The Lagos state Government has concluded plans to acquire 2,000 multimedia interactive solutions for all secondary school and Tertiary Institutions in the state to replace the traditional chalkboards.
The state will also host the first Cambridge-Hitachi Virtual Teaching and Learning Center in Nigeria. The state Governor, Babatunde Fashola stated that the government would be partnering with Cambridge-Hitachi to make the dream a reality.
A statement on Tuesday by the Director, Local Organising Committee Cambridge-Hitachi Virtual Teaching and Learning, Ms. Adebukola Oluderu, quoted Fashola as saying the move was to upgrade the educational sector in the state.
Fashola said, "All tertiary institutions and secondary schools, totaling about 10,000 in Lagos state, will have the multimedia interactive solutions in each of their classrooms to replace the traditional chalkboards which will allow for world-class teaching and learning."
Oluderu said the state's partnership with the company was a result of a roundtable meeting on education in Africa held in October 2014.
According to Oluderu, the decision of the state government was indicated in a bid forwarded to the Hitachi Group for tertiary and the secondary schools in the state. She added that the meeting was yielding result with the Lagos state Government pioneering the hosting of the center.
Oluderu said a team of delegates from the state would meet with the Cambridge-Hitachi team at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the commencement of the center.
The multimedia solution is vital and important to teaching and learning as it is the hub in which the gains of the Cambridge-Hitachi International Virtual Teaching and learning Center will be transferred and transmitted to all schools," she added.
The Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, said the approval given to Lagos State to host the center was based on Outstanding performance, availability of infrastructure, and the determination of the state government to improve teaching and learning quality in the educational sector.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Multimedia boards are coming into Lagos Classrooms
FAQ about the New N100 banknote
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON THE CENTENARY N100 BANKNOTE
1. What is the core mandate of CBN in relation to currency management?
The CBN Act of 2007 charges the Bank with the responsibility for issuance and management of the legal tender currency.
2. What is the role of CBN with respect to Banknotes?
The bank is charged with the responsibility to plan for the printing, issuance and management of the legal tender currency in Nigeria. In addition, global beat practice demands that countries review their currencies every 5-8 years to be ahead of counterfeiters.
3. Why a new N100 banknote at this time?
The Rationale for the introduction of the new N100 commemorative banknote is to celebrate Nigeria's centenary (100 years of existence) 1914- 2014.
4. How durable is the new N100 commemorative banknote?
The redesign of the note is aimed at making it more secure; to enhance its durability to last longer in circulation and to streamline its aesthetic and security features.
5. What will happen to the existing Banknotes in circulation?
The existing N100 banknotes will circulate side by side with the new banknote. Both banknotes are legal tender and acceptable.
6. What features should i check?
When checking your banknote, do not rely on just one security feature, check a few of the ones described here. Feel, tilt and look at the note in your hand closely.
7. What should i do if i suspect a banknote to be fake or counterfeit?
You should refuse to accept it and ask for another. Remember that is a criminal offense to use and pass on a counterfeit note knowingly. If you suspect any note to be counterfeit, report to the police as soon as possible. They will send the note to the Central Bank of Nigeria for analysis.
8. How can a visually impaired person recognize the new banknotes are genuine?
The new N100 banknote has pronounced raised lines (tactile lines) on the left and right edges on the front of the banknote. The denomination numerals on the top left and bottom corners of the banknote are more embossed to assist the visually impaired.
9. Is there a Jewish symbol (Star of David) on the new N100 banknote?
No. The Jewish symbol (Star of David) is two triangles and is not on the new N100 banknote. However, there are two squares and a manilla.
10. How can i get the new N100 commemorative banknote?
You can get it in your bank effective from the date of issuance.
11. How can I use the QR-Code to check if the new N100 commemorative banknote is genuine?
Download a QR-Code scanner with an internet enabled phone or handheld device. Use the device to scan the barcode on the new N100 banknote and a brief history of Nigeria's journey from 1914 to date will appear.
12. Are the security features on the new commemorative N100 Banknotes too many?
No, the security features are meant to secure the banknote and deter counterfeiters.
13. Why remove the Ajami script and Zuma Rock on the New N100 commemorative banknote?
When reviewing or restructuring a banknote, aesthetics such as symbols and features are often changed to stay ahead of counterfeiters.
Management.
The new N100 Banknote
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
Features to look for on the New N100 Commemorative Centenary Banknote
The President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR unveiled the N100 centenary commemorative banknote on 12th November, 2014.Find below the basic look, feel and tilt security features for easy identification of a geniune note.
Kindly follow these simple steps to make sure your banknotes are genuine. Remember, do not rely on just one feature, check a few;
1. Check the paper and raised embossed print: By running your fingers across the front of the new note, you will feel the raised prints in areas as "Central Bank of Nigeria", the image of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the N100 numeral on the top left and bottom corners.
2. Check the Motion thread: This security thread is embedded on the bank note. It appears as green dashes in the front of the new note with "100" and Nigerian flag moving when tilted.
3. Check the water mark: Hold the note up to the light woth the front of the note facing you. In the clear area on the right, you will see an image of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's portrait together with a 100 numeral. Any banknote that does not contain a watermark is not genuine.
4. Check the QR (Quick Response) Code: Digitalized barcode that tells the centenary story when scanned with an internet enabled mobile device or an ipad. It is located at the back of the note.
5. Check the Serial Number: A unique 7 digit novel serial numbering, consisting of letters and numbers printed on the front side of the new note. The horizontal number is conical, that is, it grows in height from left to right.
6. Check the Optical Variable Magnetic Ink (OVMI Spark): A rolling bar that changes colour from green to purple when tilted. This feature is superimposed on two squares with a manila, which are strategically placed at the front of the banknote.
7. Check the See through feature: located on the front of the note (ledt corner), effect is produced on coconut.
8. Tactile marks for the visually impaired: Pronounced raised lines on the left and right corner on the front of the banknotes.
Management
January 2015.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Workshop for NGOs and Corporate Organisations
Sustainability Workshop for NGOs and
Corporate Organisations
Overview Leading companies know that: "Business as usual" has changed.
Investors, media and customers want companies to address social and environmental concerns.
Leading companies in the private sector recognize that they should develop strategies to meet these needs while remaining profitable. At the same time, many of the most effective non- governmental organizations (NGOs) recognize that they can achieve widespread and lasting change by harnessing the power of the market.
To achieve these goals, companies
and NGOs are finding ways to work together.
This emerging shift in NGOs/private
corporations relationship creates an exciting new landscape of opportunities for both NGOs and the private sector to collaborate, increase capacity, sustainability and deliver service to the community.
Yet such partnerships must
not be entered into lightly. The choice of
partner (the "who"), the articulated objectives (the "why") and the mode of operations (the "how") are decisive factors in the success of any partnership.
Also, key is that after successfully indentifying corporate bodies whose objectives are in sync with theirs, NGOs will need to be equipped with the necessary tools that will make these companies want to forge partnerships them...
Programme:
Getting to know you and workshop road map/ Concept of Shared Value
Sustainability Strategy for NGOs
Social Entrepreneurship NGO -
Private Sector
Partnership Managing projects
NGO Fund Raising
Putting together compelling proposals
Stakeholder Communication and
Sustainability Reporting
Group Work
Group Presentation Round Table : 4 Guests: Nestle, BAT, LCCI, GSK, Access Bank, Sahara Energy, NB Plc and Diamond Bank
Targeted Audience:
This workshop will be suitable for all Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Individuals interested in setting up NGOs and CSR executives who work with NGOs
Programme Duration: 2 Days
Programme Amount: N150,000
Programme Date: February 24 – 25, 2015
#LBS
http://www.lbs.edu.ng/programmes/exed/Pages/details.aspx?event_id=45
Personal Hygiene 1
How to Clean your Belly Button
Most people forget to clean their belly buttons when they have their bath, making it one of the most unhygienic parts of the body. Bacteria, dirt, grime, sweat, soap and moisturisers accumulate in the navel, causing it to look dirty and smell even worse. While you don't need to clean it at least once a week.
Here's how you should clean it:
If you have an "Outie" which is where the navel protrudes outwards, then you should be able to take a wash cloth or dry wipe and some soap and clean your button with it.
