THE NATION THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012
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EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP
FUTA FILE Group honours retirees THE National Association of Professional Secretarial Staff of Nigeria (NAPSSON), Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) branch, has honoured its retired members for their support while in service. Speaking at a get together organised by the association, the President, Mrs Victoria Adamolekun, appreciated the university management for its contributions and support towards the continued existence of the association. She explained that when a person has done well, he deserves a pat on the back. He said it was for this that the outstanding members are being honoured. Earlier, the former Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adebisi Balogun, described the event as special. Balogun, who was represented by the Registrar, Dr Modupe Ajayi, said the occasion was to motivate outstanding members of the group and encourage others to work hard.
Varsity ranking improves THE FUTA has emerged one of the best universities in Nigeria and Africa, according to Scimago Institutitons Rankings (SIR) World Report for 2011. FUTA is ranked eight, only behind the first generation universities in Nigeria and 49th in Africa. According to the report, the university's scientific impact, thematic specialisation, output size and international collaboration networks placed it in contention with the world's best universities. The report shows that FUTA has published over 100 scientific documents such as articles, reviews, short reviews, letters and conference papers within the period reviewed for the ranking, making it one of the 3,042 institutions responsible for more than 80 per cent of worldwide scientific output since 2005. It would be noted that only 62 universities, including research Institutes, were ranked in Africa in this latest exercise. In July, 2011, FUTA ranked 14th in Nigeria.
Head teacher praises new PTA building THE Head teacher of the FUTA Staff School, Mrs Angelina Babarinsa, has lauded the university management for the newly erected PTA building in the school. Mrs. Babarinsa, who at the project inauguration, praised the efforts of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adebisi Balogun and the Management towards the provision of the edifice, appealed to Balogun to release one of the university's shuttle buses to offset the problem of transportation facing the school. The Chairman, PTA, Prof. Kunle Amoo, lauded the management for releasing funds for the completion of the building. Balogun also praised the PTA for donating the building which he described as an addition to the creation of opportunities for the school to compete with the revolving national and international educational standards, especially the on-going Mega School being constructed by the Ondo State government. The PTA building contains six classrooms, one office, three stores, five toilets and a sick bay.
APPROACHING DEADLINES UK Commonwealth Scholarships for Masters Degree Courses 2012 * UNCF Scholarships Program 2012 - United Negro College Fund * Studying Abroad: an Enriching Experience December 23, 2011 Scholarship Title: 2012 Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme. Commonwealth Shared Scholarships in UK are for taught Master's courses only. Open for International Students: Yes Scholarship Donor: Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom Level of Study: Masters Degree Courses (UK) Courses: Various, Please check the prospectus below for the list of courses offered. What it Covers? Full costs of an award holder's study in UK, including the air fares to and from the UK. Maintenance Grant of £1,091 per month for scholars based in London and £882 per month for the rest of the UK. (This figure is based on July 2011 data) Duration of Award: One year Who can apply? Be nationals of (or permanently domiciled in) a developing Commonwealth country, and not currently be living or studying in a developed country.
