CHOICES AND DECISIONS

Character is what you do when no one is looking

H. Jackson Brown 

 

 There's a popular saying that I love very much, it is "You are what you eat". When someone eats something, it doesn't always mean eating food for sustenance. For the purpose of this article, let us define eating as 'taking something in'.

In our society today, there are various foods to choose from; I want to talk about our entertainment meal. There are so many new acts like D'banj and Wizkid and Iyanya and Davido and Terry G and so many of them. These acts make music for us youths which we play sometimes daily, on our phones, in parties, on the road. But what do these musicians teach us, and what does their music say?

DSTV launches Children's Club... FG moves to tackle unemployment with UNEDEP

This week, Teachers Council reiterates commitment to professionalism  "Hoodlums have taken over our schools" ,  students lament..Foundation urges support for education . Educationist calls for public and private sector partnership on primary education , FG moves to tackle youth unemployment with UNEDEP.  "Don't emulate corrupt leaders," Youths are told

An (Almost Complete) Guide To The Fantastic Digital Kingdom of Twitter

STAY IN THE NEWS: Whenever I spew a bit of news the moment it breaks, people around me are like “Where did you hear that?” and I’m like “Twitter, duh.” The mammoths of the journalism industry (@CNN, @AP) always break news on the spot with tweets. Unlike in the past (BT: Before Twitter), when people would hear whiffs of unconfirmed news and have to wait hours before the next newspaper was rolled out of the press or before the next news-reading occurred, news breaks instantly.

Plight of the Nigerian Child; are we doing enough?

In the news, PUNCH features an interview session with 4 kids to celebrate this year's children's day, also features an opinion calling for effective intervention in the plight of street children and yet another discussing 'hungry pupils' in Lagos public schools,

CHANNELS airs a Nigerian child urging government to stop corporal punishment in schools perhaps in the true spirit of celebrating the Nigerian child. There's a debate covered by the PUNCH on government's proposed ban on Almajiri system of education.

THISDAY has a story hinting that any moment from now Teachers in 18 states of the federation will embark on strike action, meanwhile, Vice-President Sambo has affirmed the completion of more Almajiri schools despite calls from the Senate to ban the school system.

ON SKILL ACQUISITION

                                                                                                         The best things in life are free           
                                                                                                                                      -Unknown

If you have ever read the Christian bible or gone to Sunday school often, you must have come across the parable of the talents. In this parable, a master gives three of his servants 'talents' before he goes on a trip. The first servant gets a number of talents, the second got less and the last servant got just one. The first and second servants went out and sowed their talents and acquired more while the servant with one talent buried his in the ground so it did not get lost.

9Jeducation Freebies...

Win Free Movie Tickets

9jeducation gives out movie tickets weekly during our Trivia Thursday Session on Twitter and Facebook. To stand a chance to win you have to follow us on Twitter and Like 9jeducation on Facebook as winners would be announced on these pages....

Shutter Photo Competition

 We all love to express ourselves, so 9jeducation is bringing to the Nigerian youth the platform to express themselves through pictures! Simply take a picture that best describes your thoughts on Education in Nigeria.... You should be as creative as possible to increase your chances of winning the competition. An Android 4.0 Phone is up for grabs!!!!! 

Photos should be sent to entries@9jeducation.org . Watch our Twitter and Facebook pages and make sure you get your friends to Like/Retweet  your photo on our pages to increase your chances of winning.

Dr. Okogie makes a case for the establishment of E-libraries, Nigerians make up 60% of AIT students...

South African University makes indigenous language compulsory for all students, as  Regularization policy causes students to protest in OOU .

The National Open University of Nigeria undertakes it 9th matriculation. Making a case for e-learning,

Ekiti State Varsity to re-open, FG endorses Local learning software

In the news, Channels report that Ekiti State University administrators have agreed to re-open the school but under stringent conditions, PUNCH monitored an interview where UNILORIN VC canvassed for the establishment of more universities also featured an opinion that says Higher Institutions run fraudulent programs meanwhile it has a story about a fake Professor been nabbed by ICPC for illegally operating a University.

SUBEB boss blames teachers for decline in educational standards, Nigerian Students stranded in Russia....

Cross River State SUBEB boss blames teachers for the decline in the quality of education in the state, as Airtel gives Osun school a facelift .Olu of Ilaro tasks LG councils on improvement of primary education . Director of Dansol High School encourages parents to teach their kids indigenous languages .

 "Vocational Training would end unemployment in Nigeria" . Rivers State comes out tops in UBEC awards,

Reckoning Days for illegal University operators, Lagos ban Hijab other appendages in schools

TERTIARY EDUCATION NEWS:
From the dailies today, PUNCH reports ICPC's clampdown on illegal Universities in Nigeria, also features a piece on the success or otherwise that could befall operations of the proposed Nigeria Education Bank which will grant zero-interest loans to indigent students. CHANNELS has a story where Ekiti University VC denied any increment in school fees just as University of Ibadan enters into partnership with University of Witwatersrand.
Meanwhile, Nigeria's House of Representative has intervened to sort the predicament of Nigerian students studying abroad being owed allowances by the Federal government.

PRIMARY/POST-PRIMARY NEWS:
From the PUNCH is a story on the arrest of a secondary school teacher accused of fondling his student, also  has an opinion piece canvassing an end to corporal punishment in schools

RE: Intel: Create Your Own Tomorrow

Intel, a leading Information Technology company recently hosted students of the University of Lagos to a mentoring  and entrepreneurship session to empower them in creating their future. The event was tagged 'Create Your Tomorrow' was organized with the sole purpose of advising and motivating the students and had as its guest speaker music sensation, Bankole Wellington popularly known as Banky W.

UNESCO, Rainbow, Set for World Book Capital...

UNESCO, Rainbow, set for world book capital, as LASG rejects wearing of Hijab in public schools ; LSJA to hold school competitions, while

A Place Called Freedom

                                   We are all gifted and unique in our own different way

                                                                         Tu Face Idibia: See Me As Your Brother

When we are born, the majority of us are born to names; from one name to ten or however many our parents choose to give us or depending on the number of relatives we have. We are born to families we had no choice over and we are born to different origins and backgrounds. We are born with differences; from our siblings if we have any, from our friends, from our neighbors, from our school-mates, from our parents, from everybody; which is not to say we do not have our similarities per se, but that is not the focus of this article.

"We Are Not Deterred by Boko Haram- NYSC Lagos State Coordinator; UNIABUJA VC accuses lecturers of pursuing personal interest....

NISLT warns against employing uncertified lab technologists, as OAU appoints new Bursar, Registrar. Ex-Presidential Aide makes a case for Nigerian Varsities;

Oyo State Governor tasks Educationist to be proactive, African Developers listed in Ericsson Awards, Exercise Books Now Weapons of Mass Destruction....

In the news today, Oyo State Governor admonishes educationists to be more proactive, as his counterpart in Ogun State tasks Learn Africa on the quality of books they produce. Niger State declares a total of 15bn as expenditure on free education for the past 6years, while JAMB assures that results yet to be cleared would be taken care of by Friday . Access international School takes on the repair of bad portions of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway , as the ICPC proceeds to probe 67 illegal Universities in the country. Lagos set to name the Power Kid for 2013;

Daybreak

"Do not let mercy and truth forsake you, tie them around your neck; write them on the table of your heart: So shall you find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man".
                      -The book of Proverbs: The Christian Bible


"Examinations are not a true test of intelligence". Throughout my life, I have heard that particular sentence from the mouths of several persons including myself. Before we proceed further, let us define what an examination is:
"Inspection: the process of looking at and considering something carefully with the idea of learning something" From Microsoft Encarta
That said, if one is supposed to 'learn' something from an examination, why then are our examinations the way they are and do they truly test our knowledge?

Nigerian Child Education: are we Progressing or Retrogressing?

Kids run out of classroom

Primary Pupils News:

On the PMNews is a story discussing a UNESCO report that "one out of every five out-of-school children in the world is Nigerian"! This fact that the average Nigerian child is not given adequate access to education could perhaps be corroborated with a report by Thisday that Primary school teachers in Sokoto state are protesting 'Non payment of their three months salary'.

"No hike in tuition fees"- Babcock VC, Making a case for Basic Education in Nigeria.

Babcock VC denies the hike in tuition fees, as Oyo state Governor boasts that the Oyo Technical University would be the best in Nigeria. . ESUT VC decries the politics that affect University rankings in Nigeria .

Fully Funded Scholarship Programs for Students in Nigeria

Most students desire to further their education outside the country, and in most cases, the funds are not available to pursue such a feat. There are a few scholarships sponsored by various bodies that provide complete funding for applicants who have been accepted into programmes in schools of their choice in the countries where these scholarships exist

. A few of them are as follows:

Government Funded Scholarships

• UK Commonwealth Shared Scholarships Scheme : This is a joint scholarship scheme put together by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and UK

ICT, way forward to advance education in Nigeria.

PUNCH has remarks by OSUN deputy Governor that "Opon Imo" which are tablet computers adapted into textbooks for senior secondary school students in her state will be powered by solar energy, Opon Imo debuts at a time the Joint Admission and Matriculation board (JAMB) successfully piloted its first UTME computer based testing also known as CBT at the Chams City, also Ekiti state is partnering Procentric IQ in delivering electronic learning solutions to 100,000 students and 18,000 teachers in the state, foremost business mogul Mr Jim Ovia demonstrated philanthropy as he donated about 1,000 hi-speed internet enabled mobile devices and laptops to youths, strongly canvassing ICT penetration in both business and educational spheres in Nigeria. Meanwhile, a new mobile application to score melody and share it has been developed.

Visual Aids and Teaching

           “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates.The great teacher inspires.”
                                                                 ― William Arthur Ward

Teaching is an essential part of the life of every human. Whether at home or at school, or on the streets, one can safely say every human being has been taught in one form or the other. The process of imparting knowledge is indeed a never ending one. As a child, knowledge is imparted to one from parents, and then trained teachers. As we evolve, we begin to impart knowledge in one way or the other in a bid to share what we know. The focal point of this write up however is the profession of teaching as it affects the growth of the Nigerian child/youth.

UTME not foolproof - Uni Ibadan VC; Quality University Education: Affordable in Nigeria?

Kenneth Dike Library, UI, Ibadan

The PUNCH reports that University of Ibadan has attributed reduction in school dropout rate to post-JAMB screening exercises conducted for new entrants just as 2013 UTME results have been released and JAMB says this years results are better than the 2012 edition even as it announced withholding 80,419 candidates' results and invalidating 40,692 more. THISDAY has an article that advises on regional integration in addressing university admission shortage.

JAMB releases 2013 UTME results. Ibori: from Governor to Convict, FG in tussle with Amaechi, Artistes with College Education and More....

House to probe NNPC oil deals , as Ibori loses bid for early release from UK prison. Hajia Turai Yar'adua floors Patience Jonathan in Land Dispute ruling; the feud between the FG and Governor Amaechi deepens, as FG moves to charge Rivers State for Forgery ).

Racing to Develop ICT Capacity in Nigeria.

In the news, GSM Operator Etisalat Nigeria partners with EDC of the Pan African University to develop E-learning Solutions to empower Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nigeria according to a Thisday story just as Channels TV reports the launch of Nigeria's first online university by a young entrepreneur by the name Gossy Ukanwoke. Still on ICT development, Procentric IQ is to deliver e-learning solutions to about  100,000 primary and secondary school students in Ekiti state, Rep Dabiri-Erewa seeks more roles for girls in ICT development, all this from Thisday.

The Smartphone and Mobile Internet: Friend or Foe for the Nigerian Youth

       The calamity therein is not in never reaching the stars but in having no stars to reach

                                                                  -Martin Luther King Jr.

In recent years we have seen a quantum leap in the caliber, usage and functions of mobile phones and electronic devices. From around the time GSMs came to Nigeria in about 2003 or thereabouts, the usage of and demand for such devices has been very great. In 2003, we saw the "green light" phones, Nokia 3310 and the likes; from around 2004/2005, we saw the "fluorescent light" phones in the likes of Nokia 2100 and the Bird phones; at around 2006/2007, we saw the "color screen" and "camera" phones in the likes of Nokia 3500, Sony Ericsson K700s and 750s and the likes; and finally at around 2008/2009 the first smartphones were being used remotely in Nigeria in the likes of Blackberry Tour and Javelin and