Education
Board Member Tasks Teachers On Commitment
The board member in charge of supervision in the Rivers State Post-Primary Schools Board, Dr. Akikibofori Jacob Sunday, has called on secondary school teachers in Rivers State to see themselves as models of academic excellence by showing commitment to teaching.
The board member gave the charge, while addressing the staff and students of Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokuta in Port Harcourt, during a speech/prize giving event organised by the school last week.
Dr. Sunday said the teachers should be proactive in their duties and adopt students preparing for their senior school certificate examination as their “individual projects” and prepare them adequately for the examination.
The strategy, he pointed out’ “will assist the students in covering various aspects of the syllabus and stem the rate of failure among students”.
He added that the success of the students in both internal and external examination should be the priority of the teachers.
Dr. Sunday commended the level of discipline in the school and donated a trophy for musical competition in the school.
He said the gesture was to bring back the fame earned in the past by students in musical competition in the state .
The board member also tasked parents on the discipline of their children, noting that students’ training was not for schools alone.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Principal of the school, Mrs Bakel Chinda, said that the event was designed to appreciate hardwork, dedication and commitment to duties, and to encourage the recipients to put in more efforts in their academic activities for greater rewards in the future.
The principal listed some of the major challenges faced by the school to include bad road and infiltration of the school premises by outsiders due to the collapse of the school fence. She lamented the indiscriminate parking of trucks, and other forms of illegal businesses by outsiders on the school premises.
Also speaking, the Vice Principal, Administration of the school, Mr. Justina Ughuluijah, said the event was to instill discipline among students and promote healthy academic competition in the various subject. Precious Worgu of SS11 won the prize for the overral best student in the school. Highlights of the event were arts exhibition and cultural display by the student.
Taneh Beemene
A professor of Highway Engineering at the Rivers State University (RSU), Prof. Emmanuel Osilemme Ekwulo, has identified poor designs, inadequate materials, insufficient testing, and lack of accountability as major obstacles to the success of highway construction projects in the country.
Ekwulo made this remark in Port Harcourt last Wednesday during the 128th inaugural lecture series of the university, where he presented a lecture titled “Removing Roadblocks: Rebuilding a Foundation for Reliable Highway Pavement Infrastructure.”
The university don lamented the consistent premature failures of road construction projects nationwide, despite huge investments by the government at all levels, attributing the problem to neglected basics and systemic principles in the industry.
According to him, rebuilding the foundation technically, institutionally, and ethically is crucial to building strong and lasting pavements.
Ekwulo emphasized the need for political will, professional integrity, and commitment to engineering excellence to overcome the challenges.
“The metaphoric roadblocks are those challenges causing premature failures,” Ekwulo said, adding that identifying and addressing these roadblocks is key to rebuilding the nation’s highways.
He recommended that institutions involved in road design and construction adopt a mechanistic-empirical design approach, and develop a comprehensive framework for implementing the Nigerian Imperial and Mechanistic Pavement Design System (NEMPADS) approach.
Ekwulo also advocated for mandatory traffic load analysis, strengthened university-industry collaboration, and funding for applied pavement research.
Corruption, he noted, is a major challenge in the profession, saying severe punitive measures are needed to curb shabby practices leading to premature road failures.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described Ekwulo’s lecture as interesting and intriguing, highlighting the importance of implementing solutions to Nigeria’s highway challenges.
The Vice Chancellor also described Ekwulo’s proposals as practical and applicable to government and industry stakeholders.
He said the university is committed to research aligned with national development goals, referencing its NDV-12 responsive consortium production framework.
Zeb-Obipi noted that Ekwulo’s recommendations are timely and solution-driven, and will contribute to addressing Nigeria’s highway challenges.
Akujobi Amadi
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