- Governors in the north have since recognised this fact and have been phasing out the moribund system of education gradually.

 Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor of Kano State, on Wednesday, May 27, announced the abolishment of traditional almajiri system of education in the state. Governor Ganduje said henceforth, all almajiri repatriated to Kano from other states will be enrolled into the conventional education system. Ganduje declared as a matter of policy “every child in Kano state, including almajiri must go to school.” Governor Ganduje declared that every child in the state must go to school. 

The governor said his government has concluded plans to incorporate the repatriated almajiri into the state free, compulsory primary and basic education policy. The almajiri education system was established under the Kanem-Borno Empire, one of the oldest ruling empires in the world extending from the frontiers of Northern Nigeria across the Chadian region up to the borders of Libya. It was established as an organized and comprehensive system of education for learning Islamic principles, values, jurisprudence and ultimately the recitation and memorization of the Qur’an which became basic Islamic learning centers in all Muslim communities.

 At that time, the system was funded by the state treasury and the state Zakat funds and was under the control of the Emirs of the traditional government system that existed before the coming of the British. However, over the years, the system has been bastardized and outlived its usefulness. Almajiris have become a menace in the country especially in northern Nigeria, where they are now used to cause havoc in the society. Governors in the north have since recognised this fact and have been phasing out the moribund system of education gradually.

Meanwhile, UNICEF on Tuesday, May 5 warned that internally displaced children – including in Nigeria - are among the world’s most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. The warning came as the organization released a report looking at the risks and challenges facing internally displaced children, and the urgent actions needed to protect them.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) on Tuesday presented provisional licence to Skyline University, Kano, to begin operation.But also under probation of an older generation university for coaching and Gaurdiance for a range of 3 years

The Executive Secretary of the commission, Abubakar Rasheed, presented the licence to the proprietor of the university, Kamal Puri, an Indian businessman and educationist.
It becomes the first private university in Kano, arguably Nigeria’s most populous state, and the second private university in the North-west region of the country. The region has seven states.
The first private university in Nigeria was licensed in 1999. Which was the Al-Qalam University in Katsina State, the first private university in the region, was established in 2005.

According to Mr Rasheed, Skyline University will become the 75th private university in the country.

“There are 42 federal universities in Nigeria, 47 are state-owned while 75 are privately owned. In total, there are 164 universities in Nigeria. For many, the numbers are too large but for those who are in the system, the numbers are few,” he said.

Mr Rasheed urged the proprietor of the new university to adhere strictly to the technical advice which includes the rules and regulations of the commission.

The Executive Secretary also appealed to government at all levels and philanthropists to institute scholarships for indigent students to enable them access quality education.

“There is nothing we can do as a commission to regulate the fees of private institutions. We have 198 million people in Nigeria and it is difficult to say how many universities we need in the country because some of the universities are small,” he said.

He said the 75 private university in Nigeria account for only 5.31 percent of the total enrolment in universities while noting the need either to establish more universities or expand existing ones.

“If you look at the population of 198 million which is close to 200 million, and bear in mind the total enrolment in our universities today, all the 164 universities’ enrolment is slightly less than two million.

“It is 1.961 million students in the universities, which translates to roughly one percent of the population. One per cent of the population are in the university and I think it’s not healthy,” he said.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said the emergence of private universities in Nigeria has created an environment for healthy competition that stimulates improvement in quality service delivery in the system.

Mr Adamu, who was represented by his ministry’s permanent secretary, Sunny Echono, said substantive licence will be issued to the new university if it is adjudged as being well-managed after three years of probation.

“During the probationary period, the Skyline University will be attached to an older generation university, the Bayero University Kano, for academic and administrative mentoring to be moderated by NUC,” he said.

Meanwhile, the proprietor of the university, Mr Puri, said technology is advancing, therefore the world needs to prepare the future generation for the task. He also made known that the institution will bring the best curriculum and technology to Nigerians.

“Skyline is a 28-year operating university in United Arab Emirates, which has run British education, which has run American education, Asian and Middle East in Africa. We have experience of complete global education system,” Mr Puri said.

Also speaking, the deputy governor of Kano State, Hafiz Abubakar, said the state needs a minimum of 10 universities to be able cater for at least 60 per cent of qualified candidates seeking university admission. Mr Abubakar said Kano state has 6,300 primary schools and 7,844 public secondary schools.

“Kano as you know is the most populous state in the country. We have in the basic level of education an enrolment of over N3.804 million in primary, junior and senior secondary schools”, he said.

Okorogheye Orisheneye David a 15 year old boy’s Emerged Outstanding in his performance in WAEC and JAMB and this had caught the intention of so many people and made them impressed that his story has made it to the internet and social medias.

