Education
Schools Resume After Long Vacation
Schools have resumed in Port Harcourt for the 2012/2013
academic session after a long vacation.
Teachers, students and pupils were seen in their numbers on
their way to school.
A teacher, Mrs Ibeh at a Community Primary School, around Rumuigbo area, told The Tide
that most of the pupils and staff reported to school as scheduled.
Mrs Ibeh said new students were also enrolled while the
returning ones were received into their new classes stressing that they were
ready to resume academic work.
She advised the pupils to be punctual to school promising
that the teachers would show more commitment.
She appealed to parents to take good care of their children
as well as to monitor their academic performance.
Some of the pupils who spoke to our correspondent said they
would study harder this academic session.
A pupil, Miss Endurance Amos, expressed joy because she was
promoted to a new class, promising to improve on her performance.
Meanwhile, some parents have charged teachers to be
committed to their duties while calling for determination and hardwork from the
teachers.
When our correspondent monitored resumption activities at
State Primary School Olanada, parents and their wards were seen hanging at the
school gate for admission into the model primary school.
One of the parents, Mrs Anna appealed to the school
authorities to admit their children into the School since they would not be
able to afford the high fees in private school.
She advised teachers to be more dedicated to their duties
acknowledging that commitment, focus and hard work would improve the standard
of education in the country.
Another parent who spoke to our correspondent, Mrs Uzoma
John, said teachers should adopt new method of teaching that would impact
positively on their pupils and expressed joy that her children were happy and
eager to go back to school after the long holiday.
She urged teachers to identify weak areas of their pupils
and improve on it.
An attempt to see the head teacher of the state primary
school Olanada for comments on admission of new intakes proved abortive as the
security guard at the gate said that the head teacher went to the ministry.
Eunice Choko-Kayode
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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