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
Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu has inaugurated the newly constituted Governing Councils of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) and the University of Education and Entrepreneurship (UEE), Akamkpa.
At the ceremony on Thursday in Calabar, the Governor urged the members to drive institutional excellence, ensure accountability, and align with global best practices.
Governor Otu acknowledged that UNICROSS had long suffered from what many perceived as gross neglect, particularly in terms of physical development.
“After a deep thought and consultation, and having considered all available facts and evidence, I am today opening a new chapter in the relationship between government and its institutions of higher education,” the Governor declared.
He emphasised that while his administration is committed to a renewed focus on higher education, this attention must be matched with transparency and responsibility by the universities’ management.
The same expectation, he said, applies to the University of Education and Entrepreneurship in Akamkpa.
Governor Otu stated that the appointments into both councils and management were carefully considered and reflect the state’s finest minds and seasoned professionals.
“I have taken pains in appointing some of the best that the State has in both the Governing Councils and Management of the institutions. I implore you to apply your wealth of experience in making the institutions world-class,” he charged.
He also stressed the importance of respecting the distinct roles of Councils and management, pointing out that most university problems emanate from role conflict or interference. He tasked each of the councils to stick strictly to its clearly defined functions.
The Governor encouraged council members to leverage their networks to attract new sources of funding and value to their institutions.
“Do not limit yourselves to already known threads of resource sources.”, he said.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has announced a 50 percent reduction in tuition fees for all Kaduna State-owned tertiary institutions, describing it as a major step toward removing barriers to higher education.
Speaking through his Principal Private Secretary, Professor Bello Ayuba, at the inauguration of the Kaduna State University Chapter of the Kaduna State Students Union, the Governor said the policy has made it easier for students from low-income backgrounds to pursue university education in the state.
He expressed gratitude to the students for presenting him with the Sword of Honour Award and for recognising the achievements of his administration, which were highlighted during the event’s public lecture.
He promised, “Government will continue to support students and the youth generally to realize their ambitions. On your part, make sure that an atmosphere of peace prevails to allow for government’s development programmes to run their full course.’’
The Governor advised students not to allow agents of disunity and chaos to use them to destabilize their communities and steer them away from their career goals.
Governor Sani reminded the students and lecturers at the event that ‘’no meaningful development can be achieved in a state of chaos, disunity and mutual mistrust.’’
However, he said that ‘’going by your conduct over the period that I have been at the helm of affairs of our state so far, you are reliable partners of progress and I can count on you every step of the way.’’
The governor recalled that Kaduna State was under siege owing to the insecurity in some of the local government areas, which had dire consequences on agricultural and business activities.
He noted that the security challenges have now been drastically reduced owing to the combined commitment of security agencies, resulting in safer high ways, people returning to farms and the opening of local markets.
120 Oldest Secondary Schools in Nigeria
The governor further said that the Birnin Gwari cattle market which had been closed for over 10 years, has been reopened, so have the other markets in security challenged areas in Giwa local government.
The management of Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic,Rumuola, Port Harcourt, Rivers State has admitted 1,882 fresh students to study various courses and programmes for the 2024)2024 academic session.
This announcement was made by the Rector of the polytechnic, Dr Moses Neebee during the 34th matriculation ceremony of the institution held in Port Harcourt over the weekend.
Dr Neebee described convocation as an annual rituals of every institution used to mark the end of admission process, adding that the polytechnic has recorded some academic milestones and achievements.
According to him, the institution recorded 100 percent in the just concluded NABTE accreditation and resources visitation exercise, adding that all the 24 courses presented by the institution during the accreditation were approved including the almighty Diploma in Law.
According to the admission statistics provided by the Rector,1,510 students were admitted for the National Diploma programmes ,while 372 students were offered admission into the Higher National Diploma and part programmes of the polytechnic.
The Rector while congratulating the matriculants urged them to take their studies seriously and ensure that they pass through the institution and as well allow the institution pass through them and not only in learning but also in character.
“ Let me congratulate you all for your successes to scale through the rigorous hurdles of our admission processes. Take advantage of the various technical and entrepreneur skills in the school to equip your self which will make yourselves employed and be better equipped in the society”, he said.
The Rector warned them to desist from any activities that will jeopardise their academic success, stressing that the school has zero tolerance for cultism, examination malpractices, sorting and sexual abuse.
He used the opportunity to thank the state government for the support given to the school especially in the areas of infrastructure development.