The Lagos government has awarded university scholarships to two exceptional students, Favour Anuoluwapo and Taiwo Muhammed, for emerging best students with 8 A1’s and 7A1’s, respectively at the 2020 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations.

The state government also received students who emerged champions at various national and international science competitions.

Addressing the awardees at a ceremony held recently at the Ministry of Education, Secretariat, Alausa, Lagos, the Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo, expressed delight about the feat attained by the students in various national and international competitions, noting that this is authentication of improved quality of education in the state.

She emphasised the students’ various efforts, adding that one of the awardees, Olamide Marvelous, who represented the state at the African Leadership Academy competition, an international competition emerged as the ‘Best Critical Thinker’.

The commissioner noted that the state government has continued to introduce various initiatives and innovations geared towards improving the educational system, adding that some of these programmes are to enhance teaching and learning outcomes in schools.

Adefisayo commended Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for approving scholarships for the two students who emerged best at the WASSCE, pointing out his passion for the continuous provision of school infrastructure for academic success students in the state.

While congratulating the students, Adefisayo advised them to remain focused, avoid distractions and remain committed to their studies. She also encouraged parents not to relent in monitoring, guiding, providing enough time and love for their children.

Announcing some of the other awardees, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Abayomi Abolaji said, “Vetland Senior Grammar School representatives, Ebere Divine and Olajide Akorede as well as Seidu Samuel of Brainfield College represented the State at the 2021 National Institute of Physics Competition and clinched the first position. While Oladipupo Marvelous of Government Technical College, Agindigbi, was adjudged the ‘Best Critical Thinker’ at the 2021 African Leadership Academy Competition, Seidu Samuel of Brainfield College also emerged second in the 2021 Oluwole Awokoya Chemistry Competition.”

The Lagos government has awarded university scholarships to two exceptional students, Favour Anuoluwapo and Taiwo Muhammed, for emerging best students with 8 A1’s and 7A1’s, respectively at the 2020 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations.

The state government also received students who emerged champions at various national and international science competitions.

Addressing the awardees at a ceremony held recently at the Ministry of Education, Secretariat, Alausa, Lagos, the Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo, expressed delight about the feat attained by the students in various national and international competitions, noting that this is authentication of improved quality of education in the state.

She emphasised the students’ various efforts, adding that one of the awardees, Olamide Marvelous, who represented the state at the African Leadership Academy competition, an international competition emerged as the ‘Best Critical Thinker’.

The commissioner noted that the state government has continued to introduce various initiatives and innovations geared towards improving the educational system, adding that some of these programmes are to enhance teaching and learning outcomes in schools.

Adefisayo commended Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for approving scholarships for the two students who emerged best at the WASSCE, pointing out his passion for the continuous provision of school infrastructure for academic success students in the state.

While congratulating the students, Adefisayo advised them to remain focused, avoid distractions and remain committed to their studies. She also encouraged parents not to relent in monitoring, guiding, providing enough time and love for their children.

Announcing some of the other awardees, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Abayomi Abolaji said, “Vetland Senior Grammar School representatives, Ebere Divine and Olajide Akorede as well as Seidu Samuel of Brainfield College represented the State at the 2021 National Institute of Physics Competition and clinched the first position. While Oladipupo Marvelous of Government Technical College, Agindigbi, was adjudged the ‘Best Critical Thinker’ at the 2021 African Leadership Academy Competition, Seidu Samuel of Brainfield College also emerged second in the 2021 Oluwole Awokoya Chemistry Competition.”

Thousands of outgoing secondary school students in Kano state, may not be able to access admission into tertiary institutions because NECO has withheld their results due to the inability of the State Government to clear debts.

The post secondary school future of over 80,000 students in Kano state, hangs in the balance as the state government could not pay their NECO examination fees amounting to over N500 million.

According to report, 70% of the students who sat for the NECO examination in 2021,were sponsored by their parents, but till date there is no news of when the examination body will release their results.

