THE NATION THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2013
37
EDUCATION
JAMB/NSCDC to deploy 10,000 men for UTME •CBT to begin May 18
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O fewer than 10,000 men and officers of the Nigeria Security and Defence Corps (NSCDC) would participate in the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scheduled for April 27 across the nation. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) which conducts the UTME has also announced May 18 as the date for the Computer Based Tests (CBT) version of the examination. A statement by JAMB Relations Officer Fabian Benjamin, noted that the management of the board headed by Prof 'Dibu Ojerinde met with top management of the NSCDC represented by the Deputy Commandant-General (DCG) Operations, Mr Evans Ewerem on security plans for the examination vis-à-vis the role the agency would play. Issues bordering on effective monitoring and securing examination centres on the
By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie
examination day and general conduct of the examination were discussed during the meeting held in Abuja. On his part Ojerinde said it has become a tradition for the Board to meet with the NSCDC prior to the UTME. He praised the agency for its achievements including exposing a fake NYSC orientation camp in Nasarawa and encouraged its men to keep up the good work. Also speaking, Ewerem assured the Board of the corps' cooperation in ensuring the success of the 2013 UTME conduct. He added that all state commandants of the NSCDC would be invited to Abuja for briefing so men that would be deployed to centres are conversant with the new innovations for the examination. Ewerem urged JAMB to provide the agency with the names and addresses of the custodians and centres supervisors to enable them strategise on how to dispatch officials to various centres.
•From left: Mr Obi Emenike, Social Engagement Director; Mr Segun Adekoya, Communications & Networking Director; Mrs. Moji Oguntoyibo, Future Funds & Gala Director; Mr. Isa Emmanuel Omagu, Chairman and Mr. Siji Aina, General Secretary all of the University of Stellenbosch Business School, West Africa Alumni Association at their inauguration in Lagos.
I will not grant my son admission if unqualified, says UNIJOS VC
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RESSURE to admit students gives the Vice-Chancellor, University of Jos (UNIJOS), Prof Hayward Babale Mafuyai greater headache than insufficient funds. Addressing journalists at a preconvocation briefing, Mafuyai said the age long Nigerian tradition of parents influencing the university to admit their wards is the beginning of decline of quality education. The VC noted that the most difficult challenge facing universities in Nigeria is not how to manage
From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos
inadequate fund but how to manage long lists of request from various authorities every year for admission. He said he would no longer honour such requests. He said: "I have made it a policy to change this aged long tradition, I have insisted on admission on merit. If the university will admit on request from above, then I will be compromising quality and causing serious problems for the school. "I never got admission into the university by request in those days,
I got it because I merited it, so I will not encourage granting admission on request. I have made up my mind, I will not even grant my son admission here if he does not have the maximum qualification”. "I want to use the opportunity to appeal to those in authorities, friends and staff of the university, government officials that the best contribution they can make to the growth of the school is to ensure their wards pass through the due process, subject themselves to quality test to earn the admission.
"They should understand that my headache is that list, quality should not be compromised when it comes to admission of students, there are laid down criteria, minimum qualification benchmark and maximum qualification benchmark, anything outside that is fraud. "So let it be known that University of Jos does not admit students through request and we will further advise candidates to come with maximum qualification scores if they want to make it. Minimum qualification is not a guarantee for
The last is also the best
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NE could see the accomplishment on her face as she embraced her son, welcoming him into the fold of overall best graduating students among her children. Even though she could not speak a word of English as she never had any form of western education, Mrs Sarat Bakare understood that her last child, Sakiru, was the one getting all the ovations from the parents, guests, graduands and others present at the 21st convocation of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu last Thursday. She did not just know because she was told but because she was used to all her children graduating as the best in their various schools and she did not expect anything less from her last child. Her first son, Fatai graduated as the second best Law student from the Nigerian Law School about five years ago. He was also the best in West Africa at the examination by the Chartered Institute of Adminstration. The second, Hussein, who studied Electrical/ Electronics Engineering Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), AgoIwoye, also made the best result; while her daughter, Latifa was the best student when she graduated from the Ogun State College of Nursing. Sakiru said their brilliance runs in the blood. "My dad and his younger brother also graduated as best students in their school in those days. His younger brother got a scholarship as a result of that to study abroad so it runs in the family," he said. As he was called for hand shakes over and over with the Deputy Governor, Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Adefulire who represented the governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola,
• Sakiru in convocation gown standing beside his mum and surrounded by, from left Hussein, Latifat, Mrs Falilat Bakare, his god mother, and Ibrahim Bakare, his cousin. By Medinat Kanabe
Sakiru held his head up high as if to say "Yes, this is it". Speaking to The Nation, the HND Computer Engineering graduate who made a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.97, said that since the beginning of his HND programme he made 'A's in all his courses except one, which was a B. He said 4.0 was his target GPA and before he started his studies in the school, he wrote it down and pasted
it where he would see it whenever he woke up. Sakiru whose dad died about three months ago just when he was about to begin his final exams said it affected him psychologically but "I was able to pull myself together because no amount of grief would have brought him back." He said he would continue to study and seek a scholarship to study abroad because he wants "to be the greatest engineer that ever lived."
‘My dad and his younger brother also graduated as best students in their school in those days. His younger brother got a scholarship as a result of that to study abroad so it runs in the family’
He said God, hard work, time management and persistence brought him this far as he advised other students to never to misuse time because "the misuse of anything as precious as time would be a crime. How you spend your day is how you spend your life so make every minute count positively." His mum who spoke to The Nation in her Yoruba dialect said she is not surprised that her son graduated as the best because he had always shown intelligence. She said: "He began to show intelligence as he clocked two years and even memorised the Holy Quran at 22, so I am not surprised." Sakiru won the school's prize, Academic prize, Rector's award, Muyiwa Osikoya Memorial award, Alumni association award, Gabriel Sodeinde Memorial award, Alhaja
admission. "Any candidate who tried once and failed should try again. Do not compel or influence us to admit you through another means other than merit. "This is a standing policy of the institution because we want to continue to produce quality graduates who will do the university proud any where in the world, and we can achieve that by ensuring only those with merit come in. We don't encourage garbage in, garbage out" Amoriade Bamgbala Memorial award, all for best graduating student. He also won the Fasasi Oloro Memorial award for most disciplined student in the polytechnic and Engr Cosmos Odunaiya Memorial award, which all amounted to about 60, 000. Speaking through his representative, Fashola congratulated the 8, 686 graduating students and their parents saying that the graduands can contribute to the development of the nation. He advised that as they go for their national youth service, they should not forget where they are coming from and be a pride to their family, state and country. He called on individuals and private organisations to assist the state government in providing education to the masses adding that the responsibility of education should not be rested on the shoulders of the government alone. In his remarks, the Rector of the polytechnic, Dr Abdulazeez Lawal, said the polytechnic is committed to its vision of becoming a world-class institution whose mission is to extend the frontiers of knowledge through teaching, research, creative works, consultancy, and community service. He, however, lamented that the 35-old institution is still without a befitting administrative complex. "The main administrative activities of our polytechnic are carried in the library complex meaning that the space meant for academic activities of staff and students are utilised for other purposes." Dr Lawal further said the running cost of the polytechnic as well as workers’ salaries is now a problem, "as government's new policy on part-time programmes and running of satellite campuses has seriously eroded the internally-generated revenue base of the polytechnic."