Here are the news updates as they were published by the dailies on 2^nd December, 2022

Tribunal

Nimi Briggs Challenges Nigerian Varsities on Quality of Graduates

THE pro-chancellor of the Alex Ekwueme University, Emeritus Professor Nimi Briggs, has challenged universities in Nigeria to live up to expectations of the society by producing graduates that can compete favourably with their counterparts in the world.

He spoke in Abuja during the inaugural ‘Gown-to-Town’ symposium organized by the Abuja chapter of the University of Port-Harcourt Alumni Association.

The former vice chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Nimi Briggs, urged Nigerian universities to justify their existence, saying universities are established with great expectations from the people.

Vanguard

Education and local governments: Cheers and jeers for Buhari

ON Wednesday and yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari pleasantly surprised me. On Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council meeting over which he presided approved mother tongue instruction in the first six years of schooling.Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu told State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting that: “A memo on national policy was approved by the council. So, Nigeria now has a National Language Policy and the details will be given later by the ministry.

One of the highlights is that the government has agreed now that henceforth, instruction in primary schools; the first six years of learning will be in the mother tongue.”

Legit

Photos Emerge as Court Sentences Ex-Vice Chancellor of Prominent Nigerian University to 35 Years in Prison.

Professor Magaji Garba, a former Vice Chancellor of Federal University Gusau, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison The professor was found guilty of a five-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and forgery brought against him by the EFCC The university don allegedly extorted various sums from a contractor on the pretext of awarding him N3 billion contract for the perimeter wall fencing of the university.

The Sun

UniPort set for combined convocation of 19,235 graduates.

Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Oruwari Georgewill, disclosed this during a pre-convocation media briefing in Port Harcourt, yesterday, saying it would start with the first degrees.

According to Georgewill, a breakdown of the number, showed that 9,536 are Bachelor Degrees, out of which 161 obtained the First Class Honours.

Similarly, about 9,699 are for post-graduate degrees (PGDs) and diplomas. Out of this, about 1,028 are PhDs; 3,745 are Masters Degrees in various disciplines, and about 4,926 are post-graduates diplomas.

He explained that the 33rd combined convocation of 2018/2019, 2019/2020 was as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and eight months of strike by different university unions.

UNICAL aggressively waging war against corruption, says VC, Prof Obi

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Florence Obi, has stated that the institution is aggressively waging war against corruption.

Professor Obi, who stated this at a town hall meeting held at the International Convention Centre on Thursday to mark her second anniversary in office, said the administration cannot hope to excel in an environment where corruption is a norm.

According to her, “in my investiture speech, I had promised to do all within my powers to fight corruption, for we cannot hope to excel in an environment where corruption is a norm.

“In addition to the modest successes recorded in the years, we are waging the war against corruption aggressively.

The Guardian

We’ll prioritise building, staffing of Edo technical colleges in 2023, says Obaseki

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said his administration will, in 2023, focus on building and staffing the proposed 20 technical colleges and other vocational training centres in the state.

Obaseki, who disclosed this while speaking to journalists in Benin City, said his government is prioritising education, with emphasis on technical and vocational education to drive the state’s industrial growth.

While restating the government’s plan to build 20 technical colleges, with one in each council of the state, to cater for manpower needs and drive industrial growth, the governor said emphasis will be placed on building and staffing the proposed colleges.

He said: “Technical education is a priority for us. The Government Science and Technical College (GSTC) has been a successful pilot for our statewide plan to strengthen technical and vocational education and training (TVET). We are working with partners, such as the German government and World Bank to roll out more TVET schools across the 18 councils in the state.

FUTA Staff School old students donate N6m computer sets to alma mater

The Alumni of FUTA Staff Secondary School (FUTASSS), Akure, have donated state-of-the-art computer systems worth N6m to their alma mater to boost digital learning skills.

Handing over 15 desktop computers to the school’s computer laboratory, the old students said the move was to enhance practical training of students and equip them with the latest knowledge of the digital world.

According to the newly elected President of FUTASSS, Mrs. Bukola Adeniyi-Ajala, the move was made to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the school.

She said the association is pleased to give back to the institution that moulded them as giants in the society According to her, the equipment would make the students to compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world, even after graduation.

153 graduate at Admiralty varsity’s maiden convocation

Admiralty University of Nigeria (ADUN) has graduated 153 students at its maiden convocation held at the institution in Ibuza, near Asaba, Oshimili North Council of Delta State.

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Paul Omojo Omaji, said of the total number of the graduating students, 24 made first class, 76 made Second Class (Upper Division), 52 had Second Class (Lower Division), while a student made Third Class.

Omaji said the five- year old institution trained its students to solve problems on their own and be luminary leaders that would promote the growth of the society.

He said Ape Terhemba Moses of Cyber Security Department, who got five awards, emerged the best graduating student for the 2021/2022 academic session.

UNIMED inducts 34 physiotherapists, tasks them on professionalism

The Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria (MRTBN) has inducted 34 physiotherapists from the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), with a charge on inductees to imbibe professionalism as they set out to pursue their career.

UNIMED vice chancellor, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, appealed to inductees not to abuse the ethics of the profession as physiotherapists, but always give their best to patients.

Fatusi, who was represent by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration and Clinicals, Prof. Adolphus Loto, said the university is proud of its history of blazing the trail of excellence in the field of health and medical sciences.

Old Girls move to fight encroachment, vandalism at St Anne’s School

The first National President of the Seminary-St. Anne’s School Old Girls Association (SSASOGA) Similola Onabanjo has restated their readiness to fight encroachers and vandals taking advantage of the porous state of the school for selfish reasons

Expressing dissatisfaction at the attempts by some members of the public to usurp the school’s properties to their advantage, Onabanjo called for the intervention of the state government and other stakeholders in curtailing the menace.

Onabanjo spoke at the 2022 yearly General Meeting of SSASOGA held at St. Anne’s School, Molete, lbadan, with members drawn from within and outside the country.

She said: “The matter has gone from selling our land to numerous squatters building on our fence and along the main road. All of them will be forced out.

Why we renamed TASCE after Awujale, by Ogun government

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has given reasons for renaming the Tai Solarin College of Education even as he refuted claims by a segment of persons in the state that the action was done in bad faith.

Abiodun, who stated this at combined ward meeting of All Progressives Congress (APC) at Ijebu-Ode, flayed those behind the claims, saying they failed to realise that the late scholar still has the first university of education in the country named after him.

He explained that renaming TASCE after the Awujale wasn’t done to remove the name of the late Tai Solarin from history, stressing that contributions of the late social critic and educationist would remain indelible.

Access to digital resources will enhance learning for people with disabilities, say experts

Disability rights advocates and concerned stakeholders have called on private and public sectors to collaborate and make digital resources accessible to persons living with disabilities for the enhancement and promotion of inclusive learning.

This consensus was reached at the November edition of EdTech Mondays, an initiative of the Master card Foundation in partnership with Co-Creation Hub.

The virtual roundtable featured a three-man panel that comprised Founder and Executive Director of Disability Not A Barrier Initiative (DINABI), Olajide Funso Benjamin; Head of Programme, Disability Rights Advocacy Centre, Amaka Ogwu and a Bio-medical Engineer, Oluwatomisin Kolawole.

YABATECH graduates 7,554 at 34th convocation

Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) has awarded more than 7,554 graduates National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) certificates at its 34th convocation ceremony.

The ceremony comprised of graduating sets of the 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic sessions for both full and part time students owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Rector, Obafemi Omokungbe, gave the breakdown of the performances of the graduating students as: HND full time Distinction 256; Upper Credit 2,507; Lower Credit 3,425 and Pass 779, while for part time, 33 had distinction, 551 upper credit, 1,201 lower credit and 312 had pass.

The National Diploma for both full time and part time are Distinction 271; Upper Credit 2,862, Lower Credit 7295 and Pass 3,386.