Varsity expels 23 students The authorities of UNIPORT have announced the expulsion of 23 students for various misconducts.

She noted that the affected students were found to have been engaged in various misconducts including cultism, assault on lecturers and open threat to law and order in the university.

A part of the statement read:

“Eight of the expelled students were discovered to be members of cult groups; two assaulted a female lecturer and disrupted a congress meeting; while twelve others were former presidents of faculty associations.”

In the same vein, the varsity's Senate also fingered a body known as Faculty Presidents Forum for allegedly hijacking the functions of the elected Students’ Union Executive as well as threatening the peace on campus.

The closure of the University of Port Harcourt for the Christmas and New Year holidays with effect from Thursday, December 22, was also announced in the statement
D-Otto also said that the decisions were agreed upon at the 426th Senate meeting of the university, which took place on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 and was chaired by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ndowa Lalle.

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A silent danger is in the Niger Delta, and this woman wants to end it

The oil is not only killing the land, it is killing the body.
 

Ogochukwu Okoye, a physician and lecturer at Delta State University Teaching Hospital, is working hard to save the Niger Delta people from devastating effects of oil pollution.

The Niger Delta region has had it's environment devastated by the effects of oil pollution. This leads to chronic diseases that affect various parts of the body, most especially the kidney.

Ogochukwu Okoye saw a need, and so she took an online Masters in Public Health from the University of Manchester. Her dissertation was as you'd expect;  It is about the risk of chronic kidney disease in young Nigerians exposed to crude oil.

Speaking about it, she said:

"I registered for this course to improve myself in areas of medicine that are key for a wholesome practice. The team at Manchester exposed me to a highly effective manner of teaching, thus made learning worthwhile."

"The skills and knowledge that I have acquired are already impacting on my professional and personal development. I am definitely a better teacher, doctor and researcher as a result!"

As regards the future, she now plans to apply for a grant to enable her to carry out more research on the issue with the long term goal of influencing government policy and eventually creating a better life for the young people of the region.

We're optimistic about her dreams because for starters, at least 25 Nobel laureates have at some point studied or researched at the University of Manchester.

We hope that the academic staff that churned out that much quality can convert to good in the long run.

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Mixed reactions trail 2016 November/December result

Some respondents commended the improved performance of the students in the result released by the WAEC.

Stakeholders in the education sector received the news of the release of the 2016 November/December West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) with mixed reactions.

Some respondents commended the improved performance of the students in the result released by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Lagos on Friday compared to the 2014 and 2015 editions.

Other stakeholders, however, harp on the need for a significant improvement that would impact on the quality of education generally in the country.

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Mr Olu Adenipekun, Head of the National Office of WAEC, who announced the release of the release of the results, said that there was an improvement compared to candidates’ performance in the same examination in the 2014 and 2015 diets.

Similarly, Mrs Elizabeth Obande, a secondary school teacher, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, praised the performance of the students.

Obande stated that the performance showed an improvement and congratulated students who passed with credits in five subjects including English and Mathematics.

According to her, the seven per cent that engaged in malpractice is insignificant compared to the positive result recorded.

“The percentage of students whose results were seized due to examination malpractice is insignificant compared to those who passed.

“Comparing this year’s result to that of 2014 and 2015 as announced by WAEC, 2016 result was better and that indicates that there is progress in the education sector.

“I want to encourage teachers not to relent in their efforts because the result shows the knowledge they have imparted in the students.

“The students also should ensure they work hard by reading, their books and avoid being distracted by the social media; with this the country can record better results in the future.’’

She said that the recent quality assurance training carried out in schools emphasised on the importance of quality students and not just teachers.

She noted that the performance was evidence of such training.

Meanwhile, Mr Samuel Ogbe, a parent, noted that though the performance was better than the two previous years, there was the need for improvement.

He said that the government should invest more in the education sector to enable the country to attain up to 80 per cent excellent results in external examinations.

Ogbe suggested that students’ workload should be reduced and that obtaining credit in Mathematics and English should not be compulsory criteria for admission into university.

According to him, students should focus on their area of specialisation instead of writing subjects not relevant to their courses.

He cited the example of art students writing Mathematics and Science students writing English in external examinations.

For Mr James Ogwu, a post-graduate student, the result was not encouraging.

He said that only 39 per cent passing with credit in Mathematics and English was not good for a country like Nigeria.

He, however, noted that the performance was not unexpected since most people who wrote the examination had been out of school for a while.

According to him, being out of school can affect their performance as the Internet and social media have made students deviate from the tradition of reading their books.

“Most of them can spend hours on the phone browsing Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and even playing games on the Net and spend little hours on their books even when they have exams ahead of them.

“The drive for technology has overtaken the need to read by students and it is not healthy for the education system.

