Education
When Students Feign Health Conditions
It used to be fun when in
those days, the fear of school teachers was the beginning of a good, intelligent and respectful child (pupil or student).
Parents would at the slightest stubbornness or disobedience exhibited by a child threaten the child with reporting the act to his or her teacher and the child/student would as a matter of necessity repent of his or her actions and never dream of repeating it.
And of course, I could say that the teachers and indeed schools then, were turning out level eyed and headed students who can always be relied on by both parents and teachers anytime, anywhere in almost every aspect of domestic and educational activities.
Students then were hardworking, obedient and true to their duties. The teachers would depend on them for handcrafts like brooms, dusters and even canes which the students, in order to avoid the punishment of the teacher would make available for the teachers even when they know that the cane in particular would function at their detriment.
And it was all from and cordiality between students, teachers and parents irrespective of ethnic group.
Can these be said of being common among the trio-students, teachers and parents considering the era as that of ‘who be who’ in almost every strata?
It has become the in thing among students and even pupils in recent times to have a health condition that would impede the least punishment on them by their teachers despite their faults. They hide under such conditions to perform all manner of arrogance, disrespectfulness and pride yet, being above the law of the teacher and or school and even more so when the question comes ‘do you know my parents? Thus, it is better still to feign it even when it is not there and only God would save that teacher that would defy the rules and go ahead to punish the student.
Thus, in today’s scenario, the fear of meting any firm of punishment on a student by a teacher is the beginning of his or her continued earning of daily bread, devoid of threats and harassment from phone calls and thugs.
This was almost the case at the Community Secondary School, Nkpor, Rumuolumeni, Penultimati Thursday when it was news all over the air that a teacher had flogged a student to death.
When The Tide education Desk visited the school, it was discovered that the child/student only feigned having on health condition of epilepsy which would have resulted to death out of a two strokes of the cane by the teacher.
The Principal of the School, Mrs Whiliki-Ichemati J.A. explained that the female students, who is in the Senior Secondary one (SS1) was punished alongside other girls of the class with two strokes of the cane and she pretended having collapsed.
According to her “It is very unfortunate how children today delight in health conditions. When they know that they have such problem, they chose to disrespectfully teachers. This particular student is fond of doing this. She is not the one with the health condition rather it is her sister who is also in the same class with her and this is the fourth time the school had taken them home on such scenarios.
Explaining the cause of the action, Whiliki-Ichemati said “prior to the day of the incident, the teacher entered the class and could not find a duster to dust the board. She singled out all the girls and demanded that each of them bring a duster the following day. On this day, she entered and still there was no duster. The teacher decided to flog each of them with two strokes of the cane at their backs”.
She continued “this student in question came into the class late and met the punishment. When it got to her, she asked that she be glogged her palm but the teacher insisted on her back because of course, you can’t show one love and the others hatred. Having being flogged on her back, she started rolling on the ground”.
“There was an uproar and we all rushed in and tried to calm her. At first, we wanted to fake her to the hospital but on a second thought, decided to watch her and for more than one hour we saw that nothing was wrong with her and no medication was given to her and then, we took her to her house”. Today she is in school hale and hearty. I asked if she was given any medication and the sister said no”.
The Principal said “I was surprised when the mother of the student came and demanding to see the teacher and all of that. In fact, what we see and experienced now in the school system is much that we cannot explain them”.
The question is ‘were the child to be flogged by her own parents with two strokes of the came, would she have to roll on the ground and as far as causing such scene and uproar?
Mrs Ichemati noted with dismay the high level of disobedience and pride exhibited by students all in the name of health conditions and urged parents to ensure that they take proper care of their children before sending them to school or even keep them from school to avoid such threat on teachers and schools.
In a chat with some teachers and principals of some schools in Port Harcourt, The Tide’s Education desk has discovered that flogging of students has died in schools and replaced with picking, cleaning or weeding all in the bid of not failing victim of circumstance.
The truth remains that when students feign or even capitalize on a present health condition to act otherwise in schools and parents stand behind them even to victimizing teachers, the result is indiscipline and social waywardness among our children.
Do you bet this as the nothing today especially amongst the so-called influentials of any given segment?
I’m also tempted to ask ‘in those days when corporal punishment was the order of the day in schools, were there no health conditions among the students?
It is worth pondering on for the good upbrining of our, children.
Lady Godknows Ogbulu
The Covenant University (CU) has, for the second time, been rated as the best university in Nigeria.
According to Times Higher Education‘s 2024 rating, Covenant Unirersity, as a growing, dynamic vision-driven university, founded on a Christian mission ethos and committed to pioneering excellence at the cutting edge of learning, is among the top 1,000 universities in the world.
