Education
410 Indigent N’Delta Pupils Get Shell Scholarships
Seven years after the
launch of the Cradle-To-Career (C2C) scholarship scheme in 2010 for brilliant indigent pupils in public primary schools in hard-to-reach communities in the Niger Delta, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), has now increased the number of beneficiaries of the special education development programme in the three core pilot States of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers to 410.
Inducting 60 new beneficiaries into the fully-funded secondary school scholarship scheme at Jephthah Comprehensive College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, SPDC said the pupils were painstakingly selected through a transparent and rigorous examination process by a Non-Governmental Organisation, and enrolled into four of the best secondary schools in the country for quality education.
Speaking at the induction ceremony, last Friday, SPDC General Manager, External Relations, Mr Igo Weli, said that “in spite of the low oil price in the global market and the economic challenges in the country, we have kept faith with our commitment to support Nigerian youth, especially the less-privileged, by offering them scholarship, not just to be educated, but also to attend some of the best schools in the country.”
Weli said that the students have been admitted to undertake rigorous secondary education at Jephthah Comprehensive Secondary School, Brookstone Secondary School, Bloombreed High School, and Archdeacon Brown Education Centre, all in Port Harcourt, urging the 60 scholars to turn their special privilege into vast opportunities by working hard to excel at all times.
Advising the students to always maintain top-of-the-class academic records, the general manager, assured that SPDC would continue to fund their educational career in line with existing education support initiatives.
“The C2C approach marks a significant improvement in our portfolio of scholarship schemes,” he said, pointing out that, “It is designed to bridge educational gaps resulting from geographic and social-economic differences as well as help enhance high quality literacy levels in the Niger Delta and Nigeria while meeting UNESCO’s ‘Education for All’ goal.”
In his remarks, Rivers State Commissioner for Education, Prof Kaniye Ebeku, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Patricia Wudhiga Ogbonnaya, commended SPDC for keying into one of the visions of Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration to revive and inspire excellence in education in the state, and charged other corporate organisations to emulate the bold initiative.
The Director of Basic Education, Bayelsa State Ministry of Education, Dr Elizabeth Alagoa, who also represented the Commissioner, Deacon Markson Fefegha, expressed the government’s appreciation to SPDC for always stepping in to support the state’s education programmes, and challenged the new scholars to work hard by utilising every available resources to turn around their lives to enable them contribute to the development of their communities, states and the nation.
In his goodwill message, Director, Basic Education, Delta State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Dr Moses Onoriode Bragiwa, who represented the Commissioner, Chiedu Ebie, while lauding SPDC for sharing the burden of educating the youth of the region, solicited for greater intervention by corporate bodies in critical sectors to assist the government fast-track the development process, especially at this austere period of economic crisis.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
Education
Hardwork, Unwavering Focus Key To Success -VC
Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Prof. Nlerum Okogbule, has tasked newly admitted undergraduates to be hardworking and be more focused to their academic works as this, among others is key to success.
Prof. Okugbule also warned students to desist from joining secret cults, and engaging in examination malpractices, among other vices.
The Vice Chancellor stated this in his address at the 42nd matriculation ceremony of the university for the 2023/2024 academic session, held at the convocation arena in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
According to Prof. Okogbule, a total of 9,035 were formally admitted into the university.
“Today, a total of 9,035 candidates, who have satisfied the minimum requirements for admission into various programmes of the university are being formally admitted as students.”
The breakdown of the new students and their faculties is as follows: Faculty of Agriculture – 360 students ; Basic Medical Sciences – 1,085; Communication and Media Studies – 1,061; Education – 606; Engineering – 1,271; and Environmental Sciences – 268.
Others are: Humanities – 755; Law – 250; Management Sciences – 816; Science – 1,814 and Social Sciences – 479 respectively.
The Vice Chancellor added, “You are therefore expected to take your studies seriously and do not waste your valuable time on unproductive ventures or activities.
“Let me inform you that this university has zero tolerance for all forms of anti-social activities, such as membership of secret cult groups, examination malpractices or what is now known as ‘sorting.’
“The penalty for involvement in any of these activities is rustication from the university, and I do not waste time in doing this once a student is found culpable.”
Okogbule, however disclosed that RSU Students’ Affairs Directorate has a list of ‘registered and acceptable clubs’ the students can belong to in the university to assist them in extra-curricular activities on campus.
He advised, “In order to encourage academic excellence, the university has a policy of declaring as University Scholars those who attain a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 5.00 at the end of every academic session.
“The university will be responsible for the school fees of such students provided their CGPA does not fall below 4.50. In addition, such students, upon graduation, will be given preference when employment opportunities are available.
“The expo I will give you in this regard is that it is easier to make the 5.00 CGPA in 100 level of any programme. So the best time to strive to achieve this feat is now.”
He pointed out that RSU, among others, has become top choice higher institutions in the country for many students, following the infrastructural development and the non-disruption of academic activities in the institution for several years, saying, “Freshers should count themselves lucky to have been admitted there.”
While commending parents and guardians whose children are matriculating for their vision and sacrifices, Prof. Okogbule urged them to monitor their wards activities while on campus.
Education
Rector Gifts Best Students N400,000 As Edo Poly Matriculates 9,150
The Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State last Friday matriculated 9,150 new students into various courses of study offered at both National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) levels.
This was as the Rector of the institution, Engr. Dr. Man Yahaya Sani gave the sum of N200,000 cash gift each to two National Diploma students with the highest Cumulative Grade Point Average.
The students are; Waliu Babatunde Bamidele from the department of Library and Information Science and Babatunde Joshua Ifeoluwa, a student of Mechanical Engineering, both with a CGPA of 3.98.
Sanni in his address, said the management is committed to providing an all-round education in a conducive, friendly teaching and learning environment.
The Rector noted that only 59.5% of candidates who signified interest to study in the Polytechnic were eventually admitted.
He added that the polytechnic had secured 18 new programmes at both the National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) levels, taking its total to 64 programmes.
The Rector admonished the new intake to emulate the recipients of the cash gift and avoid bad companies that can lead them to violate the rules and regulations of the institution and jeopardise their admission.
“My dear matriculating students, I want to congratulate and welcome you all for finally making it here despite the tedious and rigorous processes that you passed through. You indeed struggled to scale the hurdles of Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE), the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) and of course our own Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (POST-UTME) Screening before gaining admission to this prestigious Polytechnic.
“I must not fail to tell you loud and clear that the Polytechnic has zero tolerance for cultism and other sundry anti-social vices i.e. riot, looting, arson, disobedience, examination malpractices, drug abuse, drunkenness, cheating, disrespect for constituted authorities, indecent dressing etc.
Education
Bill To Increase UBEC Funding Passes Second Reading
A bill for the amendment of the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC Act to increase its funding from the consolidated revenue from 2 per cent to 4 per cent has passed the second reading in the House of Representatives.
The Chairman of House Committee on Basic Education and Services, Bako Useni, stated this during the committee oversight function at the Digital Resource Centre, built by UBEC, in Abuja, Nigeria.
The centre was built for the training of teachers on digital education in Nigeria.
Bako said the 10th Assembly saw the need to increase financial resources to the basic education sub-sector for set objectives to be further met, hence, the amendment bill sponsored by Muktar Shagaya to increase revenue accruing to UBEC from 2 per cent to 4 per cent.
“The amended bill, which passed the second reading on Wednesday, when concluded, will make UBEC stronger.
“Since UBEC was established in 2004, to date, a lot has been achieved. However, the House felt that if UBEC is motivated with more funding, it will go a long way in achieving more of what it has achieved.
It was on this basis that one of us, Honourable Mukhtar Shagaya, proposed an amendment to the UBEC Act to increase funding to UBEC from 2 per cent to 4 per cent from the Consolidated Revenue Fund,” he said.
used to reshape those in the senior and management cadres of the basic education sub-sector.
The National Coordinator of the Digital Resource Centre, Professor Bashir Galandanci, said the Digital Resource Centre is part of the effort of the commission to transform the agency into a digital era.
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