This development has made rights organisations to put pressure on the government so that the chances of going to higher institutions of these students during this session,is not jeopardised.

Kano state is said to be among states such as Adamawa, Niger and Zamfara that are owing NECO millions  of Naira as a result of their inability to pay their students exams fee.

Already, some rights groups have written to the State government, notifying it of the plight of the students and urged the government to take the necessary action.

Also, a leader of an NGO, Umar Ibrahim Umar,said the complaints they got from students at a time tertiary institutions are about closing admission intake, made them to intensify the call for government to solve the problem.

Umar said they will take the necessary measures to see that the results are released to the students, because majority paid the exams fees themselves.

According to reports, NECO is being owed over N500m by the Kano State Government, despite the fact that last week, the state government said it has reduced the debt by paying N100 million.

The Kano  state government has attributed the mounting debt to economic recession and inadequate flow of IGR.

However, there are reports that this is not the first time the Kano state government found itself in such situation,because every year there are complaints from students of the withholding of their results due to uncleared  debts .

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, has commended Dr Bibiana Okoli, the first female visually impaired to bag a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the institution’s Department of Special Education.

Adebowale, who gave the commendation in his address at the 73rd Founder’s Day and convocation ceremony of the institution, in Ibadan on Wednesday, said that Okoli’s tenacity, which made her achieve the rare feat, was worthy of commendation.

Adebowale, who started out by commending the governing council, management and staff members of the university, added that the council had successfully midwife the appointment of five principal officers in three months.

Speaking to the 481 candidates who bagged doctorate degrees in various disciplines, the Vice-Chancellor urged the graduands to raise the bars wherever they found themselves and be good ambassadors of the institution.

“The nation needs many like you who can provide feasible and practical solutions to the complexities that it is grappling with,” Adebowale said.

In his address at the occasion, the Visitor to the university, President Muhammadu Buhari, said that his administration had given priority to the education sector, especially tertiary institutions.

The president, who was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Mayaki, noted the roles of the private sector in providing quality education in Nigeria.

He said his administration would increase budgetary allocation to education by 50 per cent in the next two years and 100 per cent over the next five years.

The event was attended by many dignitaries, including Prof. Sarah Agbor, Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, African Union Commission, representative of Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, among others.

The acting Vice-Chancellor, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, on Monday said 125 First Class degree holders are among the 1,415 graduands of the institution.

Olarinde said the graduands included 1306 undergraduate students comprising 125 First Class, 563 Second Class Upper, 473 Second Class Lower, 60 Third Class degrees and 109 postgraduate students.

The VC, who spoke during a pre-convocation press briefing in Ado Ekiti, said the university would also during the 9th convocation ceremonies, scheduled to hold on Sunday confer honorary degrees on four eminent Nigerians.

According to her, while Doctor of Letters will be conferred on the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe; and Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum; while Doctor of Law degrees will be bestowed on the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.

Olarinde said, “In just 12 years of existence, our university has won several national and international awards and recognitions for excellence in teaching, research, innovation and impact in the life of the larger society through our community development efforts”.

Emmanuel Ofuasia, a postgraduate student of philosophy in the Department of Philosophy at Lagos State University has been awarded £1,000 to undertake research on Philosophy of Religion.

Ofuasia bagged a First Class (Hons) in Philosophy from Lagos State University (LASU) in 2012.

He also has a Master’s of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 2015 and has enrolled at LASU for his PhD since 2018

The grant is entitled: “English Language Support Grants 2021.”

It is mainly for non-Native English-speaking philosophers of religion.

The grant was made possible through the John Templeton Foundation and the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

According to the website of Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham, “The awarded grants are expected to be used mainly to cover expenses relevant to the production of the documents in English, such as proofreading, book purchases and editorial assistance.

The winners of the stipends are required to submit their completed papers to English-speaking journals, as well as to us.”

Originally 10 awardees were targeted all over the world.

In a competitive affair, only 6 grants were awarded and Ofuasia is the only Nigerian among the 6 from thousands of applicants.