The 2024 ranking includes 1,906 universities across 108 countries and regions. The Ranking Website indicates that the grading was compiled based on their new World University Ranking (WUR) 3.0 methodology which includes 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.
Analysis of the latest ranking on Thursday showed that the university based in Ota, Ogun State, is following on the ranking by the University of Ibadan (UI) as the second-best in the country, with the Federal University of Technology, Akure clinching the third position.
Currently ranked 801st university in the world, CU first gained prominence in 2018 after it emerged as the best university in Nigeria and the sixth-best university overall.
The ranking webpage explained that the site is trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments, and industry experts, adding that the 2024 league table reveals how the global higher education landscape is shifting.
It stated thus; “This year’s ranking analysed more than 134 million citations across 16.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 68,402 scholars globally. Overall, we collected 411,789 data points from more than 2,673 institutions that submitted data”.
Meanwhile, also captured on the list of universities with the top rating in Nigeria are the University of Ilorin, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Afe Babalola University, and the University of Benin.
Others include the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Lagos State University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University, and the University of Port Harcourt.
Available statistics showed that of the 15 top universities in the country, nine are located in the South West region, two in the South-South region, two in the South East region, one in the North Central zone, and one in the North West zone. Interestingly, the North-East zone was conspicuously missing from the list.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have raised an alarm over fake sites for the ongoing printing of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Notification Slip which contains vital information such as the date, venue, and time of candidates’ examinations.
In a joint briefing by the NPF and JAMB recently in Abuja, candidates are enjoined to patronise only the approved sites by the JAMB, so as not be defrauded.
The Force Spokesman, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who signed a press release on behalf of the two Government agencies said: “The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) hereby bring to the attention of the public the ongoing printing of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Notification Slip which contains vital information such as the date, venue, and time of candidates’ examinations.
“Unfortunately, the emergence of several fake websites created by unscrupulous individuals with the intention of misleading candidates has been observed necessitating this joint press briefing.
“These fake sites are designed to deceive innocent candidates into providing personal details such as registration numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers. These details are then exploited for malicious purposes.
“Both JAMB and the Nigeria Police Force condemn these fraudulent activities and hereby reiterate the readiness to safeguard the interests of candidates and maintain the integrity of the examination process.
“We urge parents, guardians, and all stakeholders to ensure that candidates print their UTME Notification Slips only from the Board’s approved website: www.jamb.gov.ng. Candidates can print their slips from the comfort of their homes or visit any of the over 700 accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
“It is important to note that we are familiar with the tactics employed by these fraudsters, especially during the annual assessment and admission exercises. We are actively sensitizing candidates and the public about these deceptive practices.
“Any candidate who visits these fake sites will definitely have unreliable information and thereby miss out in the forthcoming exams.’’
“Candidates are advised to print their UTME Notification Slips before Friday, 19th April, 2024, to access vital information about their examinations. Any website other than www.jamb.gov.ng offering UTME slip printing services is fake and designed to defraud candidates. Candidates should also beware of sites offering ‘live’ questions and answers, as they are false and deceptive, and accessing such materials is prohibited.
“The 2024 UTME is scheduled to commence on Friday, 19th April, and end on Monday, 29th April, 2024. We call on parents, guardians, and the general public to join hands in fostering a culture of integrity and compliance with established guidelines. Together, we can nurture a generation of upright and law-abiding leaders by discouraging fraudulent practices and desperation.
“Furthermore, JAMB is partnering with the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) to address online scam-related issues seamlessly. We assure candidates and the public of our firm dedication to ensuring a fair and transparent examination process.
“In addition, the Inspector General of Police has ordered the NPF-NCCC to go after scammers and fraudsters who engage in cyber related crimes and create phishing sites/portals, and cause them to face the full wrath of the law”.
The authorities of the Rivers State University (RSU),Nkpolu Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt says it will commence the First semester examinations.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Acting Registrar of the university, Mrs. I. B. S. Harry and made available to Dean’s and Heads of Departments, adding that the the examinations were earlier shifted to begin today from its initial date of last Monday to enable students who were yet to complete their registration and pay the necessary approved fees and give all students equal opportunity to participate in the examinations.
The statement reads “This is to inform all staff and students of the Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, that the First Semester Examination for the 2023/2024 academic session earlier scheduled to commence on Monday, 8th April, 2024, has been shifted to Monday, 15th April, 2024.”
“The change in date of the Examination is to enable students who are yet to pay stipulated fees/ charges and complete their course registration for the First Semester, to do so.”
All students in this category are advised to utilise the period to make necessary fee payments as well as course registration.”
By: Akujobi Amadi
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