UBA Essay Competition for Secondary School Students – 2015

This is to inform the general public and especially all secondary school students in Nigeria that the 2015 edition of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) National Essay Competition is out. Winners will get educational grants to study in any African University of their choice.
The Essay Competition is a follow up on of the Read Africa initiative of the Foundation, which involves giving out literature books to secondary school students to help rekindle the reading culture amongst the youths in Africa. The Programme also involves mentoring and reading sessions with the students.
Competition Details
Entry Procedures and. Rules:
*.Applicants must attach photocopies of their original birth certificates or photocopies of International passport data page
*.Applicants must be Senior Secondary School students in Nigerian Secondary Schools
*.Applicants should send in handwritten essay entries of not more than 750 words on the competition topic
*.Applicants must submit their complete contact information (school name & address, residential address, phone number and email address)
*.The educational grant is only applicable to applicants who intend to study in an African university.
*.The decision of the judges is final.
Essay Topic:“What matters most to you in life and why”
Prizes:
Winner:-N1,000,000.00 or its local currency equivalent towards university tuition/fees and a Laptop
1st runner-up:-N750,000.00 or its local currency equivalent towards university tuition/fees and a Laptop
2nd runner-up:– N500,000.00 or its local currency equivalent towards university tuition/fees and a Laptop
Consolation Prizeswill be given to the finalists
Judges:
The panel of judges is made up of professors from reputable Nigerian universities,
Closing Date for Entries:
November 13, 2015. Late entries will not be accepted.
Entries should be sent to:
UBA Foundation
United Bank for Africa Plc UBA House (3rd Floor)
57 Marina, Lagos, Nigeria
Please note that terms and conditions guiding the competition shall apply to all winners.
UBA Foundation will not be responsible for any liabilities and losses resulting from participation.

NOUN Graduate Not Qualified For NYSC

This will be a huge blow to all graduate of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) as report emanating from the institution has it that all graduate of the institution are not eligible to participate in the National Youth Service programme (NYSC)
Provost of Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Epe, Lagos State and former Dean of the School of Arts and Social Sciences at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Olu Akeusola, made this know to news men.

This came even as both the students and the management of NOUN have been making a case for the inclusion of NOUN graduates who are below 30 years of age in the scheme.
He said: “You see, we have the tendency of misinterpreting concepts. NOUN isn’t meant for regular students. It is not meant for anybody that has just finished his secondary education.”
NOUN is a flexible programme meant for adults – meant for the working class. It is for people who have sufficient experience, but want academic knowledge and certificates to back up what they are doing.”
Akeusola noted that the manner of instruction at NOUN was part-time and it was not different from other part-time or correspondence programmes, whose graduates were not eligible for NYSC.
“NOUN got it wrong when they started admitting students that are JAMB drop-outs—people who are unable to go to conventional universities through JAMB; and then also fresh secondary school graduates. Automatically, they would be agitating that they want to serve, after all, they are graduates. But the question you should ask is: If we are talking about NOUN as flexible, what about graduates from sandwich programmes? Are they serving? So, what makes NOUN different from sandwich? The only difference is that sandwich is done only during the holidays and it is like part-time. NOUN is flexible, but then, they both don’t receive lectures everyday. They both don’t do face-to-face lectures,” he said.

Unilorin VC laments Inability To Admit More Students For 2015/2016

The astute Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali, has bemoan over the inability of the institution to admit more candidates for the 2015/2016 academic session
Ambali laments the inability of the institution to admit more candidates over ten years as thousands of candidates were desirous to attend the institution because of its stable academic calendar.
liveschoolnews.com.ng recalls that the institution will only admitted 7,800 of the 65,000 candidates who sat for the 2015/2016 post-UME screening exercise.
Professor Ambali, who promulgate this at a press conference in Ilorin, preparatory to the 40th anniversary celebration of the university, said this against the backdrop of dashed hopes of several thousands of parents and guardians eager to secure admissions for their wards to the university for 2015/2016 academic session.
He expressed the intention of the university to admit more students, provided the National Universities Commission, NUC, gave approval, saying the university now had more infra structure facilities to cope with more students.
“In view of this development, the management of the university had written a letter to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, through the National Universities Commission, NUC, so as to look into the situation for the university.
“The university has more facilities, more academic programmes, more good lecturers, more patronage in terms of candidates, and other needed infrastructures that can accommodate more students,” he said.
While speaking on the reason for conducting UTME for a total number of 65,000 candidates, knowing well that the university will only take 7,800, the vice chancellor said the reason was borne out of the quest to have the best student admitted out of the lot,stressing that if he had his way, he would have conducted examinations for much more candidates.
Ambali further said that the institution had been able to set sustainable standard that had now been envy of all universities in the country.
The UNILORIN’s helmsman, however, described academic stability as the selling point of the university which has portrayed the institution as the University of first choice to all applicants across the country.
He said the university was lucky to have academic staff with constructive unionism, adding that the management had also complemented that factor with openness and transparency.
“Usually, the issue between the academic staff and the management bothers on salary, allowance, unconducive environment, lack of infrastructure like water, light and other amenities, gagging of lecturers and others.
“As the chairman of all the chairmen in the university, everyone’s welfare is my priority. When there’s money, we share and it there’s none, we share the moment together,” he said.
Ambali, on the issue of corruption, opposed death penalty for Nigerians found guilty of corrupt practices and opted for lenient punishments of collection of stolen funds and jail term for corrupt leaders in the country.
The VC said: “If corrupt leaders are killed without recovering their loots, we are only trying to transfer the stolen monies to another set of people.
“But if the stolen monies are collected and thereby imprisoned the perpetrators, it will serve as deterrent to others and even serve as lessons to the victim.
“Also, if the perpetrators are killed and the loots are recovered, it becomes double jeopardy. I will want the federal government to look towards this direction in the interest of the country and humanity. Infact, we need to study the nations that practised such idea in the past and look at what has come of them.”
While speaking on the choice of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial appointment, Professor Ambali advocated for the nomination and appointment of person with the interest of the education sector at heart as the Minister of Education.
He said: “We have had some Education Ministers in the past coming from the academia but ended up disappointing the sector. I will want the President to appoint someone that will assist in the growth and development of the sector, irrespective of his/her background.”