The other 5 awardees of the same category are Davi Heckert Cesar Bastos (University of Campinas, Brazil); Igor Gasparov (Voronezh State Medical University named after N.N. Burdenko, Russia)

Others are Ataollah Hashemi (Saint Louis University, USA); Dennis Masaka (Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe); and Soroosh Shahriari (McGill University, Canada).

Director-General, National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, has called on corps-producing institutions in African countries to continue to collaborate with the NYSC in fighting against the issuance of fake certificates.

He made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the second meeting with corps-producing institutions in some African countries and other critical stakeholders.

He said the long-standing tradition of routine evaluation and review of performances in the mobilisation process with critical stakeholders in Nigeria had given hope that the scheme was on the roadmap to success in the foreign segment bustle.

Ibrahim noted that the meeting was aimed at sustaining gains recorded from the maiden meeting held in 2019 as well as entrenching the culture of regular contact with universities and other higher institutions of learning as contained in the NYSC Act.

The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, inaugurated a 10-member Visitation Panel for the Lagos State University (LASU) Ojo with a view to looking into the activities of the university for the past 12 years and recommend for improved service delivery.

The swearing-in event took place at the Lagos House, Marina.

Sanwo-Olu is a visitor to the university.

The former Vice-Chancellor of University of Lagos (UNILAG) Akoka, Prof Rahaman Bello is the Chairman of the panel, and the Director of Inspection in the Monitoring Department in the Office of Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Yemisi Omoloye, is the Secretary while Prof Dipo Kolawole, Prof. Ebunoluwa Adejuyigbe, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, Ayorinde Ogunruku, Lawal Pedro, Ibrahim Aponmade, Akinwale Ayodeji, and Kalejaiye Adeboye, as other members.

The Head of Public Affairs Unit in the Office of Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Adesoye Oyelami confirmed the inauguration and composition of the panel to saying the office at that moment was “working on the official statement” to that effect but yet to send it till the of filling the report.

However, the Special Adviser on Education to the Governor, Tokunbo Wahab, whose office oversees tertiary institutions owned by the state government had told newsmen that the governor would soon send a visitation panel to LASU and the exercise is not to witch-hunt anyone but to improve service delivery.

Reacting to his appointment, the former UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Prof Rahaman Bello, in an interview said sending visitation panels by visitors either to federal or state universities is a normal thing in the university system.

He said the exercise was part of quality controls and he believed this development would help LASU to move to the next level.

He said though the assignment covers 12 years instead of five- years normal schedule for the visitation panel, it is a way forward for LASU to start sending visitation panels by the visitor to the university five years interval.

“So, it is an assignment that has to be done,” he stressed.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has scored Ahmadu Bello University Distance Learning Center as the best in Nigeria.

NUC conducted a Quality Assurance Assessment Visit to Nigerian university distance learning centres. Eight among the centres were rated “Very Viable” with a percentage score of at least 80% as follows:

Ahmadu Bello University Distance Learning Center- 94.9%

University of Lagos Distance Learning Institute- 93.1%

University of Ibadan Distance Learning Center- 93.0%

Joseph Ayo Babalola University Center for Distance Learning- 92.7%

Lagos State University Open and Distance Learning and Research Institute- 89%

Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Open and Distance Learning Center- 88.7%

University of Nigeria Nsukka Center for Distance and e-Learning- 85%

Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola Center for Distance Learning- 83.5%

University of Maiduguri and Obafemi Awolowo University were both rated “Viable”, scoring 78.1% and 75.3%, respectively.

University of Abuja Center for Distance Learning and Continuing Education was rated “Not Viable”, with a score of 50.3%.

There are only 12 approved distance learning centres across the country, as obtained from the NUC website.

The 12th accredited program is the Federal University of Technology Minna Center for Open Distance and e-Learning.

Nigerian universities established distance learning centres to obtain degrees from NUC-approved universities without a physical presence on campus. Due to flexibility, the programmes are gaining more acceptability over the years by students who might be inconvenient to be in physical contact with the schools.