"Innies" are trickier, since the navel is folded inward, making them harder to clean. You may not be able to get you finger in there, so take some cotton swabs, cotton buds, dip them in soapy water and use them to clean your belly button.
Don't forget to rinse your navel with clean water once you are done cleaning it, since the main cause of a smelly belly button is soap getting in there and not getting cleaned out properly. You can also use salt water to rinse out your navel once you're done.
If the gunk is really stubborn and it's not coming out, apply some oil to your belly button before you go for a shower. The oil will bind itself to the dirt and grime,making it easier to remove with soap and water.
In some case however, if you have been neglecting your navel for years, you may have to see a doctor to clean it thoroughly.
How to stop your arm pit from smelling in Public
Armpits odours are not signs of being dirty or unclean, sweating is not abnormal it is very normal, just that for the sweat to have a funny odour it means dirt or germs are in the areas you are sweating from; so the combination of these two brings about a funny and not too good smell.
Lets assume you used a roll-on before leaving home, despite that your armpit still gives a funny smell when you sweat, Research says if you can perceive the odour your armpit, it means that everyone around you can smell it also, the shocking truth is that they have been perceiving that odour before you.
How to Stop the Smell;
I have tried this before, it works- go to the ladies or gents with a facial wipe or any wet wipe and wipe your armpits well, within a twinkle of an eye the armpit odour will go away all you will perceive is the smell of the wipe.
So you this is another reason to keep wipes in your along with you everywhere you go.
Smiles
Smell good always...
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BBM channel: Enlighten me more C00187C23
Follow us Twitter : @Enlightenmemore
Fake WASSCE Syllabus in Circulation
THE WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL
Private Mail Bag No. 1022, Yaba, Lagos
FAKE VERSION OF WASSCE REGULATIONS AND SYLLABUSES IN CIRCULATION
The attention of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has been drawn to the existence of a fake version of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Regulations and Syllabuses, copies of which are being sold to the Public by unscrupulous persons.
Features of the fake Version (which a blue cover and contains 568 pages) are as follows:
1. Listing of expired texts (2006-2010) for Lit-In-English, Arabic and Nigerian Languages;
2. Omission of Syllabuses for all the newly-introduced trade subjects;
3. Wrong examination Scheme and contents for revised syllabuses in several subjects;
4. Out-dated information on the Current Chairman of Council, the Registrar and the locations of the offices of the Council;
5. Wrong validity period spanning 2013 - 2016.
Members of the public who wish to purchase hard copies of the approved WASSCE Regulations and Syllabuses (2014 - 2016) are advised to contact the Council's offices nationwide. Schools can also download the Regulations and Syllabuses from the WAEC e-registration site: www.waeconline.org.ng
SIGNED : Management
Wednesday January 28th 2015.
Cool facts 2
Do you know that?
Women find men more attractive when they get attention from other women
It used to take a yr to sell 10 million iPhones. Apple did it with iPhone 6 in a weekend
1 woman dies every hour in India b'se of dowry-related crimes
80% of women fake their orgasms
50% of Internet users will quit waiting for a video to load after 10 seconds
Chris Brown lost his virginity at 8 yrs
Insects often like to taste the human before they bite
"The Internet" & "the World Wide Web" ain't the same thing
A parent is only as happy as their least happy child
Russell told Katy Perry he was divorcing her via SMS, then never talked to her again
Pope Francis once washed & kissed the feet of 12 patients with AIDS
There is an island called "Dildo Island" in Canada
Over ½ of sloth deaths occur on their once a week trip to poop
Clouds fly higher during the day
Egyptians used to wear hair extensions
There's an Android app from *ZA* it calculates how much livestock to give as a dowry for a wife
It's possible for men to orgasm before ejaculating
22% of people skip lunch daily.
Mike Tyson had been arrested 38 times by the time he turned 13
Astronauts come from America
..Space explorers from Russia are called "cosmonauts"
A brownout refers to when u get drunk & don't remember portions of yo night until someone refreshes u
Hitler collected Jewish artifacts & took photos of Jews to be preserved in what he called, "The Museum of an Extinct Race."
Gephyrophobia, the fear of bridges
Neither of George W. Bush's daughters are Republican
The older a father is when he has a child, the uglier the child will be
Over 10% of marriages in the world are between 1st / 2nd cousins
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu extremists
23,000 people in India & Burma speak a language called "Anal"
Kendrick Lamar attended the same school as Dr. Dre
More music has been released by Tupac since his death than when he was alive
Lady Gaga wrote Born This Way in 10 minutes
Swimming pools r more dangerous than guns
The founder of Adidas went by the nickname Adi, because his real name - Adolf - was rather unpopular
The highest paid female CEO in the US, Martine Rothblatt, was born a male
Don't use a song u like as an alarm to wake up
..U will end up hating it
Asian hair grows 30% faster than Caucasian hair, while people from Africa tend to have hair that grows slower
Dell computers was started in 1984 by a 19-yr-old w/ only $1000
57% of single people prefer a wingman of the opposite sex
More facts here
LBS adopts GMAT as Full-time MBA Entrance Examination
The Lagos Business School has officially adopted GMAT as the only form of written assessment pre-qualifying applicants for its full-time MBA programme. This development, driven by the school's efforts to boost the local and international competitiveness of its students, is a departure from the earlier model giving candidates the option to either write GMAT or the LBS entrance examination.
The official GMAT examination, accepted by over 6,000 schools globally, measures candidates' analytical skills and determines their preparedness for the business school classroom.
"Candidates who take the official GMAT have a very high tendency to perform exceptionally well in class and eventually graduate to become highly sought after professionals" said MBA Director, Dr. Uchenna Uzo.
'The GMAT examination will help us identify candidates with the potential we need to achieve this.'
According to the Marketing Manager of the programme, Segun Abodunrin, the GMAT examination remains the best parameter for vetting MBA candidates in business schools across the world
"It ties in with our aim to prepare managers with our aim to prepare managers with the right skills to thrive and succeed in an emerging continent like Africa" he explained.
Recently, LBS restructured its Full-time MBA programme, stipulating that candidates have a minimum of three years' post qualification work experience as against one. The duration of the programme was also reduced from 21 to 18 months and offers students international exchange programme opportunities.
Biggest Education Show in Africa - TOSSE 2015
The TOSSE "T’esperience" is the Total Experience we create for our visitors and exhibitors. For six years, it’s been one filled with satisfaction, cheers and plenty more.
“You ran a great show. I even overheard a man raving about what an incredible experience this was for him; very proud it was all put together here in Nigeria! You made him proud…and made me proud too. Thank you.
Congratulations to you and your (well-oiled) team.”
2013 Exhibitor
A very big thank you to Edumark, the organizers of TOSSE 2014. Well done. The exhibition was wonderfully organized. More grease to your elbow for giving the education sector such a powerful lift.
2014 Exhibitor
With over 7000 educators expected at this year’s event, TOSSE is the right platform to navigate your way in the education world.
We are quite excited about the numerous benefits we have for our Exhibitors at the 7th Edition of the Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition scheduled to hold as follows:
Date: 11th / 12th of June, 2015
Venue: Ten Degrees Event Centre, Billings Way, Oregun, Lagos, Nigeria.
Time: 10:00 am daily
The theme for this edition is "Inspiring the Future" and we expect a 50% rise in our attendance. We recorded over 4,000 visitors from about 19 states at the last Edition.
For the Education community, TOSSE is the place to learn, to see, and to get the most innovative products/services.
We invite you to join us at TOSSE 2015 and reach out to the Education market. Vast Networking opportunities, viable business leads, presentations... all in a fully airconditioned and safe environment.
We would certainly be delighted to welcome your organisation to TOSSE 2015.
Simply e-mail or phone us our executives would provide all the information you need.
For Exhibition Space, Product Presentation, Brochure Advert, Venue Branding, Handbill Distribution, Ushers Branding
Yinka Ogunde
CEO, EDUMARK CONSULT
For Exhibition space, advert in Event brochure and presentation.
Contact:
0709 317 5270 | 0812 758 6122 | 0802 839 9138
Email:
info@tosse.com.ng
info@edumarkng.com
Call: 0709 317 5270 | 0812 758 6122.
