Category: Education

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has urged the Federal Government to start the process for the appointments of new Rectors for Federal Polytechnic in five States.

The ASUP President, Mr Anderson Ezeibe, made the call at the end of the 106th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union in Abuja on Thursday.

The institutions include the Federal Polytechnic Ugep in Cross River; Federal Polytechnic Shendam, Plateau; Federal polytechnic Mungonu, Borno; Federal Polytechnic Enugu, Enugu State; and Federal Polytechnic Wannune, Benue.

Ezeibe said the meeting was called to discussed critical issues affecting the Nigerian Polytechnic system, education sector and the nation at large.

According to him, the NEC of the union is disappointed that more than one month after the ruling of the National Industrial Court (NIC) in the suit NICN/ABJ/117/2021 delivered by Hon. Justice O.A. Obaseki- OSAGHAE, nothing has happened.

“This is where the purported appointments of Prof. Edward Okey, Dr Zakari Yau, Prof. Garba Ngala, Prof. Edwin Onyeneje, Dr Terlumun Utser as Rectors of Federal Polytechnic Ugep, Shendam, Mungonu, Ohodo, and Wannune respectively was nullified.

`The government and the respective governing councils of the institutions are yet to begin the process for the appointment of new Rectors.

“We are surprised that despite the lucid nature of the judgement, which highlighted the fact that the persons purportedly appointed do not possess the requisite requirements for the positions as contained in the Federal Polytechnics Act (2019) amendment.

“Our union is unhappy that the supremacy of the rule of law is threatened in the Nigerian polytechnic system as this signals a new regime of impunity in the sector,’’ he said.

The ASUP president, therefore, called on the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Education to respect the NIC ruling and relieve the affected persons parading as rectors of such duties.

He said the union also demanded the conclusion of the appointment process for the rectors of Federal Polytechnic Bauchi and Yaba College of Technology as the non-conclusion of the process was undermining the smooth administration of the institutions.

Ezeibe, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the release of first tranche of the N15 billion NEEDS ASSESSMENT intervention for the polytechnics.

He said that the funds were currently being received by the beneficiary institutions and the union and they would ensure appropriate value for it being released.

“Our union shall hold the Rector of any polytechnic responsible for any form of infraction noticed in deployment of the funds for the approved projects.

“We have received early warning signals of attempts by unscrupulous persons to undermine the deployment of these funds through spurious demands from the rectors.

“In due course, we shall be revealing the identities of these persons and their collaborators as we are determined to ensure that the funds are judiciously spent to improve infrastructure in the system,’’ he said.

The union leader also noted that 18 Federal Polytechnics were currently suffering the impact of shortcomings in the budgeting processes of the Polytechnics.

According to him, the impact of this lack of attention to details is seen in the non-remittances of third party deductions like union check off dues and cooperative societies’ deductions for the past three months.

“ Our union views this as a plot to undermine the union as representative organs of the staff and impoverish members by denying them access to the benefits of their contributions to the cooperative societies,’’ he said.

Ezeibe pointed out the non-payment of staff salaries in some state-owned polytechnics and monotechnics such as Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, that is owing the 40 months as well as Plateau, Osun, Benue, Ondo and Edo.

He said the union’s check off dues were withheld by the Sokoto and Ogun state governments.

He added that this was indeed a sad commentary in the dispensation of good governance in the country.

He, however, called for the restarting of the union and Federal Government 2010 renegotiation that began since 2017, which had lingered till date.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of Police Affairs, Dr Muhammad Dingyadi, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday in Abuja, inaugurated the governing board of the Nigeria Police Academy (POLAC), Wudil, Kano State.

Dingyadi said the inauguration had further reaffirmed President Buhari’s commitment to bequeath a reformed, professionalised, highly motivated and knowledge based police force with a view to institutionalising proactive policing in Nigeria.

He said the approval of the governing board sought to fully operationalise the provisions of the Police Academy (Establishment) Act 2021, earlier signed into law by president on April,7 2022.

The minister said the ministry had the statutory responsibility of exercising control and supervision of the policy, finances and property of the academy.

The board, according to him also has power to appoint professors and other principal academic and administrative staff of the academy who are not police officers.

He said that the board also stipulates terms of conditions of their appointment; determine their remuneration and scope of responsibilities.

“Promote and discipline staff of the academy that are not police officers on the advice of the appropriate committees; consider and approve the academy’s annual budget or estimates, external auditor’s report and any variation therein.

“Approve recommendations for the appointment of emeritus professors; appoint bankers, auditors or any other agents for the academy and approve the status of the academy as may be required under this act.

“Approve the creation of any offices, department or committee as may be considered necessary or expedient for the smooth running of the academy,” he said.

Dingyadi said that the appointment of the members was based on merit and their commendable track records.

He urged them to bring to bear their wealth of experience and ingenuity, in the realisation of statutory responsibility of re-engineering a world standard policing system in Nigeria.

Responding on behalf of the board members, Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Usman Baba, pledged commitment of the board to transform POLAC to a center of excellence.

Baba said the academy had since its establishment, grown from strength to strength and would continue to produce fine police officers in various fields of studies.

“We are proud of this academy which is one of its kinds in the world and we believe it will be one university that no parent would want to miss for his child to be.

“It is a university where nobody asks you for tuition, nobody ask you for accommodation, nobody asks you for school fees.

“After graduation you also have work and also have an area of specialisation base based on what you read.

“I think it is a privilege that is given to Nigerians by the government and we will try to make sure that whatever it entails we will do,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has inaugurated a Digital Economy Community of Practice (DECoP) to drive inclusive growth and sustainable development in Nigeria digital ecosystem.

The event held in Abuja, Thursday, is in partnership with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to identify and boost the capacity of key digital players, and engender inclusive public-private sector collaboration.

Prof. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, said the 2020-2030 National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy was built on eight implementing pillars.

Pantami said the pillars were geared towards expanding the scope of the digital economy and make it more flexible to accommodate the needs of all citizens.

“ This is just an effort to ensure total inclusion, we are trying to cascade digital economy to reach our states.

“ When it comes to digital skills, we have so many initiatives including skills for women, persons with disability including our children,” he said.

Mr Laoye Jaiyeola, Chief Executive Officer, NESG, said the growth achieved by the digital economy offered great opportunities however; it posed the risk of exclusion especially for women and girls who were mostly affected.

“ Access to and use of digital devices and services are neither universal nor equitable with women and girls disproportionately affected, leaving the most vulnerable digitally excluded.

“ The absence of a robust collaboration framework between the regulatory agencies, the private sector and development partners is an area within the digital sector that requires attention,” he said.

Also, Mr Jonathan Bacon, Political Director, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and United Kingdom, said Nigeria’s digital economy had the potential to benefit all citizen, stressing the need to ensure inclusivity.

“We have been trying to support digital inclusion.

“And, I would like to particularly recognise the efforts of Nigerian government in deepening digital inclusion through various policies and one good example of these is the gender digital inclusion framework,” he said.

Dr Osasuyi Dirisu, Executive Director, PIC, emphasised the need to bridge digital divide through cross-sectoral collaborations amongst digital stakeholders.

Dirisu said the collaboration would support an enabling environment for innovation, digital inclusion and expansion of the digital economy in critical sectors.

She said: “At the PIC, we prioritise inclusivity and diversity, hence our partnership with the FCDO to implement this project.

“Without focused collaboration amongst stakeholders, the unintended consequences of digital economy growth will be the widening of existing income gaps, exacerbation of inequalities and deepening poverty.

“We firmly believe the DECoP will support an enabling environment for innovation, digital inclusion and expansion of the digital economy in critical sectors.”

Ms. Maryam Gwadabe, member, DECoP, said the community would provide platforms to encourage the inclusivity of women in the Nigeria digital economy.

“Having me there will have a representation of women. We will actually engage and share our Knowledge, experience, and expertise on how to involve women to become digitally inclusive,” she said.

The DECoP is to be implemented in five pilot states to identify and accommodate digital initiatives at the sub-national level and identify, boost the capacity of key digital players.

They are expected to engender inclusive public-private sector collaboration to enable digital growth and capabilities especially for underserved groups at the sub-national levels. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Lilongwe, Malawi, 20- 24 February 2023 — In Chichewa, one of the indigenous languages of Malawi, there is an old saying: “Kali kokha nkanyama; ali awiri ndi anthu”. Translated to “No man is an island,” it stems from the African indigenous philosophy of uMunthu and reflects the notion that no single person exists as an isolated individual, but rather as a member of their broader community.

The values of ethics, integrity, altruism and empathy that reinforce uMunthu are also those key values that inspire and shape the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s work around primary education. Through its methodology to build a culture of rejection of corruption amongst young people around the world, UNODC’s Global Resource for Anti-Corruption Education and Youth Empowerment initiative, or GRACE, works directly at the intersection between Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 (quality education) and SDG16 (building peace, justice and strong institutions), to foster the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNODC strongly believes in the progressive change that indigenous philosophies like uMunthu can bring when correctly integrated into formal education systems, while at the same time fostering Pan-Africanism and corruption-free societies.

To advance this, GRACE, the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Malawi (ACB), the Malawi Ministry of Education and the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE), in collaboration with UNDP Malawi, have been working to support the development of primary educational material based on this important African philosophy.

The aim is to create a ‘sourcebook’, i.e. a scripted manual with lesson plans and activities on ethics, integrity, and corruption for teachers to deliver in primary school. By embodying uMunthu values, attitudes and behaviours, the belief is that together it is possible to build just communities where corruption is ultimately rejected.

Ahead of the finalization of this important tool for teachers and the start of trainings in the country, representatives from the partner institutions and the two UN entities held discussions across Malawi. During the dialogues, the perspectives of students, teachers, parents, traditional and religious leaders and civil society were collected on the best way to approach this task and ensure the content is both context-specific and age-appropriate.

“The consultation experience was so enriching and changed the whole perception of the concept of the sourcebook,” noted Catherine Nkhoma, Principal Public Education Officer at the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Malawi and a former teacher herself. “After the consultations, we realized that the material we develop needs to speak to children!”

Over a period of ten days, 180-plus community members, primary school teachers and pupils from Blantyre, Lilongwe, Machinga and Rumphi were consulted.

“We are going to change Malawi. With this, we have an aim to achieve!” said one enthusiastic teacher who was consulted at Henry Henderson Primary School in Blantyre after reading the first unit of the sourcebook.

Currently, all the feedback gathered is being aggregated and will be included in the final sourcebook, which will be used as the foundation to develop a teaching methodology and start training teachers across the country.

Behavioural change is a long-term process, but youth deserve an opportunity to design better futures. As Ms. Nkhoma commented, “While we know corruption is a difficult and cross-sectional problem, we need to start somewhere.”

Source: EMM/ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations