Education
‘Reading Culture, Key To Success In Life’

A specialist in youth development, founder and coordinator, Young Minds International (YMI), a non-governmental organisation, Mrs Ibinabo Celestine Ogolo, has identified the culture of reading among secondary school students as key to achieving success and greatness in life.
Ogolo, stated this at a one-day seminar tagged, “The Importance of Education and the Nigerian Child: What Hope for the Future,” organised by the Vision of Effective Education Advocacy (EEAG), at Community Senior Secondary School, Kalio-Ama, last Tuesday.
She explained that what can change a person’s life was in a book, and enjoined young people to imbibe reading culture in order to be successful in life.
Represented at the occasion by the Treasurer, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Rivers State Chapter, Mrs Susan Serekara-Nwikhana, said that true greatness resides in the determination to achieve excellence in one’s chosen career.
In her keynote address titled: “Think Great, Choose Right,” Ogolo stated that: “A great life can be acquired as a result of allocating your time, energy, thoughts and hard work towards what you want to be in life, ever remaining focused, dedicated and committed to harnessing the great potentials deposited in you in order to attain greatness in life”.
“It is not about wasting precious time indulging in negative vices such as disobedience to parents and the elderly, stealing, examination malpractice, cultism, premarital sex, watching of pornographic movies, abortion, negative peer influence, among others,” she added.
She emphasised that a great life does not happen by chance, but through God’s wisdom to think, resourceful, adding that embedded in man are natural abilities, skills, talents and spiritual gifts that could make one great and successful in life.
While exploring the theme of the seminar, Ogolo said it can transform the educational system in Nigeria, if everyone, especially among primary, secondary, tertiary institutions’ students imbibes the culture of reading.
“Education and reading are a sine-qua-non to good life. They are two trending words that could easily transform the fortunes and status of an individual, society and country at large, if properly imbibed by everyone, especially those who have the capacity to become great,” Ogolo said.
In his opening remarks, Chairman of the occasion and Director, Rivers State Secondary Schools Board, Okrika Zone, Mr Mpaka Daniels, thanked the organizers, Daniels commended the EEAG for the noble idea, adding that since they came on board, the Senior Secondary School, Kalio-Ama, has remained the best and described the group as trail-blazers.
In his address of welcome, the Principal of Community Secondary School (CSS), Kalio-Ama, Mr Dafuro Papamie George, said the seminar was aimed at sensitizing and encouraging the students to discover, and actualise those inherent positive potential in them, adding that it was very important that they become useful to themselves, and contribut, meaningfully to the society and the country at large.
Also speaking, the Chairperson, EEAG, Mrs Asikiye Promise, said the group was formed to address the poor attitude of students as well as assist them to develop the boundless opportunities education offers, and expressed optimism that having discovered the solution to the above challenges; the body was hopeful that it would reverse the ugly trend.
In their various presentations, Dr Dumoateli Iboroma, who delivered a lecture on the “Dangers of Unwanted Pregnancies and Prevention from Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Infections (STDs and STIs),” described unwanted pregnancy as ‘one that is not planned or ready to have,’ and enjoined students to have positive dreams and work towards actualizing them.
He urged them to desist from acts capable of resulting into early or unwanted pregnancies, and infections, especially STDs, STIs, and Vesico Virginal Fistula (VVF).
In their presentation, Old Girls of Government Girls Secondary School, Harbour Road, 1983 set, Miss Adiki Ndamioku and Mrs Grace Manson Endeboh, who spoke on the topic “Problems Associated with Adolescent Sexuality,” attributed the increase in premarital sexual activities to the high level of poverty, hunger, lack of unemployment and large population of unskilled youth in the society.
Some students who spoke at the end of the seminar described the programme as good one that would impacted positively in their lives.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
Education
Parents Groan As Ebonyi Federal Varsity, Jacks School Fees To N1.5m

Parents and guardians of students studying various disciplines at the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, Ebonyi State have cried out over the jacking of tuition fees by management of the university and urged Minister of Education to urgently intervene on the matter.
A statement released by the Bursary Department of the institution indicates that Medicine and Surgery has increased of 42.86% from N1, 30, 000 in the 2023/2024 academic session to N1.5 Million in the new 2025/2026 session while Pharmacy and Nursing Sciences were both jacked up from N730, 000 in the 2023/2024 academic session to N1, 50, 000 in the new 2025/2026 academic session which represents approximately 43.84% increment.
Reacting to the new development, a business man who Chief Ozor Festus who claimed that his two children both gained admission to study Medicine and Surgery and Pharmacy, lamented that despite the brilliance of his children that made them gain admission on merit, it is now seeming like a curse as he cannot afford to cough out nearly N3M to process the entrance of his children for a Federal University he felt was funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“A lot of parents are grumbling over the school fees for new students because it is a Federal University and not a private university. Even in private universities, the fees are not this outrageous.”, he said
He said although the fees covered their accommodations, it was yet on a very high side. “We are begging the Minister for Education to come and help us bring this high fees down to where other parents like us can afford.
Education
‘Grant-Funded Success Stories In Girls’ Education Inspiring’

Sources have not only provided essential support for educational initiatives but have also catalysed a movement towards gender equality in education. The stories of success that emerge from these grant-funded programmes are not just statistics; they are narratives of resilience, ambition, and the profound impact that education can have on young girls and their communities.
By examining these success stories, we can better understand the multifaceted benefits of investing in girls’ education and the critical role that grants play in this endeavor. The importance of girls’ education cannot be overstated. Educated girls are more likely to become empowered women who contribute positively to their families and societies.
They tend to marry later, have fewer children, and invest more in their children’s education. However, despite these benefits, millions of girls around the world still face significant barriers to accessing quality education. Grant-funded programmes have emerged as a vital tool in addressing these challenges, providing resources that enable innovative solutions tailored to the unique needs of girls.
This article will explore various aspects of grant-funded success stories in girls’ education, highlighting how these initiatives are transforming lives and communities.
Organizations like the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) have implemented programs that directly target impoverished communities, ensuring that girls receive the support they need to attend school.
By removing financial obstacles, these grants empower families to invest in their daughters’ futures, fostering a culture where girls’ education is valued and prioritized. However, cultural norms and societal expectations often hinder girls from pursuing education.
Organizations like the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) have implemented programmes that directly target impoverished communities, ensuring that girls receive the support they need to attend school.
By removing financial obstacles, these grants empower families to invest in their daughters’ futures, fostering a culture where girls’ education is valued and prioritised. However, cultural norms and societal expectations often hinder girls from pursuing education.
Education grants can help challenge these stereotypes by funding awareness campaigns and community engagement initiatives that promote the importance of girls’ education. For example, the Malala Fund has supported grassroots organisations that work to change perceptions about girls’ roles in society.
Education
Implement Agreements Or Risk Industrial Crisis, ASUU Tells FG

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked the Federal Government to finalise all agreements entered with university teachers or risk an industrial crisis.
The lecturers decried what they described as the flip-flop disposition of successive governments towards collective bargaining, which has created an atmosphere of distrust and has taken extra efforts and energy on the part of the current Federal Government to dispel.
In a statement entitled ‘Act Now To Avert The Looming Crisis’ and signed by ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, the union said, “Nothing illustrates this antipathy better than the frustrated attempts to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, despite submission of a draft agreement by the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed committee to government since December 2024, eight clear months ago.
“Every major dispute ASUU has had with governments since 2012, when the 2009 Agreement was due for renegotiation, emanated from failure to respect the provisions of the signed document on conditions of service, funding, university autonomy and academic freedom, and
other matters, including the review of the laws governing the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
“Yet elite Nigerians are quick to blame the universities for ‘producing unemployable graduates’ and failure to initiate innovative research for addressing the country’s problems, our members feel forgotten, shamed and demoralised by past and present governments.
“ASUU has ceaselessly warned owners (government and visitors) of public universities – the Federal and State Governments – of the
Consequences of breeding a disempowered, dissatisfied, and disorientated intellectual workforce.
For the umpteenth time, ASUU invites all genuine patriots to prevail on Nigeria’s Federal and State Governments to address all lingering labour issues in the Nigerian University System to avert another looming industrial crisis.”
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