EDUMARK CONSULT
18, Oyetola Idowu Street, Off Sura Mogaji
Coker Road, Ilupeju
Lagos 100211
Nigeria
Email: info@tosse.com.ng
Top in the World Award 2014
British International School (BIS), a center of Outstanding Academic Excellence has been recognized by Cambridge Examination as a student of BIS,Lagos has been recognized top in 2014 Cambridge Examination series taken by learners in more than 9000 schools in 160 countries for excellent performance. Miss Eseosa Jennifer Idemudia received two awards;
'Top in the World' award for achieving HIGHEST MARKS WORLDWIDE in IGCSE Economics
Also, IGCSE Business Studies in the June 2014 Cambridge examination.
The British International School, said that the awards recognised the talent, dedication and commitment of both learners and staff.
420 graduates gets N16.1Million from NDE
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Nasarawa State says that N16.1 million has been disbursed to 420 graduate trainees in the state between 2001 and 2014.
The state NDE Coordinator, Alhaji Idris Wase, made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday 14th of January 2015 in Keffi.
Wase said that the resettlement scheme is a community- based training scheme designed to provide short term intensive training to unemployed youths and women.
NDE came in to existence in 1986, saddled with the responsibilities of training people, especially the youths and women in different skills and make them self-relaint nationwide.
The Federal Government has established the scheme to fight the high rate of unemployment and poverty which has degenerated into anti-social activities such as violent crimes, insecurity, armed robbery, drug and human trafficking among others.
From 2001 to date under the resettlement scheme, the agency has disbursed tools and equipment worth N16.14 million to more than 420 graduate trainees in order to assist them to establish businesses and become self-relaint.
"The graduate trainees has been trained in different skills such as barbing, tailoring, hand set repairs, blacksmithing, hair dressing, knitting, painting, photography and video coverage amongst others" he said.
Wase commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his support to the Programme aimed at fighting poverty, unemployment and reduction of youths' restiveness nationwide.
He assured the people of the state of the agency's determination to initiate positive strategies geared toward managing their peculiar poverty, unemployment and youths restiveness.
The state coordinator also urged Nigerians, especially youths to embrace different skills that would make them self-reliant and employers of labour.
NANS speaks
FROM the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Tijani Usman Shehu, has come an appeal that the government should increase the allocation to education in the 2015 budget, saying the current vote falls short of UNESCO recommendation and what is obtainable in other African countries.
Shehu who expressed with dismay that
hitherto education in the country is not receiving adequate attention as it ought to, worries that the trend is likely to jeopardise the future of the country if not adequately addressed.
He challenged government to make education matter a priority and also look into alternative ways of funding education so Nigeria could acclaim its rightful position in the international
arena.
He said, “There is no denying the fact that
education is very poorly funded in Nigeria, which is yet to comply with the UNESCO recommendation that 26 per cent of annual budget be spent on education. Nigeria spends 8.34 per cent of her annual budget on education.
As concerned education stakeholders,
we are calling for the upward revision of the 2015 budget to meet the 26 per cent
recommended by UNESCO, as the amount voted for education fails to adequately address the funding of the vital sector.
“The future of university education in Nigeria will ultimately boil down to priorities. Government at all levels, career officers in the ministries of education and parastatals, the universities management team can decide to reverse this trend and shift university education costs away from those least able to afford it.
The situation in our higher educational
institutions will improve considerably if the government spends at least 25-30 per cent of her annual budget on education and out of this amount 18-20 per cent on capital expenditure
for infrastructure in the sector with low cost-sharing and tuition fee.”
Shehu averred that if government at every stage boosts their investment in public university education, there would be massive development of human capital needed for national advancement and better livelihood.
“Since the educational system needs to be financed, the private and public sector
assistance or contribution should be more encouraged. In order to derive these benefits, the government should uphold the World Bank’s
advice that Nigeria and thirty-eight other African countries should subject their educational system to revitalisation and selective expansion policies in order to benefit from the World Bank donor countries.
“The use of taxes whether direct or indirect, income or property tax could also be more intensified to generate more revenue for the country.
Likewise, government could explore
the re-introduction of loans to students of
tertiary institutions while the scholarship
schemes could be revamped at the federal and state levels,” he said.
For cost effective strategies of universities education to be achieved in the country, he urged government to pay adequate attention to policy frameworks; proper management and accountability of fund allotted to university education sector; and also ensure that officials
need to provide long-term solutions are elected rather than politically expedient fixes that leave the system of university education at risk.
Shehu also preached on the need to provide access to all qualified students regardless of their financial circumstances; meet the nation’s workforce needs by producing graduates able to contribute to every sector of society; and allocates resources based on a competition of ideas, not history, politics or privilege.
Written by Ujunwa Atueyi
Social Media is interesting, lively, people are there for fun,social life, entertainment business
#School #SocialMedia
Some Organization Website's infor are obsolete,y nt use d Social Media 2b Global&save cost
Mail: iseoluwa.iyiola@gmail.com
GTB Lagos State Principals Cup Commence
OVER 20 secondary schools and their officials on 28 of January at the corporate headquarters of GTB Bank Victoria Island Lagos, where draws for the final phase of the sixth edition of the Lagos State Principals Cup washeld.
The championship, which is billed to kick off 2nd of February 2015, saw the competing 24 secondary schools boys’ teams drawn into three groups, with t
Other matches will see Ikorodu Senior
Grammar School battling King Ado High School Lagos in Group B, just as Sango Senior High School would contend with Agidingbi Senior Grammar School.
Three teams would qualify in each of the
groups after the first stage, which is on round robin basis.
In the girls category, which features 18 teams, CMS Senior School, Bariga, will battle Epe Girls High School in Group A, Methodist Girls High School, Yaba, will face Alakoto Senior High School Agege in Group B.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Greensprings wins AISEN Key Stage Three Five-Aside tourney
GREENSPRINGS Schools at the weekend 29 January 2015 emerged winners of the Association of International School Educators of Nigeria (AISEN)
Key Stage Three Five-Aside Boys and Girls football tournament, which featured over 20 schools at Lekki Campus of the institution.
Among the schools at the event were
Greensprings School Anthony and Lekki
Campuses,
Corona School Agbara,
Childrens’ International School,
Lekki, British International School, Victoria Island,
Childville School Ogudu,
Emerald School, Lagos,
Meadow Hall School, Lekki,
Temple School, Ikeja,
Avi Cenna School,
Ikeja, Rainbow College,
Supreme Educational
Foundation, Magodo,
Lead Forthgate School, Lekki,
Grace High School Gbagada,
Edgewood College Lekki, and British International School
Lekki.
Others were Lagos Preparatory School,
Ikoyi, Chrisland Schools Idimu and Ikeja,
Westmills British Secondary School Apapa, and White Dove School Lekki.
At the end of the tournament, Greensprings School Lekki won the boys’ event, beating Lekki British International School to the second position, while Supreme Educational Foundation, Magodo took the third position.
In the girls’ event, Greensprings School Lekki took the first position ahead of
Corona Secondary School, Agbara (second) and its sister school, Greensprings School, Anthony, which came third.
Among the dignitaries at the event were Mr. McFaul, who is the Director of Education, Greensprings School and also President, Association of International School Educators of Nigeria (AISEN) and Mr. Opesan, Head of School, Meadow Hall School.
Mr McFaul later presented the medals and trophies to the winning schools. One major achievement of this year’s competition is that medals and trophies were presented to the winning teams.
Topaz retains Atlantic Hall School Sports title
THE defending champion of the Atlantic Hall School, Poka, Epe, Lagos, Topaz House, has once again reclaimed the trophy by winning the 21st edition of the inter-house sports competition held at the weekend 23 January 2015 in the school.
With 25 gold, 16 silver and 20 bronze medals, Topaz House, beat Emerald House to the second position (18 gold, 32 silver and 27 bronze medals). Garnet House and Sapphire House took the third and fourth positions with 15 gold, 12 silver, 12 bronze, and 14 gold, 18 silver, 11 bronze medals respectively.
Despite a good start by the Emerald team, the athletes could maintain their lead, allowing Topaz to outshine them in the 200m, 100m, 4x100m, Long jump, and the march past events.
It was indeed an exciting moment for the
students, teachers and guardians who came out en masse to cheer up their teams.
At the end of the event, Odunsi Kiki and
Gbadamosi Rasheedat from Topaz House, clinched the Best Athletes (boys and girls), just as Queens College, Yaba, Trinity College, and Corona Secondary School, came first, second and third respectively in the girls invitational
relay.
Speaking after the prize presentation, the
principal of the school, Andrew Jedras,
commended the school teachers, parents and the participants for their efforts, while stressing the importance of sports in the educational curricula.
According to him, “for us here at Atlantic Hall, it has become imperative to instill into our wards different knowledge, and sports happens to be one of them. Sports helps the student tovfocus and think more, that is why we made it mandatory for everybody to participate in this competition.”
School gets Hybrid Library by Oil firm
Texaco Nigeria Outershelf at the weekend in Agenebode, Etsako East Local Council of Edo state donates a hybrid library to St. Peters Grammar School, a project it said was to enhance learning capacity of students and teachers.
At the ceremony, Director Deepwater and PSCS, Jeffrey Ewing represented by Tom Akhagbosu, said the project was part of the company's investment plan"and it has been implemented worth the support of the government and people of Edo state".
He said partnership was one of the core values in Chevron companies adding that other education initiatives include scholarship scheme for secondary school and university students. Every year no fewer than 6,000 students including the visually impaired, benefit from the NNPC/ Chevron Scholarship awards.
He said the library is equipped with 21 internet ready computers, server database of electronic books stored locally on the server, VSAT internet connection which he said is intended to "connect this school with its peers internationally.
On its part, Group General Manager (GGM) National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Jonathan Okey, represented by Ahmed Abdulahi, said one of the major challenge in the oil sector is the dearth of skilled manpower adding that the project was a successful partnership that could reduce the challenge.
Meanwhile, as part of activities to encourage youths on skill acquisition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representative candidate for Akoko-Edo federal constituency, Oladele-Bankole Balogun, weekend commenced the training and empowerment of 200 youths on various skills.
Speaking at the commencement programme at the Civic Center in Ibillo, Akoko-Edo Local Council, he said he was moved to sponsor the programme because of his natural love for youths and the desire to create employment opportunity for youths in the locality.
NDE empowers 20 graduates on Solar energy scheme in Ondo
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) on Wednesday 28 of January 2015, in Akure, the capital of Ondo state, graduated 20 unemployed graduates in the Solar Energy Training Scheme (SETS) to improve on the erractic power supply and provide opportunities for self- reliance.
This Scheme was initiated to empower the unemployed youths in the country and to provide an alternative for the erratic power supply of the nation that would cater for the needs of the people at large.
The Director-General of rhe Directorate, Mallam Abubakar Mohammed, stated that SETS was one of the renewable energy training schemes designed to generate employment for unemployed graduates of tertiary institutions across Nigeria, which would in diverse ways improve the economy of the nation.
The Ondo State Coordinator of NDE, Joseph Olayinka said tje schemes were also to explore new areas of job creation for youths to develop crtical sectors of the economy and meet multiple needs.
According to him, "Energy is one of the essential infrastructure components needed for urban and rural economic development and there is rhe enormous demands for it in Nigeria and the sector potential for employment.
So, NDE sought for other means of energy production and adopted Renewable energy Training Scheme as one of its strategies for employment generation."
He explained further that SETS equips unemployed graduates with skills for energy harvest, installation and maintenance of solar power facilities for sustainable self-reliance and to improve electricity power generation for economic development in Nigeria.
"Tosay, a number of 700 unemployed grafuates across the federation are trained in the design, procurement, installation and maintenance of solar equipment for its harvesting foe electricity generation.
This is our modest contribution of relevant skilled manpower to development and improvement of our energy sector, so i urge the graduats to become vibrant wmployers of labour that will positively affect theis generation," he said.
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Monday, February 2, 2015
ASUU splits over LASU crisis
CITING several problems facing the Lagos State
University (LASU), the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU), Lagos Zone, on Tuesday 27 January
called on the State governor and Visitor to the
institution, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) to send
visitation panel to LASU.
Addressing reporters at the University of Lagos
(UNILAG) ASUU secretariat, the Zonal
Coordinator, Dr. Adeola Nassir, said that the
situation in LASU had worsened, even as the
institution is gradually sliding into chaos.
But as this was ongoing in UNILAG, Akoka,
another faction of ASUU in LASU, at a briefing
held on the Ojo campus of the institution,
disassociated themselves on Wednesday 28 of january 2015 #8217;s
protest.
The group, allegedly loyal to the Vice
Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa, claimed there
is peace in the university, except for “some
external forces” trying to instigate some
disgruntled members of the union to foment
trouble and distabilise the system.
Nassir informed that the Vice Chancellor of the
institution, Obafunwa, had defiled several efforts
to restore peace and remove LASU from the
map of crises.
He expressed disappointment that the visitor
to LASU (Fashola) has still not yielded to
several calls made by the union to investigate
the crises at the institution.
According to him, “Developments at LASU have
since gone from bad to worse due to what we
perceived as witch-hunting of our members by
the LASU administration coupled with crass
incompetence, borne out of poor vision and
warped mindset of the vice chancellor.
“Ranging from the issue of withholding of
ASUU-LASU check-off dues, to irregular
appointments and promotions; interdiction of
Prof Tunde Fatunde; withdrawal of Ph.D
certificates of ASUU-LASU chairman, Dr.
Adekunle Idris; interference with the union’s
internal matters and denial of regularisation
interview to two temporary appointees.”
Other issues as raised by the union includes,
violations of rules and regulations governing the
university; the state of LASU consult and
ventures; and his full time tenure offices as the
vice chancellor and Chief Medical Examiner of
Lagos State.
“With this double standards, how can he
(Obafunwa) sits down and think out progressive
idea on how to move LASU forward? It is clear
to us that Obafunwa is never tired of instigating
crises for LASU and government just cover his
incompetence.
“Our union is disturbed that the Lagos State
government has continued to turn its face away
from these brazen anomalies. We therefore
wondered what level of crisis would prompt
government to act right and act fast in arresting
the drift at LASU.
“For the umpteenth time, we are asking that
the governor should call Obafunwa to order
whilst at the same time setting up visitation to
LASU immediately. The alternative is to watch
LASU snowball into more crises with the
attendant implications.”
To make their dissatisfaction known to the
state government and the public, the group in
yesterday’s protest at Alausa described
Obafunwa’s administration as anti-intellectual
and autocratic, challenging Fashola to call the
VC to order before the situation becomes
uncontrollable.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the ASUU-LASU
Caretaker Committee, Ayodele Asokere, at the
Ojo briefing, dissociated his group from the
protests.
Asokere said the protest was uncalled for and
should be disregarded, saying “it is a ploy to
lure the LASU students into political thuggery
and violence.
According to him, “I want to quickly address
the call to yesterday’s protest by one Comrade
Aremu of JAF. Many text messages have been
circulated in the last few days by one unknown
Dr. Idris, giving reasons for the protest.
“Some of the reasons given were victimisation
of students and lecturers. Secondly, they cited
an intention to increase LASU school fees and
thirdly they mentioned disruption of academic
freedom.
“We are constrained to state that such a rally
is not justified for now especially since the
university has just begun a new academic
session after the smooth and successful
completion of the 2013/2014 session.”
The ASUU-LASU said their findings after so
much consultation have not revealed any
intention to hike LASU fees, even as he said no
case of victimization have been established and
that academic freedom in the university is
guaranteed.
Asokere said: “Therefore, all the reasons stated
in the text messages are baseless and
unfounded. It is clear that some mischievous
individuals are bent on disrupting the peace and
progress in LASU and this individuals are
colluding with external agents to achieve their
devilish ends.”
The ASUU-LASU leadership enjoined LASU
students to steer clear of the planned protest
and avoid anything that could jeopardise their
future as well as the smooth running of the
university’s academic calendar.
“Students need to be informed that political
thuggery may come in different guises including
this one that wears the cloak of a peaceful rally.
Parents are therefore advised not to allow their
children and wards to be used by agents of
political parties who are disguising to be
unionists.
“Parents, please be alerted that those who are
calling for the disruption of academic calender in
LASU do not have their children or wards in
LASU but in private universities in the country
where they pay astronomical fees. Please, do
not be used by some insincere individuals to
achieve some selfish ends,” Asokere said.
'30 per cent budget on education’
Since the Coordinating Minister of the Economy,
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, presented the 2015
budget estimates of about N4.358trillion to the
National Assembly out of which N492, 034billion
was proposed for education, some observers
have contended that the vote still fell short of
UNESCO’s 26 per cent recommendation and
was not likely to effect change in the troubled
sector. However, former Executive Secretary,
National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof
Peter Okebukola in this interview with UJUNWA
ATUEYI clarified the true stance of the budget.
Okebukola who is also the President of UNESCO
Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI)
Africa and Chairman of Council of University of
West Africa, advised that the budget proposal
be raised to 30 per cent, among other issues.
Excerpts:
THE 2015 budget as revealed by the Federal
Government showed a proposal of N492,
034billion for education out of N4.3trillion
national budget. In the 2011 budget,
N306.3bn was allocated to education; in
2012(N400.15bn); in 2013(N426.53bn); and (N
493b) in 2014 representing 10.7 per cent of the
N4.6tn national budget in that year. Looking at
this analysis, what is your perception about this
trend?
The trend of course is far from encouraging
considering the deplorable state of our
education system. We need to at least triple the
current allocation to shake off the ignoble state
of the system by applying the funds largely to
significantly improve facilities for teaching and
learning, teacher quality and welfare and
curriculum delivery. We need the funds to break
down obstacles to access of over 10 million
out-of-school children. We need the funds to
improve school safety. We need the funds to
improve reading culture among our youths and
for overall improvement in the quality of delivery
of education.
I should stress that the 10.7 per cent you
quoted only gives a narrow view of the
anticipated picture of funding education in
Nigeria in 2015. My research group estimates
the proportion, nationally, to be above 20 per
cent, when we factor in budgets from state
governments and from budgets of intervention
agencies notably the Universal Basic Education
Commission (UBEC) and Tertiary Education
Trust Fund (TETFund).
In 2015, UBEC and TETFund alone will inject
not less than N100 billion into basic and higher
education respectively which are not captured in
the regular national budget which you are
referring to. This is aside from funds which
SURE-P will provide to support education.
We also need to realise that the budget
proposal of N492,034 bn for education going to
the national assembly for appropriation is only
for funding education at the federal level. This
will service only federal tertiary institutions
(about a third of the total number in Nigeria),
104 Unity Colleges (less than 0.002 per cent of
the national total), 25 parastatals of the Federal
Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of
Education itself. Each of the 36 states and the
FCT will also present their education budgets to
their respective State Assemblies. When
aggregated together alongside the contribution
of the intervention agencies, we will have a
proportion in the neighbourhood of 23 per cent.
Does it mean that the 26 per cent United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation is not
realisable?
The 26 per cent figure often ascribed to
UNESCO is mythical. It only exists in the
Nigerian literature on education. I suspect that
it is a figure that arose out of a
recommendation of a localised UNESCO
meeting, which probably held in Nigeria
sometime in the past and does not bind the
entire organisation. I have had to ask two
Directors-General of UNESCO about this figure
and they claim not to be aware of it. For
Nigeria, I believe we should strive for a minimum
of 30 per cent for the next 20 years to clear the
mess in the sector.
Clearly, 30 per cent is realisable for if there is
a will, there is a way. Lip service in funding is
what education generously gets in Nigeria. I am
aware that other sectors such as health,
agriculture and security are important and will
also desire generous funding. What our leaders
fail to realise and appreciate is that education is
the antidote to challenges in all other sectors. It
is often said that education cannot solve all of
society’s problems but without education no
solution is possible.
What we should do in my view is to elevate
funding to education at the federal, state and
local government levels for the next 20 years
with the collateral effect of lowering funding in
other sectors. After 20 years when quality
education is on solid ground for all citizens, the
allocation to education can then slide
downwards for other sectors to enjoy a hike in
their budgetary allocation. It is a matter of
careful planning and continuity in the
implementation of government policies on
education at all levels.
One important point to note as I conclude my
answer to this question is the judicious use of
the funds, albeit meagre, which is allocated and
released for education. There is a lot of leakage
and corruption in the system that the more we
throw money into the sector, the more money
becomes available to be “chopped”. There is the
need, therefore, to install a robust accountability
and probity mechanism into the financial
operations in the sector (and of course, other
sectors) so that as much as possible, all
financial leakages are plugged.
With these allocations, what is the place of
Nigeria (being the Giant of Africa) when
compared to other African countries?
Let me answer this question with some
empirical data. As leader of an African Union-
European Union project, which studied the
quality of university education in 2014, my team
found a generally poor quality of higher
education systems in all 54 African countries
that we studied in comparison with Europe and
North America. Within this gloomy picture, it is
bittersweet to note that the Nigerian university
system rated among the best in Africa. It is
proverbially said that if you have not visited the
farm of others, you will believe that your
father’s farm is either the best or the worst.
Aside from South Africa and Egypt, our data
showed that no other national university system
in Africa matched the quality of curriculum, staff
and students of the Nigerian university system.
At international conferences, Nigerian scholars
are rated among the best in terms of quality of
participation. Students trained in Nigerian
universities are highly sought after for
postgraduate studies in European and North
American universities and during postgraduate
training, they perform among the best.
On the not-so-pleasing side, our data revealed
that relative to many other countries in Africa,
Europe and North America, Nigerian universities
are poor in infrastructure, reading culture is poor
among students and research culture among
staff is weak. If we elevate the performance of
our universities on the variables of quality of
infrastructure, quality of research and improve
reading culture among our students, no nation
in Africa will come anywhere near the tall
standing of the Nigerian university system in
terms of the quality of process and quality of
products.
This is the task for those who will be steering
governance in Nigeria after the February 2015
elections. We need to balance quality with
quantity in delivering university education. The
rate of expansion in enrolment should match the
rate of provision of facilities and human
resources. We need to reduce financial leakages
and profligate spending by political and other
office holders so as to free funds for better
funding of our universities.
If the Nigerian university system is rated among
the best in Africa as you said, despite the
shortfall in funding, what kind of system do you
think we will have if education in general is
adequately funded?
If education in general in Nigeria were better
funded, we will have a country that will parade
the best statistics in the world in health,
education, security, economy, environment,
agriculture, science and technology and in other
sectors. We will have a country, which the
Chairman of the NUC Board while I was
Executive Secretary, Alhaji Maitama Sule,
envisions to be paradise on earth. We will have
a country that will lead Africa to claim the 21st
century. As Executive Secretary of NUC between
2001 and 2006, I confirm that the Obasanjo
administration ensured a huge jump in funding
of our universities which translated to
significant improvement in the global ranking of
our universities in 2007. Since we did this
before, we can do it again across the education
sector.
I should stress that the condition of adequate
funding is only just necessary to make us get to
that dreamland. It is not sufficient. It will
become sufficient when we have truly
nationalistic, corruption-intolerant and God-
fearing leaders at all levels of governance and in
both the public and private sectors. I am not
talking about the president or state governors or
managing directors of private companies. I am
talking about these and all those who are in
leadership including vice-chancellors, principals
of secondary schools, head teachers of primary
schools, heads of academic departments in
universities, polytechnics and colleges of
education. May God give us such worthy
leaders.
Would you say that the present administration
has shown serious attention to educational
development?
No doubt, the present administration has done
well in many areas on education development.
Several areas notably access and quality are
still struggling to be served. You know I am not
a politician but an academic, so I will provide an
unbiased assessment.
Let us take 2014 as example. There were at
least 12 defining events in the education sector
in Nigeria in 2014. It is possible to cluster these
as the good, the bad and the ugly. On the good
and positive entries in the report card are the
improved performance of candidates in the May/
June Senior School Certificate examination
conducted by WAEC; increase in access as
additional 982,000 were enrolled nationwide in
the basic education system and the carrying
capacity of the 129 universities leapt to about
1,000,000. Recall that the present
administration established 12 new federal
universities and the Presidential Special
Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and
Development.
We also had the establishment of more Almajiri
schools to depress the number of out-of-school
children, which was put at about 10 million. The
curriculum at all levels enjoyed some positive
tweaking by NERDC, NCCE, NBTE, and NUC.
NUC’s action was particularly striking in
entrenching an improved entrepreneurship
studies programme in Nigerian universities
whose positive impact showed during the
national entrepreneurship fair in December 2014.
Funding for physical development and research
by TETFund was above the N80 billion mark
during the year. These six events were blue
marks on the report card.
On the “bad” and negative (red) entries in the
education report card in 2014 are four notable
events. The woeful performance of candidates in
the November/December senior school
certificate examination with more than 50 per
cent failing to earn five credits in English,
Mathematics and three other subjects is one.
Also, teacher quality across all levels of the
education system remained generally shameful
and unacceptably low. Quality of buildings and
other teaching-learning infrastructure did not
significantly improve and so is the poor reading
culture among students.
The “ugly” entry on the report card on school
safety has put Nigeria on the dark side of the
world map. This entry includes the alleged
slaughter by Boko Haram of 43 secondary
school students in Federal Government College,
Buni Yadi in February and the abduction in April
of about 200 girls from Government Secondary
School in Chibok. Taken together, the overall
score shown in the education report card at the
state and federal levels is far from the pass
grade. If I were the class teacher of this student
known as Nigeria, I will make the following
closing comments on the 2014 performance in
education: “You need to buckle up next session.
You were rather too laid back with severe
consequences for your future. Work harder in
the area of access, teacher quality and
facilities.”
The 2015 general elections will commence in
less than one month, what advice do you have
for Nigerians as regards electing credible
leaders.
I will advise Nigerians including myself to “shine
our eyes” and not be fooled or hoodwinked by
sweet talks of the politicians who are interested
only in their pockets. We should vote according
to our conscience and in line with what we
believe the politician can deliver by way of
dividends of democracy. This is why education
is important. With a current illiterate population
of about 30 per cent, more will be hoodwinked.
With more money to education, illiteracy rate
will depress and the electorate will be wiser
when casting votes and selecting their leaders.
Written by UJUNWA ATUEYI
http://m.ngrguardiannews.com
Endless Youth Media Creativity Summit 2015
N10,000 entrance exam fee into Lagos model schools condemned
*Govt begins sales of forms
THE Education Rights Campaign (ERC) has
called on Lagos State Government to reverse the
N10,000 placement test fee for pupils seeking
admission into the state’s Model Colleges/
Upgraded Junior Secondary Schools (JSSI) for
the 2015/2016 academic session.
Al statement made available to The Guardian
and signed by the National Coordinator, Hassan
Taiwo Soweto
and National Secretary, Michael Ogundele,
informed that the
b decision of Governor Fashola led administration
to charge parents and guardians N10, 000 fee
for screening test into the state’s Model schools
is unlawful.
social responsibility and given the glaring deficit
in Nigeria’s school population especially to the
disadvantage of the girl child, it is expected that
government would make effort to ensure that
less of the cost of education is put on parents
and guardians in order to promote enrolment.
We demand that the decision to charge the said
amount be immediately reversed in the interest
of the good people of the State.”
“It is unfortunate that soon after the Lagos
State University (LASU) was rescued from a
debilitating astronomical hike in fees, the Lagos
State government is looking towards the Junior
Secondary subsector to implement its anti-poor
motives and agenda for public education.”
“We urge the State government to live up to its
much-advertised free education policy. It is
nothing but a show of shame when a
government claims to be implementing free
education while it at the same time imposes on
parents and guardians all kinds of charges
running into thousands.”
Meanwhile a statement previously released by
the State’s Ministry of Education, informed that
the State has commenced the sales of forms for
the screening test for admission of primary six
pupils into JSS1 of its Model Colleges/Upgraded
Junior Secondary Schools for the 2015/2016
academic session.
The State Commissioner for Education, Mrs.
Olayinka Oladunjoye, in the statement, explained
that two versions of the screening tests will be
adopted this year adding that there will be the
Computer Based Test (CBT), open to only about
b 20 to 30 interested candidates that will like to
participate in the pilot scheme and the regular
Pencil Based Test (PBT) with computer answer
sheet.
She informed that the registration of
candidates could be done through a customised
CD that will be issued to candidates by the
State Examination Board upon the payment of
the sum of N10,000 per candidate payable into
any branch of Fidelity bank with account number
5030000739, agency code 4280011 and revenue
code 40200045; Skye bank with account number
1770602459, agency code 280011 and revenue
code 40200045; and FCMB with account number
L 0135582205, agency code 4280011 and revenue
code 40200045.
She further stated that the screening test is
the only yardstick for admission of pupils into
JSS1 in any of the state’s 15 Model Colleges
across the six education districts.
The screening test is scheduled to hold on
Saturday, May 9, 2015 at the various designated
centers, while the pilot scheme of the CBT will
hold at the ICT/Computer Centre of the State
Examinations Board, Agege.
She urged members of the public, parents,
guardians, head teachers, proprietors and
proprietress of primary schools in the state to
beware of the information and be guided
accordingly.
The 15 Model Colleges/Upgraded Schools
include Lagos State Model Junior College,
Meiran; Vetland Junior Grammar School, Ifako
Iyaiye; Lagos State Model Junior College,
Igbokuta; Lagos State Civil Service Model Junior
College, Igbogbo; Oriwu Model Junior College,
Ikorodu; Government Junior College, Ikorodu;
Eva Adelaja Memorial Junior Secondary School,
Bariga; Lagos State Model Junior College,
Badore; Lagos State Model Junior College,
Igbonla; and Lagos State Model Junior College,
Agbowa.
Others are Government Junior College, Ketu-Epe;
Epe Junior Grammar School, Epe; Lagos State
Model Junior College, Kankon; Lagos State
Model Junior College, Ojo; and Badagry Junior
Grammar School, Badagry.
The sales of forms will close on Friday, April 3,
2015.
Nigeria and Social Media
With a population of 167 million and 56 million internet
users as at December 2012,
Nigeria is the biggest
internet market in Africa. Of the 115 million mobile
telephone subscribers in the country, 35 million use their
handheld devices to access internet data services.
Between 2000 and 2012, internet penetration grew from
a paltry 0.06 percent to 34 percent, and there are
indications that this trend will continue well into 2020.
Nigeria will remain the largest internet market on the
continent in the near future because it has a large youth
population (one-third of the population is between the
10-24 years age bracket) and a growing middle class
estimated at 23 percent (appx. 39 million) of the
population by Renaissance Capital in 2011.
Nigeria has
a fast-growing number of the two classes which
traditionally drive internet usage around the world.
In Nigeria, there is a draught in a comprehensive
attempt to profile Nigeria’s online users and to give a
description of what they do online, where they do it,
what devices they use to access the internet, and the
factors which affect what they do online at any
particular time.
Thus BusinessDay Research and
Intelligence Unit (BRIU) has investigated the trends and
has a comprehensive report on these behaviours.
Excerpts of the survey section of the report are detailed
below.
Survey methodology
Conducted between May and July 2013, the survey
randomly drew respondents from Lagos (82 percent),
the FCT, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ogun and Rivers
online.
An online portal which was programmed to
reduce the incidence of multiple responses from single
individuals was deployed. Questionnaires were then
distributed across multiple channels including Facebook,
LinkedIn, Yahoo, Gmail and specific company email
addresses.
While an online survey methodology allows for
tremendous scale and reach, it provides a perspective
only on the habits of existing internet users, which are
the focus of the research. Additionally, survey responses
are based on claimed behaviour.
Most of the respondents are employees in the financial
services industry (29 percent), manufacturing outfits (5
percent), public sector/civil servants (20 percent),
agriculture (3 percent), while media, ICT and oil and gas
account for 45 percent.
More than half are mid-level management staff; senior
management staffs make up 16 percent of sampled
individuals, while non-management personnel make up
21 percent of respondents. Only 7 percent are business
owners.
Gadgets used to access the internet
There is a clear pattern in the distribution of gadgets
used to access the internet. Laptops are the most
popular.
They constitute 62 percent of gadgets used to
surf the web. Phones and desktops account for 49
percent and 47 percent of gadgets used, while tablets
account for the lowest percentage, 24 percent (most
respondents use a combination of gadgets).
We believe that the preponderance of mobile computers
has adversely affected the trend in gadgets used for
internet access as more and more individuals are
interested in platforms which avail them of the internet
on the “go”.
Based on this, we expect further increase in
the demand for more mobile computers as more
individuals transit from the traditional cathode ray tube
systems to lighter, more energy-efficient computers.
Also, we see an expansion of demand for mobile internet
bundles.
An examination of the responses based on gender
reveals that, apart from tablets, females are more likely
to use light gadgets than males, but there is no
significant difference in the percentage of usage across
gender.
But the preponderance of tablets is higher among males
than females. Response pattern does not show an
established variation between age and the type of
devices used to access the internet.
Brands used to surf the internet
Respondents were asked if they use particular brands
for online access. Their responses present a
kaleidoscope of information which gadget marketers and
makers can use for strategic campaigns. They were
asked along phone, laptop, desktop and tablet lines.
Phone brands
More than half of respondents use BlackBerry
smartphones for internet access while Nokia and
Samsung account for 24 percent and 19 percent,
respectively, of gadgets used to access the web. Other
important bands include the iPhone which is used by 5
percent of respondents, and Sony Ericsson, used by 2
percent of respondents.
We believe that the Sony Ericsson brand is yet to make
a major mark on the Nigerian phone user; also, though
Apple products are considered as premium in the
country and are thus used by a select few, pricing can,
however, tilt this equation in favour of the brand.
Both brands may gain more ground through advertising,
putting in place some price discrimination in favour of
the Nigerian market which is still very fruitful for
smartphone users.
For the low-end market, Nokia
phones seem to dominate the market with other brands,
mainly from Asia, making a significant entry into the
market.
When gender is factored into the equation, the picture
seems to be a little more detailed as a higher
percentage of females use BlackBerry smartphones than
males. Sixty-seven percent of phones used by females
and almost half (45 percent) of phones used by male
respondents to access the internet are BlackBerry
handsets.
For the male segment of the market, 21 percent use
Samsung smartphones while 17 percent of females who
took the survey use the Samsung brand for internet
access. Nokia accounts for 27 percent of phones used
by males for access while the brand accounts for 8
percent of phones used by females.
Laptop brands
Data from respondents shows that HP brand come top
among the brands used to access the internet by
respondents. We believe that this can be used as a
proxy for the most popular laptop brands in Nigeria.
The brand accounts for over a three quarter of laptops
used by respondents to access the internet and 61
percent of desktops used. Also, correlated with HP is
the Compaq brand which also accounts for a significant
portion (13 percent) of laptops which respondents say
they use online.
Dell is also a formidable brand in Nigeria as it accounts
for 13 percent of laptops and 18 percent of desktops
used to access the internet by respondents. Other
important brands which respondents indicate that they
use are Acer, Mac and Samsung. These brands
represent a minor percentage of computers used by
respondents.
It is not obvious that there is an age or gender bias to
the use of any particular brand. A male is equally likely
to use a HP laptop or desktop as a female. What is,
however, different is that males seem to exploit a more
assorted array of brands while females use the
traditionally known brands.
Tablets
The share of tablets as gadgets used to access the
internet relative to other gadgets is still small. However,
Samsung and Apple products account for all tablets
used by respondents.
For the males and females sampled, Samsung tablets
account for a higher portion of tablets in use. They
account for 60 percent of gadgets among males and 67
percent for females.
Thus for every one iPad in use,
there are at least two Samsung tablets. Difference
across the age brackets for particular brands is not
obvious.
How respondents use the internet
The main reason respondents browse the internet is to
search for information. Other major reasons include
sending emails and work.
As many as 84 percent are online for information
gathering purposes, 81 percent use the platform mainly
to send e-mails, while for 76 percent it is part of their
work tools.
Though social media is important to users,
only 45 percent of those sampled see it as the major
reason they go online.
From the responses, it can be inferred that there is less
buying and selling activity online among respondents
compared to other online activities. Only 7 percent of
them see buying and selling as a major reason they are
on the internet, while 19 percent see paying for services
as a major reason for being online.
Finally, 26 percent of
all respondents consider checking bank accounts as a
major reason for going online.
We believe there is a vacuum in online sales and
marketing in Nigeria even as internet penetration
continues to grow.
But there is evidence that more
individuals have embraced internet banking compared to
buying and selling online. Trust, access to online
payment infrastructure and knowledge of how these
processes work have been identified as clogs in the
wheel of online buying and selling business in Nigeria.
We believe that continued reinforcement of publicity on
how the whole process works and how safe and easy it
is can significantly tilt the equation in favour of online
buying and selling in the country.
Viewed from the point of view of gender, the major
activities carried out online are the same. But while 6
percent of females see buying items online as a major
reason for being on the internet, only 1 percent of males
have the same view. Also, while 8 percent of female
respondents see paying for services as a major reason
for being on the internet, only 4 percent of males have
the same view.
Social media sites with the buzz
Across the website types, social media accounted for by
far more traffic. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, My Space,
Tumblr and Instagram were among the social media
platforms investigated in the survey. Of the lot, 73
percent of the respondents said they are active on
Facebook daily, 35 percent are active on Twitter, while
LinkedIn accounts for 25 percent of social media
presence. On the other hand, Tumblr, My Space and
Instagram are yet to make any impact on respondents.
Their combined patronage is less than 2 percent of
respondents.
All the females that took the survey say they visit
Facebook regularly, while more than a three quarter use
Tweeter. Sixty-four percent of respondents say they use
LinkedIn and Skype, respectively, while Google+ and
Whatsapp are used by half of female respondents,
respectively.
Less popular sites among females include
Instagram and Pintrest. Both sites account for less than
15 percent of female traffic.
We believe this information is important to brand
advertisers and publishers who work on female-sensitive
brands.
Targeting online advert in the direction of
websites with most of the female traffic will create the
level of brand resonance, reach and reaction which
advertisers seek. Since more women frequent these
sites, the probability that an online campaign targeted
through them will succeed is higher.
Not all male respondents visit Facebook. Only 97
percent of male respondents have Facebook accounts
and use them regularly, though this is significant.
LinkedIn is the second most important social media site
visited by males, more than half (56 percent) of all
respondents to the survey use it.
Google+, Y-Messenger, Skype, and Tweeter are used by
an average of 50 percent of respondents, while sites like
My Space and Instagram have very low penetration
among those sampled.
Advertisers and media executives who want to engender
brand awareness can use the information contained in
the complete report for selecting the best platform for
online ads.
What sites do people visit using mobile devices?
One important finding in the survey is that the amount
of traffic sites enjoyed is different depending on what
each site offers. But even among sites which offer the
same services, there are more hits for some sites than
others.
Respondents to the survey were asked about the
websites they visit most on their mobile phones and the
results show that Facebook, Yahoo, Google and
newspaper sites have the highest patronage.
As many as 73 percent of the respondents said they use
Facebook on the go, while Tweeter and LinkedIn have
35 percent and 30 percent of respondents’ attention.
The survey shows that MySpace, Instagram and Tumblr
have gained little ground in Nigeria. Their average
patronage is less than 2 percent of respondents.
Apart from social media, Yahoo, Gmail and newspaper
websites are the most frequented. Sixty-five percent of
respondents visit Yahoo daily, 44 percent of
respondents visit Gmail and newspaper websites sites
daily, while recruitment sites attract 13 percent of
traffic.
Also important is the level of attention received
by Nigerian and foreign corporate sites: they attract 12
percent and 19 percent of traffic, respectively.
Conclusion
Nigeria presents an exciting environment for ISP and
online advertisers. But understanding the dynamics of
the internet and the way those who use it do will go a
long way to engender their success. The online
environment is very dynamic and the most recent
information must be obtained as soon as it is available.
Courtesy: http://businessdayonline.com 2013
Researches shows girls lead boys in academicachievement globally
CONSIDERABLE attention has been paid to how
boys’ educational achievements in science and
math compare to girls’ accomplishments in
those areas, often leading to the assumption
that boys outperform girls in these areas.
Now, using international data, researchers
at the University of Missouri, United States, and
the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland,
have determined that girls outperform boys in
educational achievement in 70 per cent of the
countries they studied regardless of the level of
gender, political, economic or social equality.
Curators Professor of Psychological
Sciences in the College of Arts and Science at
MU, David Geary, said: “We studied the
educational achievement levels of 1.5 million
15-year-olds from around the world using data
collected between 2000 and 2010,” “Even in
countries where women’s liberties are severely
restricted, we found that girls are outperforming
boys in reading, mathematics, and science
literacy by age 15, regardless of political,
economic, social or gender equality issues and
policies found in those countries.”
According to the data, boys fall behind girls
in overall achievement across reading,
mathematics, and science in 70 percent of the
countries studied. Boys outperform girls in only
three countries or regions: Colombia, Costa Rica
and the Indian state, Himachal Pradesh. Boys
and girls had similar educational achievements
in the United States and United Kingdom.
In countries known for relatively low gender
equality ratings, such as Qatar, Jordan and the
United Arab Emirates, the educational
achievement gap is relatively large and favours
girls.
The one exception worldwide is among
students in economically developed nations
where high achieving boys outperform high
achieving girls, researchers said.
“With the exception of high-achievers, boys
have poorer educational outcomes than girls
around the world, independent of social equality
indicators,” said Gijsbert Stoet, reader in
psychology at the University of Glasgow.
“Results show that a commitment to gender
equality on its own is not enough to close the
achievement gaps in global education; the gap
is not increasing. Although it is vital that we
promote gender equality in schools, we also
need to make sure that we’re doing more to
understand why these gaps, especially among
boys, persist and what other policies we can
develop to close them.”
The study also has important implications for
educational policy, the researchers said.
“The data will influence how policymakers
think about the options available,” said Geary.
“For example, to increase levels of equal
opportunities in education. We believe that
policymakers and educators should not expect
that broad progress in social equality will
necessarily result in educational equality. In
fact, we found that with the exception of high
achievers, boys have poorer educational
outcomes than girls around the world,
independent of social equality indicators.
Therefore, in order to effectively close the gaps
in achievement, education policymakers should
consider factors other than political, economic
and social equality, and especially as related to
boys’ overall achievement and high-achieving
girls’ interest in mathematics and science.”
Graduate programme inpetroleum engineering will soon start in UNILAG
UNILAG to commence graduate programme in petroleum engineering in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government in area of effective teaching and learning of oil and gas courses, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has
reiterated its commitment to ensure a good number of Nigerian universities are upgraded to international standard.
Speaking shortly after a tour of facility at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Executive Secretary of the Fund, Mr. Olufemi Ajayi, who led the PTDF inspection team, informed that in an effort to achieve the mandate of the Fund in the area of capacity building, the agency has embarked on human capacity building through institutional upgrade.
The Fund had in 2013 built and handed over a well-equipped structure and facilities worth N800 million to the Chemical Department of UNILAG to enhance teaching and learning and
ensure students in Nigerian universities received world-class training in the oil and gas sector.
The recent visit was to inspect and see if the facilities are being used to achieve the purpose of the Fund.
According to Ajayi: “The essence of the
upgrade is to make the Nigerian universities competitive by providing world class facilities comparable to any tertiary institution anywhere in the world.
We also want to multiply the
number of professionals in the oil and gas sector through the upscaling of Nigerian institutions. So far, these facilities at UNILAG had been replicated in 25 other universities across the country, and we will continue to deliver more.”
“From experience, what we have here is just almost as much as what we have in some of the universities in United Kingdom (UK) and in United States (U.S.) that I have visited, in terms of facilities. If what we have seen here is what is happening in 25 others, it means that PTDF, by extension of the Federal Government, is moving in the right direction.”
He continued: “If oil and gas is the main thing of our economy, if we are investing in chemical and petroleum engineering departments, we are just putting our money where our mouth is. We are doing what we supposed to be doing.
Rather than send students abroad, the training can be done within the shores of Nigeria and students would be able to study in universities here and get the same experience and quality of training.”
Ajayi said that the structures had been put in place to achieve the dream of the President, which is to ensure that Nigeria is one of the 20 most-advanced countries in the world.
“At the end of the day, capacity-building is the first step for any sustainable industrialisation.
If you don’t have manpower, you are just paying lip service to industrialization. As it is, we have taken the first step through the empowerment of all these 26 universities and many more to benefit.
“If all these universities are making active and gainful use of the facilities, you can imagine the spillover effect in the next few years. With this empowerment, the universities will perform maximally in the mandate they have been given
in the area of teaching, research and community service.
“Again, as an agency of government, we have a mandate to increase local content by way of the number of professionals who are involved in production and manufacturing, by way of trying
to encourage the development of local raw materials. So, whatever we produce here in Nigeria, the value that would be added would at least be up to 60 per cent.
“We want the raw materials to be sourced
from our environment, not entirely foreign made.
If we have very virile and effective chemical engineering department in our universities, to produce quality graduates, meaningfully engage in research, when any oil company has challenges, it will be referred to address such challenges rather than going to foreign countries
for solution. Our institutions should be able to address some of those challenges and solve problems that are peculiar to our environment, that is the main objective of this university upgrade.”
Meanwhile, Head, Department of Chemical Engineering, Prof. Adetokunbo Denloye, had announced the willingness of the department to commence graduate courses in Petroleum Engineering.
Denloye, who commended the Fund for its intervention, said with the support of the Fund, all is set for the take-off except for the manpower, which the university is working diligently to achieve.
According to him: “We intend to commence master’s and doctorate programmes in Petroleum Engineering and we require manpower in that department since we have enough members of staff for chemical engineering. We want to encourage our students to come on board. We are in the process of recruiting more members of staff, especially at the higher level, so that we can have someone who can provide academic leadership in the department.
“We are currently in the process. The position has been advertised and right now, we are in the review process and hopefully, before the end of this year, we should be through with that. We
intend to attract the best students and
encourage them to do the master programme and then Ph.D.”, he said.
On the relevance of the course to national
growth, he said: “Chemical Engineering is key, the nation depends mainly on sale of crude oil, what we have not done is to really exploit all the things that come from crude and that is the area which chemical engineering is so versatile.
They add value to crude products. If we have a virile petrochemical industry, it will be yielding significant revenue to the country.”
Lord’s Chosen Int’lSecondary School wins award
IN recognition of their academic prowess for
excellence both local and international, the
Lord’s Chosen International Secondary School,
based in Mgbidi in Oru West, Imo State, has
been given outstanding private schools merit
award.
Disclosing this before the mammoth crowd
that converged at the Chosen International
Secondary School, Mgbidi, for this year’s Mgbidi
crusade, tagged: “God will make you to rejoice”
the principal of the school, Sister Iheoma
Iwumba said: “this is not the first time that the
school is being recognised for its excellent
performance.”
Before she presented the plaque, which the
school won from the Federal Government, the
principal read out the inscription written on it
and it reads: “House of Representatives
Committee on Education in collaboration of with
Family Affairs Consultancy Services Limited
presents outstanding private schools merit
award to Chosen International Secondary
School, Mgbidi in Imo State, in recognition of
your remarkable standard in knowledge
impartation and effective school administration
this day 21, November 2014.”
She attributed the outstanding performance of
the school based on the declarations made by
the General Overseer of the Lord’s Chosen
Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Lazarus
Muoka.
“This award came to us from the federal
government of Nigeria. It actually did not come
to me as a surprise because each time our
Daddy GO visits us here in the school, he would
declare that we are champions that every where
we go that we must surely excel even above our
equals. He has made several declarations about
us and the entire chosen International
secondary school, Mgbidi community,” she
said.
She added: “in fact, they said: “Chosen so you
made it.” I said yes, we made it because my
pastor has always declared that “where I am
not qualified” that his “God will qualify me” so
having anchored our faith in that declaration we
moved forward. What seemed difficult for others
to receive Chosen people received everything
even in excess.”
The school also participated in several other
competitions and won and their name for more
than two occasions entered into the Guinness
World Records.
According to the principal, “Apart from that,
last year, our school emerged the best school in
physics in the whole of Imo State. We also
emerged the best schools in junior science here
in Imo State. There are a whole lot of other
awards at the local government level.”
The Chosen International Secondary School is
a boarding school; where students are trained in
the best academic standard, instill discipline and
fear of God.
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