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By Adedapo Adesanya
The European Union (EU) has offered postgraduate scholarships to over 200 young Nigerians in top European universities under its flagship educational programme, Erasmus+.
The figure represents a steep increase from the number of Nigerians that benefited from the initiative last year. The number of Nigerians selected for the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Degree Scholarships has quadrupled in the last four years, rising from 44 awardees in 2019; 93 in 2020; 133 in 2021 to the record number of over 200 awardees in 2022.
It also places Nigeria second among countries with the highest number of students selected for the prestigious programme in 2022 – coming only after Pakistan.
From the ninth position in 2020 and sixth in 2021, the country now has the second highest number of beneficiaries globally, leaving behind countries like Bangladesh, Brazil, India and Mexico in the top bracket of countries with the most awardees globally. Over 730 Nigerians have benefitted from the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree since 2004.
Each scholarship awardee will, on successful completion of the programme, receive a master’s degree to be jointly awarded by a consortium of universities, in the framework of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters programme – a key component of Erasmus+.
The Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters are high-level and integrated study programmes at the master’s level, delivered by an international partnership of higher education institutions.
The studies will run for 12-24 months and will see each beneficiary studying in at least three different universities in as many countries during the duration of the programme.
The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Samuela Isopi, said the steep rise in the number of Nigerians benefiting from the programme in recent years reflects the premium the EU places on its partnership with the country.
She also reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to ramping up programmes and activities targeting Nigeria’s vibrant young people.
“The Erasmus+ programme is an example of the great cooperation we have with Nigeria, and reflects the EU’s commitment to widening the space and increasing opportunities for young Nigerians to actualise their dreams and play their role in contributing to the development of their country,” Ms Isopi said.
According to her, the gesture exemplifies regular migration opportunities for ordinary Nigerians to travel abroad based on their capacity, merit and abilities in their respective fields.
“With the increased number of opportunities, I hope that in the coming years, even more Nigerian students and Higher Education Institutions can benefit from this programme,” Ambassador Isopi stated.
The Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Programme is open to applicants worldwide, and scholarships are offered to the best-ranked applicants from all over the world.
DLM Capital Introduces Child Education Plan
Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.
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By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A Child Education Plan aimed to provide parents and guardians with an easy and appropriate way to handle the burdens of tuition payment through efficient planning and long-term investments has been launched by DLM Asset Management, a DLM Capital Group subsidiary.
The initiative aligns with the firm’s commitment to providing opportunities for parents/guardians to secure the education of their children or wards through effective planning and sustainable investments.
The product is a suitable and flexible investment plan that enables parents/guardians to plan and fund their children’s education from kindergarten to tertiary levels.
The DLM Child Education Plan allows parents to plan and invest in their children’s education on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis.
According to the company, the Child Education Plan also allows investors to tailor their plans based on their specific needs or situations.
The DLM Child Education Plan is divided into the Silver plan, which requires a minimum of N20,000 per time, the Gold plan, which requires a minimum of N100,000 per time, and the Platinum plan, which requires a minimum of N250,000 per time.
Furthermore, the DLM Child Education Plan provides the option of working with an advisor who will provide relevant and useful information while guiding the client through the entire planning process.
Speaking about the new product, Mr George Aniegbunem, Head DLM Asset Management, stated, “Despite the recent economic meltdown, most parents and guardians will agree that the importance of education cannot be overstated.”
“As a result, the DLM Child Education Plan was implemented to provide a sustainable and dependable plan for funding a child’s education at all levels of education (mostly primary, secondary, and tertiary levels).
“Indeed, the current economic situation and high inflation rate have put tremendous strain on many families; thus, we are here to help with strategies that would provide a suitable plan, financial literacy, and the ease of funding children’s education in a seamless manner,” Mr Aniegbunem added.
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By Gift Adango
The University of Calabar (UNICAL), located in coastal Calabar Municipal, an ancient city with a long tradition of culture and contact with western civilization, is a second-generation federal university in Nigeria.
Founded in 1975 under the National Higher Education Expansion Programme of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria, the university has grown to become one of the best-ranked universities in Nigeria and the 65th best-ranked university in Africa from just 896 students in 1976.
International organisations, including the United Nations (UN), have been advocating for universities to adopt the National Gender Policy, the policy represents a set of minimum standards expected of the Nigerian government to meet its mandate for gender equality, good governance, accountability, and being socially responsive to the needs of its vulnerable group.
The University of Calabar has been leading the pack of Nigerian universities as it is set to adopt the gender policy. The UNICAL Senate is poised to give the policy the green light once the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike is suspended.
The draft policy has been at the senate before the commencement of the strike action. Apart from the gender policy, the University of Calabar is one of the few which has gender-equal management in the country and Africa at large.
The Women in Leadership Positions at the University of Calabar
The Vice-Chancellor
Professor Florence Banku Obi hails from Boki local government area in Cross River State. She began her academic career as an Assistant Lecturer at the Institute of Education, the University of Calabar in March 1990.
Two years after her appointment, with her utmost desire to foster a bold and innovative spirit in faculty teaching and academic excellence, she won a 6-month postgraduate scholarship to Jordan-Hill College of Education, Glasgow, Scotland, under the World University Service (WUS) World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) in a keenly contested interview for staff of the Institute of Education. On her return from the United Kingdom, she was placed in charge of the WWF/NCF-funded schools and Community Education Programmes. She subsequently facilitated the development of the degree program in Environmental Education at the university, which has since resulted in the establishment of a full-fledged and flourishing Department of Environmental Education.
Professor Florence Banku biography further entails how she rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Special Needs Education in 2007. As Dean, she pioneered the take-off of 22 affiliate programs of the Federal College of Education, Obudu, Cross River State, and the Federal College of Education, Kastina-Ala, Benue State to the faculty of Education of the University of Calabar. Following her credibility, integrity, and commitment to service, she was voted as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) by the University Senate. As DVC Academics, she was also a member of the university governing council, where she brought her wealth of experience to bear on the growth and development of the university.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics)
Angela Ekanem Oyo-Ita, a Professor of Community Medicine and a former Commissioner for Health of Cross River State is the head of the academic activities at UNICAL. She is responsible for ensuring effective and efficient academic staff development as well as ensuring the effective academic development of students. Professor Angela is also a Fellow of the West African College of Physicians (Community Health). She has served in several capacities at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.
The University Librarian
Professor Aniebiet Inyang Ntui is an Associate of the European Union Research Initiative – Europeana, the University of the West of Scotland’s Centre for African Research on Enterprise and Economic Development and the University of Glasgow’s UK-COP 26 Universities Climate Network. She has served as a Consultant of Information Management to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank.
Recently suggested by an Op-Ed as one of the possible candidates to serve as the Minister of Education in the Peter Obi-led administration if he can successfully win the February 2023 poll. She is one of the most read researchers in Nigeria, according to statistics on the Web of Science Site, with over 500,000 reads on the ResearchGate Portal.
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By Jerome-Mario Chijioke Utomi
As a background to this piece, it is important to underline that this author would be the very last person to insinuate that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, the Governor of Delta State, has not done good things as that would be a lie from the pit of hell.
Aside from demonstrating this fact in my previous opinion articles, commentaries and interventions which favoured or supported policies, actions, inactions and decisions of the Delta State government, I have recently argued that he (the Governor) is eminently qualified to be the nation’s Vice President and would stupendously perform if a such feat is achieved.
However, like every media professional, this piece will continue to support the fundamental needs of the state and the positive purpose of the elected government if such policies by the state actors will not in any way dent or obstruct the people from becoming keen to acquire skills and disciplines of developed nations, it will not support a policy/action based on sentiment or allow sentiment to determine its judgments.
A typical example of such an exception is the pictures of the sorry state of Oyoko Primary School, Abavo, Ika South Local Government Area of the state currently in circulation.
The disturbing pictures showed visibly distressed structures, and dilapidated classrooms laced with fallen ceilings, windows and doors. Going by the pictures and accompanying commentaries, it cannot be characterized as an overstatement to describe such a ‘scene’ as deplorable, dehumanizing, troubling, in bad light bracingly in contravention of international best standards and most importantly, a reality that all well-meaning Deltans including our dear Governor should worry about.
Paradoxically, within this period, I have had the unfortunate opportunity to read many commentaries underlining that this is not the time to hold our state government accountable for such an ugly scenario as the responsibility of the primary schools and primary education in the state falls within the preview of the local government authority. To others, the only remedy for this problem is simply to encourage parents to accept fate as across the world, education is neither easy nor cheap to fund.
Without a doubt, Okowa has done appreciably well for the sector. Take, as an illustration, Delta State under Governor Okowa’s first term in office witnessed the renovation/reconstruction/construction of over 5,000 classrooms. He also incubated, nurtured and brought into existence three healthy universities to cater for the academic yearnings of the people of the state.
Evidence also abounds that as a result of the work of the Technical and Vocational Education Board in conjunction with the supervising Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education in the state, six technical colleges in Agbor, Sapele, Ofagbe, Utagba-Ogbe, Ogor and Issele-Uku have been fully rehabilitated, well equipped and fully functional.
Consequently, Delta is the first state in the country to have all of the courses offered by its technical colleges accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
These efforts notwithstanding, the truth is that the state leadership is bound to face confusion in their minds and may not be able to finish strong as presently envisaged if they allow this present reality at Oyoko and other schools to flourish unaddressed.
For me, I think the Oyoko primary school saga was avoidable if only the government’s attention was drawn to it by those who should know.
Another urgent reason why the state government needs to intervene, reassess this process and address the present injustice is the hidden awareness that the Oyoko experience may be one out of many other numerous sad commentaries in the state. While the Oyoko case exists in the open, many others may in a covert/subtle manner be in that condition. If the Oyoko experience is a challenge, others may be a challenge.
More touchingly, that such a ‘learning environment’ still exists in the state could be considered a sure sign that the state did not learn any lesson from the ghastly experience recorded a few years ago at Okotie Eboh Primary school, Sapele area of the state or may have allowed such experience go with political winds.
Surely, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that our schools work and our children are properly educated at the right time. But in this particular case, if the state fails to do the needful, it will again dispatch another sign of a people unmindful of the fact that our children enjoy the right to education as recognized by a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to develop secondary education accessible to all, as well as the progressive introduction of free higher education/obligation to develop equitable access to higher education.
Most importantly, not taking action to address the situation will simply mean our youths/nation by extension is faced with a bleak future.
Utomi Jerome-Mario is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), a Lagos-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). He can be reached via Jeromeutomi@yahoo.com/08032725374
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