Education

UK programme, KDSG develop policy to guide operations of private schools

Published

2 years ago

June 17, 2022

UK programme, KDSG develop policy to guide operations of private schools

The Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) programme is supporting Kaduna State Government to develop a policy to guide the operations and contribution of private schools in the state.

PLANE is a seven-year education programme funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) out to invest in a more inclusive and effective education system in Nigeria.

Mr Sunny Kulutuye, the PLANE consultant, explained at the end of a two-day consultative meeting in Kaduna on Thursday that the policy development was a response to a request by the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQAA).

Kulutuye said that the move was to enable the authority to adequately regulate the operations of private schools, which became necessary due to identified gaps and the challenges the government faced working with owners.

He explained that the meeting was to introduce the concept of the policy and mobilise critical stakeholders to take ownership and be part of the development process.

He said that the meeting was also organised to set up a committee that would help in driving the policy development process and come up with a draft document for further discussion.

Dr James Fadokun, Technical Lead on Governance of Non-state Systems, PLANE, said that the consultative meeting was to facilitate a public-private dialogue to reflect on existing policy guidelines for private schools in the state.

Fadokun said that dialogue would create co-creation opportunities for the state government and private school owners to dialogue on the way forward.

“This will create an inclusive policy that will ensure effective regulation for private schools and effective public-private partnership where the state government and private school owners improve the education landscape forward.

“This will also create opportunities for private school owners to know what to do and how to align whatever service they are delivering to fall in line with the government policy,” he said.

He said that the policy would look at the market space for private schools and how the government could regulate it by providing an enabling environment through ease of doing business for them to operate.

He added that the policy framework would also create opportunities for private school owners to access financial support in the form of loans from financial institutions to improve the quality of delivery.

This, according to him, will ensure that the private school owners are able to meet up with some of the government’s minimum requirements to operate.

On policy implementation, Fadokun said that an Implementation Strategy and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework would also be developed.

He said it was not just about formulating policy, it was also about creating strategies to implement the policy.

The PLANE State Team Lead, Mrs Diana Agabi, said that the measure was very crucial considering that private schools have been left out of most donors’ support programmes in the country.

According to her, private schools play a major role in the educational development in the country, pointing out that about 40 to 50 per cent of school-age children attend private schools.

“It is, therefore, critical for the government to understand what they are doing and they also need to understand the stand of the government and how to engage.

“Majorly what we see is the controversy between the government and the private schools that are being seen solely as business enterprises and not adding value to the society.

“The government needs to see private schools as a sector that is adding value to the education sector and contributing to nation-building and not as business enterprises.”

She expressed optimism that the State Executive Council would approve the policy when developed to guide the engagement between the government and the private school.

Hajiya Adama Wada, Acting Director-General, KSSQAA, assured PLANE that the policy, when developed, would be approved and implemented.

Wada thanked PLANE for the support and promised that the authority would play the expected role throughout the development and implementation of the policy.

Mr Ja’afaru Riyoji, Chairman, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Kaduna State Chapter, described the step as a “welcome development”, and expressed readiness to support the process.

On her part, Mrs Hadiza Umar, Citizen’s Co-chair, Open Government Partnership, lauded the process which she said was very inclusive and participatory by all relevant stakeholders.

“This is very commendable because the process will make the policy everybody’s policy and whatever that goes into the policy will be owned by everyone,” she said.

Education

Al Ansar University Maiduguri: An opinion in the contrary

Published

52 mins ago

May 3, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Al Ansar University Maiduguri: An opinion in the contrary

By Balami Lazarus.

Universities are centers of teaching, learning, and research to improve the quality of life for human capital growth and development.

However, while it should be acknowledged by those standards, many people, particularly in Nigeria, are taking a religious perspective to fill the gap in their opinion of certain universities across the country.

NEWSng was in Maiduguri recently and took time to visit some higher institutions, particularly Al Ansar University, the first private institution in the state. The discovery was touching, contrary to some opinions in the state.

Speaking of universities in Maidtguri, Al Ansar University is seen and wrongly referred to as an Islamic university by measure and standard, but this is not the case with Al Ansar University.

Al Ansar is Arabic, translated simply as the”helpers” or “those who bring victory.” But the view, opinion, or impression of the people is rather lacking in the meaning of the Arabic words.

NEWSNG, as usual, made an attempt to reveal the truth about this conventional university of universal standards in character, teaching, learning, research, and academic pursuits, where it recently offered admission to some selected brilliant students on full scholarship from the Borno State Government courtesy of His Excellency Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, the Executive Governor of the State.

Speaking on the university, the Vice Chancellor, a respected scholar and university administrator, Prof. Abubakar Musa Kundiri, said that the wrong opinions expressed about the university by members of the public did not actually represent the truth about the institution.

“We are not as the members of the public see and consider us. Al Ansar is like any other conventional university running accredited academic programs you might think of. I think people should not judge a book by its cover.” He said.

Al Ansar University Maiduguri: An opinion in the contrary

Education

Borno State University admits first set of medical students

Published

1 week ago

April 24, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Borno State University admits first set of medical students

By: Bodunrin Kayode

Borno State University has matriculated its first set of medical students in its five years of academic history.

Making his remarks during the fifth matriculation of the institution recently, the Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Umar Sandabe stated that during the 2022/2023 academic session, the University applied to the National Universities Commission (NUC) to establish Bachelor of Medicine and surgery (MBBS).

The fifth matriculation also had an array of students for the course of Doctor of Physiotherapy, Bachelor of Nursing, Bachelor of medical laboratory Science (BMLS), Bachelor of Radiography and Bachelor of health information management systems (BHIMS).

Other courses approved by the Senate included, Bachelor of Arts in history and Bachelor of Arts in Arabic, the Bachelor of science Biochemistry and the institution of Education.

The VC said that 2,400 students were admitted with 174 coming in through direct entry while jamb admitted 2226 from Borno and all the states of the Federation.

A break down of those who matriculated include 88 with the faculty of Agriculture, 774 in science, 631 Arts and education 527 with management science and 380 in the College of health sciences.

The outgoing VC used the occasion to announce that the institution has graduated its first set of 510 graduates who are already collecting their statement of results pending departure to the national youth service Corp (nysc).

Sandabe said that the University has completed and commissioned the mass communication studio which would give rise to the launch of its radio station soonest.

Other structures completed are the College of Health sciences and its being furnished and some lecture halls which will soon be commissioned.

On accommodations, he said that a new female hostel is been built to complement the existing one in a bid to accommodate more students on campus to ease their burdens on where to stay during sessions.

“At the temporary library site, we started with zero book and the library is now boasting with about 18,000 books with 700 volumes of journals with a very robust e-library with six data bases” said Sandabe.

Borno State University admits first set of medical students

Education

ECOWAS Insists Women, Children Need to be Involved in Peace Building in West Africa

Published

2 weeks ago

April 22, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

ECOWAS Insists Women, Children Need to be Involved in Peace Building in West Africa

By: Michael Mike

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has insisted that women, children and youth must be involved in the search of peace and security in the West African region.

The Director Humanitarian and Social Affairs, ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Sintiki Tarfa-Ugbe, said it would be difficult to address the challenges of insecurity and violence in the region without these set of people because they are mostly affected.

Tarfa-Ugbe spoke in Abuja at the 2024 First Annual meeting of the ECOWAS Women Peace and Security Regional Steering Group with the theme: “Sustaining the momentum towards monitoring and reporting on women, peace, and security agenda using the continental results framework (CRF).”

She decried that for long the issue of security and peace have been left in the hands of other people while the women, children and youth have been silent, insisting that “it is time for their voices to be heard.”

Tarfa-Ugbe said: “For us as ECOWAS Commission, peace and security is an important pillar of development. And we can’t talk about peace and security without women and children and the youth.

“Part of our work as ECOWAS Commission is to continue to promote the inclusivity of women, children and youth in the peace and security and stability agender of the region.

“We are here with representatives of the 15 members state to report to us on what they are doing and what are the challenges and how we can consolidate on addressing the peace and security issues.

“We don’t want the agenda to be dominated by people who are not affected by the issues.

“Women and children are the ones who are affected by the issue, we want their voices to be heard on the table.

She claimed that the various representations shows how important the meeting was.

The Director said: “Today you can see that the Commissioner Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Sarr, as the representative of the ECOWAS President is here and also the Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye representing the Nigerian government.

“And you know Nigeria is the Chair of ECOWAS and she has demonstrated that she’s ready to push the agenda but not push the agenda as policy talk but an action talk and we will continue that engagement with the members state and Nigeria moving forwar.

On her part, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, Commissioner, Human Development and Social Affairs said the meeting is of critical importance as women play fundamental role in ensuring the sustainability of peace processes and resolutions of conflict.

She said that the meeting is meant to help restrategise and plan for the future

Sarr said: “As we gather here, we are reminded of the critical importance of advancing the women, peace and security agenda in our region, with the understanding that peace and security are fundamental pillar for development and prosperity, and women play an indispensable role in ensuring the sustainability of peace processes and resolutions of conflict.

“In this workshop, we aim not only to exchange knowledge and experience but also to strategize and plan for the future. The continental results framework provide us with a roadmap, a guiding light towards achieving our collective goals in advancing the agenda by aligning our efforts with this framework, we can enhance coordination, cooperation and accountability across Ecowas member states in implementing the WPS agenda

“We must recognize that achieving meaningful progress requires concerted action at all levels from grass roots communities to regional and continental institutions as such, today we have the opportunity to dialogue share knowledge and further build our capacity to overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities in advancing the women peace and security agenda.

“Ladies and gentlemen you will all agree that together we represent a diverse array of backgrounds expertise and perspective, it is this diversity that will enrich our discussion and enable us to explore innovative approach to strategies and address the challenges ahead as we embark on this journey together let us remain mindful of the significance of our task and reaffirm our commitment to promoting the meaningful participation of women in decisions Glenda perspective into all aspects of peace and security initiatives

“The stakes are high but so is our determination let us harness the collective energy and commitment in this room to drive real tangible progress towards a more peaceful inclusive and equitable region for all.”

Nigeria’s Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, on her part, said the present government is ready to work on past policies to improve women situation in the country.

She lamented what women and children are made to face in the country especially in the way their issues are treated by the police, adding that the time has come to change the narrative.

ECOWAS Insists Women, Children Need to be Involved in Peace Building in West Africa