), Department of Educational Foundation, Faculty of Education, has advocated the recognition of higher education as a field of study and professional practice in Nigeria.

Muftahu, a Professor of Higher Education, made the call on Tuesday at KASU’s 12th professorial inaugural lecture, with the title Institutionalising higher education as a field of study and professional practice in Nigeria’.

He said that in spite of being the largest in Africa, with millions of students, the Nigerian higher education system still suffered from acute scarcity or complete lack of ‘HEPROs’.

He explained,” HEPROs are a group of highly qualified personnel in Higher Education Institutions who support the academic and administrative systems and procedures in the institutions.”

He added that planning, management, budgeting, financial management, staff development, public relations, institutional research, report writing, counselling, and collaborations with individuals and organisations outside of universities were among the duties of the HEPROs.

Muftahu, therefore, said that HEPROs primary responsibility was to oversee and manage the university’s organisation and various functions.

According to Muftahu, a country’s overall development is dependent on the strength of its higher education system, which is heavily reliant on the presence and contributions of the HEPROs.

“The development of HEPROs is important to the management and quality of higher education.

“In Malaysia, the Ministry of Higher Education established an academy named Higher Education Leadership Academy.

“Its aim is to provide leadership development for the top and mid-level management of Malaysia’s higher education Institutions and further to develop and strengthen the leadership of Malaysia’s higher education,” he said.

He, therefore, lamented that there was no such kind of public academy to support HEPROs learning and training activities in higher education Institutions in Nigeria.

“Also, there is a public academy or body providing training to HEPROs in the practical skills of higher education,” the don added.

Muftahu, however, said that the inaugural lecture aimed not to discredit the government’s efforts in restructuring Nigeria’s higher education system, adding, “nor does it seek to instantaneously transform its ecosystem.”

He said that it was intended to create an awareness among the stakeholders to understand that developing a workable higher education system as well as
understanding its problems and challenges required the scholarship and expertise of trained higher education professionals,

“One of the mechanisms for building such experts and professionals for a nation requires the recognition and institutionalisation of higher education as a field study and professional practise,” he said.

Muftahu recommended the institutionalisation of higher education professional practice in Nigeria.

He said, “It is important for the government to initiate a framework or policies to continuously support higher education development and involving HEPROs training and development.”

He also urged the Ministries of Education in Nigeria to consider establishing public academies or institutions akin to that of Malaysia with a primary focus on providing specialized training and development for HEPROs.

“Every higher education Institution in Nigeria must implement a professional training system and provide opportunities for HEPROs to receive training,” he said.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of KASU, Prof Abdullahi Musa, described the inaugural lecturer’s recommendations as key to higher institutions’ growth and productivity.

“Immediately after the inaugural lecture, I will discuss with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academics and Registrar where we will form a committee with the inaugural lecturer as Chairman.

“This is to ensure that KASU is the first university to come up with higher education as a field of study,” he said.

Musa added that they would also form another committee to be chaired by the inaugural lecturer to ensure KASU was one of the institutions in Nigeria to have a cadre for higher education.

“We will do this through partnership with the state’s Head of Service and office of the Secretary to the State Government and Ministry of Education,” Musa said.

Speaking further, the V-C said, “one basic principle in KASU is that we don’t always see problems as challenges.

“We look at problems as an opportunity to do the right things. At least three Professors will be picked to make presentations every quarter in the institution.” (NAN)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Jacinta Nwachukwu

Some researchers have expressed concern over the poor funding of the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) and called for more funds to be allocated to it.

They spoke at the closing ceremony of a research oriented course in “Modern Aspects of Theoretical Physics and Applications to Physical Problem” on Thursday at Sheda, Kwali Area Council.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two weeks programme was organised by NMC for postgraduate students and researchers from several tertiary institutions across the country.

Mr Imrama Habibat, one of the participants, said adequate funding for research and educational institutions in the field of theoretical physics could address resource constraints and support innovative projects.

Habibat said that the two weeks programme on research oriented course might not have provided the participants with sufficient depth of knowledge considering the vastness of the field.

He called on the Federal Government and other donor agencies to support the Centre for its optimal performance.

“The lack of the capacity to award certification and degree like postgraduate is a minus to the mandate of NMC and for such impactful programme.

“Insufficient infrastructure like power supply, computing facilities among others is also a challenge that needs urgent and adequate attention in NMC,” he said.

Mr Egboli Thomas, another participant, appreciated the organiser of the programme, saying that the knowledge gained would help him in further research projects.

According to him, the workshop equips the participants with the necessary skills, knowledge and tools to conduct effective research to further express theoretical ideas in order to proffer solutions to real World problems.

Earlier, the acting Coordinator of Theoretical Physics Programme, NMC, Dr Lewis Obagboye, said the aim of the training was to primarily enhance the research skills of postgraduate students and lecturers of physics to address modern challenges in the field.

Obagboye said it was in line with centre’s mandate and commitment to empower physicists and other researchers in related fields with the essential skills and knowledge for conducting effective and efficient research in the modern aspect of theoretical physics.

“When we talk about theoretical physics, it has to do with a framework that drives the experimental aspect of physics.

“For instance, most of the things you see today like the phones we use were initially theorised and the experimentalists carried out their findings and brought these things to work.

“So the physicists and mathematicians feed the experimentalists, the engineers of what to do,” he said.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive, NMC, Prof. Promise Mebine, said there was need to convert NMC to Centre to National University of Mathematical Sciences, saying that “everything around us is mathematics”.

Mebine said that the centre was about 35 years old, and for it to fulfill its mandate effectively, it had to be converted to the National University of Mathematical Sciences.

“We don’t want to run undergraduates programmes but postgraduate degree programmes, Master’s degree programmes and PhD programmes,” he said.

He explained that the programmes would be in the five programmes of the centre namely- Mathematics, Computer Science, Theoretical Physics, Statistics and Mathematical Sciences Education.

Mebine, therefore, urged the participants to keep on putting the knowledge gained into practice, while urging parents to encourage their wards or children in the study of Mathematics. (NAN)(www.nannews.com.ng)

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Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo