Education
Improving Quality Of Education In Rivers
Early this year, the Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Kaniye Ebeku while on a tour of schools on resumption day, said the state governor will focus on improving the education sector of the state in 2017.
“The education sector “will experience more quality changes this year.”
This declaration has attracted a lot of comments and insinuations, most of which border on the kind of focus in terms of development of both infrastructure and personnel.
The comments and insinuations came from parents whose children/wards are based in the rural areas where developments in virtually all sectors have not been hitherto truly felt.
A visit by The Tide to some of the schools in Port Harcourt and some rural areas revealed that the bulk of development in terms of infrastructure and personnel are focused in the urban areas.
Comparatively, while a good number of the government-owned schools in Port Harcourt are relatively equipped in terms of infrastructure and teaching personnel, most of the schools in the rural areas have nothing to show in this wise.
The Tide’s investigation revealed that for the government’s promise to provide quality education to come to fruition, a lot of work needs to be done.
A visit to State School, Elem Sangama in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area (LGA), for instance, reveals that in addition to ill-equipped classrooms, some of the classrooms are dilapidated to the point of no roof in most of the classrooms, while some of the classrooms have become nests for bats and other birds.
In Community Secondary School (CSS), Bori, (Junior Secondary School), the school has ill-equipped classrooms as one of its key challenges.
In most of the classrooms, there are more students than desks, with some of the students sitting on the floor while others are virtually packed on the few available desks. The situation is almost the same with the Senior Secondary of the school.
At Baptist Model Secondary School, Old Bakana in Degema Local Area, the situation is so bad to the point that the school finds it difficult to do practical’s during the Senior Secondary School Examinations. This is because there is no laboratory in the school to enable the students carryout practicals in science subjects.
The situation is more pathetic at Community Primary School, Nortem in Bori, Khana LGA which was established in 1980.
The Tide gathered that since its establishment, the only time the school had had any feel of government was in 2013 when the school took delivery of some sets of desks and books which have all gone bad.
A cursory look at the school from outside the gate gives the impression of a long abandoned compound with dilapidation crying out from the gate, with nothing to show that a school exist in the compound.
When The Tide visited the school last Friday during their long break period, specifically at the Nursery section, a teacher was seen assisting a pupil to defecate in a cellophane bag which she threw behind the building after the child was done.
Further investigation revealed that there were neither conveniences nor water in the whole compound.
The entire three blocks of buildings in the compound were highly dilapidated from the roof, windows, doors and even up to the floor in the classrooms.
Educational activities in some rural areas have virtually gone extinct due to years of insecurity warranted by years of cult related activities.
To focus on improving the educational sector of the state, therefore, the government may need to be guided first by the Sustainable Development Goal 4, which is on development of education.
Three of these Sustainable Development Goal 4 targets specifically related to infrastracture development in schools. If meaningful developments can be made in education in Rivers State the provisions of these goals should be expbited.
The first is target 4.1 which states that, “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education to relevant leading and effective learning outcomes.”
Target 4.2 states, “By 2030, ensure that girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.”
The third is target 4a, which says “Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent inclusive and effective learning environment for all.
Beyond these, however, the government would also need to spread whatever developmental ideas across the state, particularly the rural areas which have not have their fair share of development in its entirety.
Sogbeba Dokubo
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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