Brief Scholarship Description: The aim of the scheme is to assist students from developing Commonwealth countries who are of excellent academic calibre but for financial reasons would not otherwise be able to afford to study in the UK. The scheme allows them to benefit from postgraduate study at a university in the UK which will help them to contribute toward the development of their home countries. List of Countries: Commonwealth Countries, Please check the prospectus below for complete list of eligible countries. How to Apply? IMPORTANT: There are two options to apply for Shared Commonwealth Scholarships for Masters Courses in 2012. Most students will for scholarships directly to the university and others will apply via COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIP COMMISSION's (CSC) Electronic Application System (EAS). Option 1 to Apply: Apply directly to University. Universities have their own application deadlines. Please comment below to ask about University application deadlines and application procedure. Our career advisers will try to help you in finding individual university information. Option 2 to Apply: Apply to Universities via Commonwealth Scholarship Commission [If you missed the deadline in option 1 then you may apply via CSE and deadline for that is May 17, 2012 at the latest. All applications should reached to CSC by no later than May 31, 2012 using the EAS] Read more: UK Commonwealth Scholarships for Masters Degree Courses 2012 : College Scholarships, PhD Scholarships, Postdoctoral, Graduate International Scholarships Fellowships http://scholarship-positions.com
Ex- FUTA VC advises successor
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HE immediate past ViceChancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof Adebisi Balogun, is not the kind who easily gives in to challenges. As he signed off from the university after successful five year tenure, he identified financial constraint as one his biggest headaches, offering advice to his successor on how to scale the hurdle. The professor of Fish Nutrition said in an interview with The Nation that through an aggressive fund-raiser, which took him from Akure to Lagos, he was able to convince stakeholders to key into his dream to improve facilities in the institution. His effort resulted in the construction of a hostel, power plant, water production plant, central research laboratory named after the National Universities Commission (NUC) Executive Secretary, Prof Julius Okojie; a 2,500-capacity auditorium and a lodge each for the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, a befitting entrance gate, among others, have added more aesthetics to the university ambience. He recalled:"I started a programme called Capital Campaign Project (CCP) aimed at fungeneration. We planned series of activities to raise funds for many of the projects we planned for execution. In 2008, we had the CCP in
• A new Central Research Laboratory. Inset: Prof Balogun By Adegunle Olugbamila
Lagos. We had a number of people who came to our rescue, so we were able to generate some resources at that time. As an aside, we also used the platform to popularise the university." Aside building the first postgraduate hostel in the 32-year-old institution, and achieving full accreditation of its programmes by the NUC, Balogun's greatest joy was putting the university's name on the world map through the internationalisation of the student population. "For the first in the history of FUTA, we built a Postgraduate hos-
tel. As a university of technology that is pushing ahead in international recognition, this was part of vision that FUTA must be a Postgraduate university of technology. So, we built an imposing self-contain Postgraduate hostel and the students are there. What gladdens my heart is that the vision of the university in internatinalisation of FUTA is gradually crystalising. We have students from West African countries such as Mali, Cote De Voure, Niger, Togo, Ghana and Sierra Leone on this campus on a PG programme on Climate Change. The history of that is that we wrote a highly competitive proposal for WASCA which we went
Plateau council bemoans lack of trained teachers
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HE Management Committee Chairman of Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, Mr Sam Audu, has decried the decline in the number of trained teachers from the area. In a statement signed by the council's Information Officer, Mr Yohanna Gyang, the Chairman said he would take urgent steps to address the situation and give children in the council the chance of competing favourably with their contem-
From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos
poraries from other parts of the state. According to the statement, "Riyom is the only local government area in the state, which has the least number of primary school teachers. The local government has 722 teachers and religious instructors out of which 37 are NCE holders, 34 are
B.Ed holders. Some of these teachers have the potential to be developed while a large chunk does not. "Considering the whopping cost of primary education shouldered by the local government, we, at the council, would ensure we remedy the situation by training the teachers and ensuring that they impart relevant knowledge to the pupils". Audu urged parents not to be deterred but rather ensure their wards attend school.
to defend it in Ghana and won," he said. Although he praised the Federal Government for prompt payment of salaries, he argued that his experience in the saddle opened his eyes to how capital intensive it is to run a university of technology. He said: "First, a university of technology is a capital-intensive university. In 2009, we submitted a budget of N3 billion just for capital funding alone, but we got N800 million, which was also slashed by 46 per cent. Eventually, we got about N200 million. So, if you are talking about capital development of a university in terms of infrastructure, and funding, there is no way a university will not need about N10 billion. I'm not talking of UI (University of Ibadan or UNILAG (University of Lagos) that are even bigger in terms of quantum of resources that will be needed. We have not talked about personnel and overhead. "The overhead cost of FUTA in 2007 was N31 million monthly. But by 2010, it rose to about N100 million. But the component of the overhead cost is what we should look at. If our overhead, for instance, is to take care of electricity bill, and we pay about N3 million for electricity monthly apart from the about N4.5 million to buy diesel monthly, that is almost N8 million, multiply that by 12 months.”