“Government and stakeholders in the sector should find a way to marry technology and education for a better Nigeria,” Ogbe said.

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Agony of LAUTECH students

The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has been shut for  months, leaving the students stranded. Many of them are complaining about the rent they paid before the school was shut. They wonder whether their landlords will ask for another rent when the school reopens. DANIEL OLADELE reports.
When two elephants fight, they say, the grass suffers. This aptly describes the fate of students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, who have been idling away at home.
The institution, jointly owned by Oyo and Osun states, has been shut for the past six months over the owners’ inability to fund the school. Since the school cannot get regular subvention, it was run with Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR), which was not enough to meet its needs.
Workers are being owed months of salaries and arrears. This led to a disagreement between management and the workers’ unions, which have held series of protests over non-payment of salaries. Last June, the workers’ unions, comprising the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) declared indefinite action and demanded the remittance of the 23-month subvention owed the institution by the owners and the payment of their salaries.
According to the unions, Oyo State owes eight months subventions; Osun, 15 months. The non-residential institution is now a ghost town, with some of its notable structures overgrown by weeds.
The situation has got students worried. They said their future is at stake. They have reached out to the Ooni of Ife, the Olubadan of Ibadan, the Alaafin of Oyo and other traditional rulers for help.
Few weeks ago, the students took to the streets to protest the continued closure of the school and the rumour of fee increment. It was alleged that Oyo State Governor Isiaka Ajimobi suggested fee increment at a town-hall meeting held last month in Ibadan, the capital.
It was said that the owners proposed 65 per cent increment for indigenes of Osun and Oyo, and 75 per cent for non-indigenes. This, they said, would raise the fee to about N350,000.
Ajimobi was quoted to have said: “LAUTECH will continue to maintain joint ownership with Osun State in accordance with the Supreme Court judgement. We have sent people to look critically into the situation of the school. We await their response. We also want the school management to look inwards how to generate income to cater for the overheads.
“They should take a cue from schools, such as Babcock University, which is not being funded by the government and yet, runs smoothly. The government can now look into supporting the school in some little ways. The management, lecturers and students should agree on a way forward to solve the problem.”
Since LAUTECH is not a residential school, the students live off-campus. The rent many of them paid at the beginning of the last session has lapsed, even though they spent only a few months in school. The final year students have vowed they would not pay another rent, because they only have weeks left before their final examination. This may lead to confrontation between them and their landlords when the school resumes.
Olanrewaju Ajayi, a final year Urban and Regional Planning student, wondered why he should pay another rent when he only has two weeks left. He said his rent was due in August when the school was expected to end the session.

He said: “The strike is causing a lot of issues for students, especially the graduating classes. Apart from making us feel uncertain about other programmes we have after graduation, the rents paid in our off-campus hostels have been wasted. Does anyone expect students who have not been in school in the past six months to pay for the period they were not around?”
Another final year student, Titus Oluwatomi, said the best way to resolve the issue is for the landlords to declare the period rent-free. “After my final exam, the next thing that preoccupied my mind was the National Youth Service. I never expected I would still be in school by now. Paying another rent was not in my plan before the school went on strike in June. Since we did not use what we paid for, let the landlords overlook the rent. I can’t pay a dime.”
A 300-Level student, who simply gave her name as Adeife, lamented the strike, saying: “This strike has not helped anyone. I only wake up and do nothing all day in  the last six months. There is nowhere to engage in temporary work, because of the economic situation in the country. One is in fact not productive. I can’t even remember anything I was taught. I see my mates in other schools moving to the next level and I am stuck at a level for more than a year.”
Sholagbade Adeyemo, a 200-Level student, said it would be bad if the landlords did not show concern on the effect of the strike on students. He said: “It would not be good if landlords say it is not their business if the school is on strike or not. They should know that the occupancy of their houses is dependent on whether the school is in session or not. I don’t expect any landlord to threaten students with ejection if they didn’t pay for the period they were not in school. Students also need to reach out to the landlords and discuss this issue.”
Tomilola Oladele, an Applied Mathematics student, said she paid her rent the week the school was shut by the workers. She said: “I have lost six-month rent because of this strike. If I had known, I would have delayed the payment and used the money for another thing.
“Believe it, my landlord would be happy now. Some others are yet to get their rent. Many of them would not overlook it because of the current situation in the country. So, when students resume, many landlords would smile to the bank knowing that they have rents to collect.”
Since there is no hope in sight on when the school will resume, the students fear that many of them may not be able to pay for the period they were away. But, a caretaker of a female hostel, who simply gave his name as Mr. Martins, said rent is like electricity bill, which a customer must pay whether or not there is light. “I can only speak for the hostel I manage. The rent will not be overlooked,” he said.
Meanwhile, aggrieved students last Wednesday distrupted a congress held by ASUU members.

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WAEC To Conduct GCE Twice A Year With Effect From 2017

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has disclosed that the conduct of its examination for private candidates would be twice in a year with effect from 2017.

This was made known by the council Registrar, Dr Iyi Uwadiae, who interacted with newsmen at the Registrar’s Staff Appraisal Committee meeting held on Wednesday in Accra, Ghana.

He added that the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates known as the November/December diet for private candidates will now be conducted in January/February and August/September.

He said the measure is to ensure that many private candidates, who desire the certificate for various purposes, will have the opportunity of writing the examination and acquire the certificate.

He also added that they have concluded arrangements to commence next year. He noted that this development will not affect that of May/June, that remains once a year for all schools candidates.

He concluded by saying this is part of its mandate to render qualitative service to all member nations, the council is looking forward to a more rewarding 2017.

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SO SAD!!! How This Pretty AAU Graduate Was Murdered By Her BF In Lagos Hotel

What truly transpired between a 27-year-old Computer Science graduate of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Okonikhere Joy, and her boyfriend on the night of Sunday, December 4, 2016 causing the former’s death may never be known.

But this much is clear: That night, there was a scuffle between them at aHOTEL IN Orile area of Lagos. By morning, Joy’s corpse was discovered by workers at the hotel, prompting them to alert the police. But the unidentified boyfriend was in the wind.

Saturday Punch learnt that when the workers at the hotel made the discovery, they recalled noticing that there was a scuffle inside theHOTEL ROOM where Joy and her boyfriend lodged the night before. When the case was reported to the police, a manhunt was instantly launched for the suspect.

Two suspects have been arrested by the police. One of them is the purported boyfriend, who has not been identified by the police.

A police source told Punch that a CCTV showed the suspect leaving the hotel.

One of Joy’s friends, May Ebute, said, “I just spoke with her brother and he confirmed the news. The murderer is presently cooling off in a police cell. I wish l could find the words to express the anger l am feeling right now,” she said.

The suspect told the police that he indeed had a fight with the deceased, Saturday Punch learnt.

He explained during interrogation that he grabbed the neck of his girlfriend during the disagreement and that he did not mean to kill her.

“I just put my hands on her neck to scare her, but she stopped breathing,” he was quoted as saying.

Joy, an Edo State indigene, was said to have graduated in 2014 and came to Lagos to look for a job.

When Saturday Punch spoke with the father of the deceased on the phone , Mr. Friday Okonikhere, there was no doubt that he was still grief-stricken.

He said, “I have never heard of the boy before. I think they must have met in Lagos. The police said they had acquired a CCTV footage that showed the perpetrator of the crime. But they have not shown it to me.

“She told me she was working in Lagos. Joy came to Lagos in search of a job. Her mother died four years ago. My daughter’s life is like a total waste now. At the moment when her life would have started becoming a glory, she was wasted.

“I feel very bitter and angry. I am looking at myself as a failure right now because I don’t know what I could have done to prevent my first daughter from being killed in such a way. I have been told there is going to be an autopsy soon. Once the autopsy is done, hopefully they would release the body to us.”

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Dolapo Badmos, said investigation was still ongoing in the case but confirmed that two suspects are currently in police custody.

Punch

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Two corpers decamped for having sex during lecture

Two corpers have been decamped from the Ogun State NYSC Orientation camp after they were caught having sex.

Skills Acquisition classes were happening on Wednesday the 7th of December at the Ogun State NYSC Orientation Camp.

Some corpers were being trained on how to enhance their writing and public speaking skills. Other were learning how to make beads. Others, make-up learning. There were the phone repairers, and a bunch of other skills acquisition classes.

At the back of the venue for these classes, away from the crowd, to people were displaying a very ancient, but timeless and unique skillset; they were having sex.

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We imagine they probably decided to start their own skills acquisition class, considering many of those classes must have been very boring for them.

Unfortunately for them, the camp authorities didn't think it was a great idea.

When a soldier caught them, pants down, sharing and interchanging skills, he marched them straight to the commandant's office, and without even letting them speak, or explain themselves, they were decamped with immediate effect.

Decamping means that they have to re-apply for NYSC so they get to join the next batch in 2017.

All other camp activities remained normal, like soldiers telling female corpers they can help them with good posting if they have sex with them.

The entire decamping process was done under the radar, with no statement from the camp authorities regarding the matter.

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Protesting students dispersed with use of teargas

Students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology who took to the streets to protest the strike action by the staff of the institution have gotten more than they bargained for.

A video shared on social media shows the students being dispersed by the Nigerian police who were recorded shooting teargas into the midst of the students.

The protest was quickly quelled as the person recording the video lament over the fact that all the students get is violence when they make their demands known to the government.

This is hardly the first time the police has taken such approach with protesters all over the nation and it is quickly becoming the norm

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