 He was said to have gotten straight A's in all the nine courses he registered for in the 2018 (WAEC) West African Examination Council. He also cleared his JAMB exam emerging with a total score of 332.

 

 

  One of the best emerging student graduating from the Lagos State University LASU in the 2016/ 2017 academic session, Mr. Ogunsanya Adetoro has confirmed and said that he failed his first WAEC/ NECO due to health issues he was facing at that period.

The young man was 24-year-old who graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Aggregate CGPA of 4.7 from the department of Business Administration explained he inherited an eye disease named Contaract from his father.

He said the health problem he had had a negative impact on his academics in secondary school, as the eye disease increasingly spread, contaminating his both eyes which really affected his studies. According to this young man, he said
“My Parents helped me to seek medical help but the first operation I had was not successful.

“When my first WAEC and NECO came out, it was dotted with F9s, so I left home and went to stay with my uncle and his wife.

“My uncle and his wife also helped me to seek medical treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan and the operation was successful,” he said.

Adetoro, said he went back to school to retake his WAEC and JAMB after he was treated, after sitting at home for three years.

“I was able to make four A’s and three B’s and scored 215 in JAMB to gain admission to LASU, Adetoro recalled.

According to him, he had applied for Accounting at LASU but opted for business administration because Accounting was not accredited at the time.

Adetoro noted that his academic journey was rigorous and herculean, even as he lost his father in 2015.

“But my doggedness and tenacity yielded a good result,” he added.

“We have internalized the new LASU mantra and will represent the institution in the outside world positively by being good ambassadors and providing solutions to societal problems,” said Adeotoro.

Adetoro lauded Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode for his investment and commitment to LASU.

The VC, also urged the students to be good ambassadors of the school and give back to their alma mater.

Fagbohun said the university graduated 29,710 students for the session, out of which 26 students made First Class division.

He said 21,481 students graduated with first degrees, 201 with diplomas, 7,982 in the Post-graduate cadre and 46 PhDs"

For Everyone out there this information is also an educative means to let you know that 

"The downfall of a mann is not the end of that man"

 

The Federal Government of Nigeria deposited the sum of N138 billion in the last three years to empower educational system in the Nigeria. The Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu,, said this during the launch of the (NPA) National Personnel Audit  of basic educational institutions in Abuja on Monday. The (NAN) News Agency of Nigeria  reports that the audit will cover all pupils, students and personnel in both public and private sector of basic educational institutions in Nigeria.  Mallam Adamu said the funds, managed by the (UBEC) Universal Basic Education Commission, were accessed by states and the Federal Capital Territory that also paid their counterpart contributions. He explained that the personnel audit was in line with the provisions of the Universal Basic Education Act 2004, “to help establish reliable education data for planning. ” It is very important to note that since its establishment in 1999, the commission has successfully conducted two national personnel audit in the country in 2006 and 2010 respectively focused only on public schools.” The minister said the audit would also establish strong foundation for sound management information system in the basic educational sector. He added it would empower the current (NEMIS)  National Educational Management Information System which serves as a key pillar of the nations educational planning process. Earlier, the Executive Secretary,Dr Hamid Bobboyi Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) said lack of data was a major setback in the education sector. He however said that the audit would help to create a comprehensive and reliable basic educational data bank in Nigeria. He noted that the exercise had no connection with auditing financial accounts of schools. Dr Hamid Bobboyi listed some specific objectives of the personnel audit to include obtaining reliable data of children of school going age enrolled in basic education schools. Other objectives include obtaining the number and qualification of teaching and non-teaching staff including their personal information and progression in service. He said the exercise would also provide authentic school mapping of all basic education schools in the country as well as address the challenges of inadequate education data. The Minister of FCT, Mallam Muhammad Bello assured that the FCT administration would support the commission to ensure smooth conduct of the exercise. Similarly, Mr Halilu Ahmed of the  (NASRDA) National Space Research and Development Agency, described the exercise as a quantum leap because of the use of digital technology where information on basic education could be accessed with a click of the button. He said that the database was designed to be updated on regular basis  in such a way  to accommodate newly established schools or new infrastructure. Also, Dr Mahmud Abubakar, Chairman, Governing Board of UBEC, said the role of NASRDA was important to the effective conduct of the exercise. He said that at the end of the exercise, a virile and responsive (GIS) Geographic Information System  would be developed to help in planning, monitoring and evaluation of the sub sector. Mr Abdulahi Salifu, Regional Director, UNESCO, congratulated UBEC for taking the lead, saying that the audit would help ascertain the quality and quantity of teaching and non teaching staff. He added that it would also give more information on what needed to be done and improved upon in the system, and identify the number of out children in Nigeria who are not in school or not able to attend school because of some reasons.