UNICAL expels 45 over exam malpractice

University of Calabar has expelled 45 students for various examination offences during the 2012/2103 session.
The vice chancellor, Professor. James Epoke, who disclosed this while explaining measures adopted to instill discipline in the institution recently, said his administration had zero tolerance for examination malpractice.
He warned that further disciplinary measures could be taken against any member of staff who aides examination malpractice.
Prof. Epoke further disclosed that out of the 45 students, 27 were expelled outright for impersonation, 10 for re-writing examinations at an external satellite centre, one  for submitting fake medical report and another for assaulting lecturer during examination.
Ten other students, he said, were suspended for one year for entering the examination halls with extraneous materials and 9 others also caught with extraneous materials during examination but refused to appear before examination malpractices committee were suspended indefinitely.

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Psychology: A simple trick to improve your memory

(Getty Images)

Want to enhance your memory for facts? Tom Stafford explains a counterintuitive method for retaining information.

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If I asked you to sit down and remember a list of phone numbers or a series of facts, how would you go about it? There’s a fair chance that you’d be doing it wrong.
One of the interesting things about the mind is that even though we all have one, we don't have perfect insight into how to get the best from it. This is in part because of flaws in our ability to think about our own thinking, which is called metacognition. Studying this self-reflective thought process reveals that the human species has mental blind spots.
One area where these blind spots are particularly large is learning. We're actually surprisingly bad at having insight into how we learn best.

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Researchers Jeffrey Karpicke and Henry Roediger III set out to look at one aspect: how testing can consolidate our memory of facts. In their experiment they asked college students to learn pairs of Swahili and English words. So, for example, they had to learn that if they were given the Swahili word 'mashua' the correct response was 'boat'. They could have used the sort of facts you might get on a high-school quiz (e.g. "Who wrote the first computer programs?"/"Ada Lovelace"), but the use of Swahili meant that there was little chance their participants could use any background knowledge to help them learn. After the pairs had all been learnt, there would be a final test a week later.
Now if many of us were revising this list we might study the list, test ourselves and then repeat this cycle, dropping items we got right. This makes studying (and testing) quicker and allows us to focus our effort on the things we haven't yet learnt. It’s a plan that seems to make perfect sense, but it’s a plan that is disastrous if we really want to learn properly.

(Thinkstock)

Karpicke and Roediger asked students to prepare for a test in various ways, and compared their success – for example, one group kept testing themselves on all items without dropping what they were getting right, while another group stopped testing themselves on their correct answers.
On the final exam differences between the groups were dramatic. While dropping items from study didn’t have much of an effect, the people who dropped items from testing performed relatively poorly: they could only remember about 35% of the word pairs, compared to 80% for people who kept testing items after they had learnt them.
It seems the effective way to learn is to practice retrieving items from memory, not trying to cement them in there by further study. Moreover, dropping items entirely from your revision, which is the advice given by many study guides, is wrong. You can stop studying them if you've learnt them, but you should keep testing what you've learnt if you want to remember them at the time of the final exam.

(Thinkstock)

Finally, the researchers had the neat idea of asking their participants how well they would remember what they had learnt. All groups guessed at about 50%. This was a large overestimate for those who dropped items from test (and an underestimate from those who kept testing learnt items).
So it seems that we have a metacognitive blind spot for which revision strategies will work best. Making this a situation where we need to be guided by the evidence, and not our instinct. But the evidence has a moral for teachers as well: there's more to testing than finding out what students know – tests can also help us remember.

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Man faces deportation as UK wife's salary too low

Michael Engel, pictured with his wife Natalie and daughter Nyana, now has 14 days to appeal against the ruling

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A man faces deportation from the UK after a judge said his British wife's salary was not high enough.

Michael Engel, from South Africa, said the "bizarre" immigration system rules were "attacking British citizens".
Mr Engel, a 31-year-old yacht engineer living in Cornwall, said he and wife Natalie plan to go back to South Africa with 18-month-old daughter Nyana.
A Home Office spokesman said the rules were designed to stop foreign spouses becoming reliant on UK taxpayers.
'I'm gobsmacked' The couple were told of the immigration tribunal's ruling after they had appealed on human rights grounds in a bid to protect their family life.

UK top three and bottom three areas average gross full time pay (ONS figures April 2014) - Cornwall was in the lowest 10% of 410 authorities

But under rules introduced in 2012, British citizens who want to bring a foreign spouse to the UK must earn £18,600 a year and a further £3,800 - a total of £22,400 - if the couple have a child.
Mrs Engel's craft-making business made £19,786 in 2014 which was deemed not enough by the tribunal panel, which met on 3 December.
She said the decision made her feel like her family was being "kicked out" of the country.
She said: "I'm gobsmacked, lost for words, angry and deflated. I'm not so proud to be British right now."
Ruling appeal But Judge Michael Wilson, who heard the appeal, said UK taxpayers "should not be expected to have to financially support the appellant in the event of him not obtaining work".
The couple now have 14 days to seek permission to appeal against the ruling.
Mr Engel said: "We did everything in our power to tick all the boxes.
"They are just attacking the wrong people - they are attacking British citizens."
The couple met in 2009 working on a cruise ship and lived in South Africa for four years.
They moved to the UK in January 2013 with Mr Engel on a holiday visa, living first in Yorkshire and then in Cornwall.
In a statement the Home Office said: "Our family rules were brought in to make sure that spouses coming to the UK do not become reliant on the taxpayer for financial support.
"This is fair to applicants and to the rest of the public, and has been upheld by the Court of Appeal."

Michael Engel, his wife Natalie and daughter Nyana, are now awaiting a deportation date

Average gross full time pay in Cornwall was £23,305 for the year ending April 2014, compared with £27,195 for the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Cornwall was in the lowest 10% of 410 authorities that provided figures.
North Cornwall Liberal Democrat MP, Dan Rogerson, said: "The decision is a blow to Michael and Natalie, and to their family and friends.
"We need to make sure that the immigration system lets families in low income areas like ours stay together, whilst at the same time ensuring that people have the financial means to support their spouse if they come to the UK."

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EKSU students threaten war over ASUU strike, fee hike

Peace is a lost treasure at the Ekiti State University. Barely one week after the university resumed, the EKSU chapter of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on a sit-at-home strike over the non-payment of their three months salaries (August, September and October).
As the strike paralysed academic activities of the school, aggrieved students of the university quietly began beating their own war drum over the increment in tuition fees, coupled with the unwillingness of the management to conduct the students’ union election.

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Behold the new Crescent Varsity Vice Chancellor

Prof. Ibraheem Gbajabiamila has been appointed the new Vice Chancellor of Crescent University, Abeokuta. Gbajabiamila ascends the saddle after understudying Prof. Hassan Okeleye, the last Vice Chancellor for close to four years.

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Two students in court over alleged threat to kill lecturer

TWO students of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, who allegedly threatened to kill their lecturer, yesterday appeared before a Yaba Chief Magistrate’s  Court in Lagos.
  The accused- Tayo Ogunyomi, 24, and Kehinde Olaoye, 28, - reside in Yaba and Gbagada areas of Lagos respectively.
  They were arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, breach of public peace and membership of an unlawful society.

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Worry as NYSC exempts 1,360 Bayero varsity graduates from mobilization

FOR reason yet unknown, about 1,360 prospective corps members from the Bayero University, Kano due for the 2014 batch C orientation course scheduled to kick off on November 4 nationwide have been exempted by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). 
The Guardian learnt from the Students Affairs Unit of the university that only 1,921 prospective corps members, less than 65 per cent of the total fresh graduates, made the mobilization list forwarded by the NYSC to the university.
  Going by the development, those affected prospective corps members currently in their late 29 may not be lucky to serve their fatherland.
 A source in the university told The Guardian that a list of 3,821 prospective corps members were sent to NYSC headquarters in September for batch C as requested, out of which 1,360, representing about 40 per cent, were not lucky enough to make the list.
Abubakar Umar, a graduate of Biochemistry, amidst hundreds of affected prospective corps members who now throng the Students Affairs Unit daily, told The Guardian that “most of them are being frustrated after spending five months waiting for the service. Can you imagine that after spending at lease four years in the university, just for us to be mobilized is now a challenge”.
While some of the students blamed the university authorities for the situation which cropped up after completion of the online registration as required by NYSC, others blamed the NYSC which they accused of engaging in inordinate moves to rake undue gains.
It was learnt that the NYSC had compelled the prospective corps members to register online to obtain their personal data after which additional electronic registration is expected for online call-off letter, all amounting to N5,000.
The Deputy Dean, Students Affairs Unit of the university, Dr. Shamsudeen Umar, debunked the allegation against the institution, arguing that the university has fulfilled all righteousness as required by the NYSC.
Shamsudeen said: “The university forwarded names of 3,821 prospective corps members from Bayero university to the NYSC as at when due, only to receive less than 2,000 list of participants. We are so surprised about this development because this is not the tradition.”
Although a recent memo that originated from NYSC and obtained by The Guardian indicated about 730 prospective corps members from the university could not complete their online registration, suggesting why their names did not reflect in the comprehensive list.
But Shamsudeen who maintained most percentage of the affected persons has evidence that they completed the online registration. “I will disagree with the argument of NYSC because most of those that are coming here have the print out of the online registration. So they cannot give such excuse as far as we know

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Kaduna varsity medical students protest against non-accreditation

MEDICAL students of Kaduna State University (KASU) yesterday took to the streets in the metropolis to protest against the non-accreditation of medical courses by the Nigeria University Commission (NUC) years after inauguration of the academic programme in the university.
The protesting students, who blocked the main entrance of the institution were seen carrying placard with various inscriptions such as; “we are tired, accredit our faculty,” “fix Barau Dikko Hospital for our clinicals”, “this protest is the tip of the iceberg,” among many others.

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‘Why I hungered for university education in uk

Interview conducted by Martins Oloja, Abraham Ogbodo and Oluseye Olumide. 
HOW did you feel about some of the big actors and indeed icons within OAU then, including the Tanzanian leader that had already recognised Biafra during the civil war years? How were you managing that situation as some of them were supposed to be Nigeria’s friends? 
You would recall that I could not attend the OAU meetings. At the end of the war, we had the three ‘Rs’ – Reconciliation, Reconstruction & Rehabilitation. We offered our hands of fellowship too to all including those that recognized Biafra then. Kenneth Kaunda certainly regretted it while Julius Nyerere was feeling slightly humiliated. Same situation for Garbon and Ivory Coast, of course, as their representatives acknowledged and we made up. Algeria was to have recognized Biafra on 12 January when the whole thing collapsed. But we had to make it up many years later. That helped us in the end to build ECOWAS

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Sokoto Poly Graduates 21,062, Make Sultan, Tambuwal, Wamakko Fellows

Governor Aliyu Wamakko

By Mohammed Aminu inSokoto

Sokoto State Polytechnic has graduated 21,062 students, being the combined sets of 2001/2002 to 2012/2013 academic sessions, at its maiden convocation ceremony.

It also conferred Fellowships on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal; Governor Aliyu Wamakko; Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and three others.
Speaking during the ceremony in Sokoto on Saturday, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Prof. Bashir Garba, described the maiden convocation as historic as the institution combined 12 academic sessions.

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Deeper Life donates education materials

Reprieve came the way of Opete Community of Udu Council Area weekend when the Deeper Life Bible Church, Delta State headquarters donated education materials as part of the church’s contribution to the community development. Deeper Life State Pastor Obinna Nkemjika made the donation to the Udu Council Chief Inspector of Education, Mr. Michael Ogefere, represented by Mrs. Clara Moritan, Assistant Chief Education Officer on behalf of the church. Njemjika represented by Pastor Elijah Okpigben said that Opete community as the chief host to the Deeper Life High School has been of immense assistance to the Church institution. He stated that aside the donation of 50 desks, books and writing materials for students of the community; the church has earlier donated a water project and N500,000 to the host community.

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‘How some higher institutions frustrate Rotary scholarship scheme’

The District Governor, Rotary District 9110, Rotarian (Dr) Bamidele Balogun, has said that some Nigerian Universities and Colleges of Education are frustrating the effort of the club towards assisting brilliant but indigent students in the higher institutions.
Speaking recently during the presentation of scholarship awards to students who won scholarships through the District 9110 Education &Welfare Endowment Fund (DEWEF), Balogun said that since the establishment of DEWEF about 16 students have benefited from the fund, between 2009 and 2014.
He said further that for any student to benefit from the fund, he or she must be brilliant, indigent and must be in 200 Level in any University or College of Education in Lagos and Ogun State. “We want to help by giving out scholarships through DEWEF but each time we reach out to the Dean of Faculty or Head of Department to furnish us with information about brilliant and indigent students in their departments, they neither reply nor get back to us and this is very frustrating,” Balogun stressed.

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Lagos Battle Ready For Ebola As Schools Resume October 8

THE Lagos State government is already distributing the necessary facilities such as soap, basins for students to wash their hands, gloves and thermometers to schools to prevent the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) prior to the resumption of primary and secondary schools in the state on October 8. 
    Chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Lagos State Wing, Comrade Adesegun Raheem said that the agitation has always that the state government, particularly the state Ministry of Education, should comply with the agreement they had with the Minister of Education, Mr Ibrahim Shekarau, which is the basis upon which schools should resume.

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ISSUES RELATED TO SPECIAL EDUCATION: PART ONE

There are various issues related to Special Education, but three of those issues are very essential for parents and teachers to be conscious of. These issues are as follows:

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Universities, poly allay fears, say: We are prepared to tackle Ebola outbreak on campus

Efforts to keep the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) at bay was reinforced at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) recently, as principal officers of the university and guests attending senate meeting were screened by health officials. At a special senate session held in honour of the late Emeritus Jacob Festus Ade Ajayi, senate members and dignitaries were meticulously screened by health officials, who stood sentry at the gate of the Senate Chambers. 

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Universities, poly allay fears, say: We are prepared to tackle Ebola outbreak on campus

Efforts to keep the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) at bay was reinforced at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) recently, as principal officers of the university and guests attending senate meeting were screened by health officials. At a special senate session held in honour of the late Emeritus Jacob Festus Ade Ajayi, senate members and dignitaries were meticulously screened by health officials, who stood sentry at the gate of the Senate Chambers. 

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