Education

Akam Ibiam Poly Lecturer renounces Nigerian citizenship, writes Buhari

Published

6 years ago

April 16, 2018

Mr Victor Koreyo, Lecturer, Department of Ceramics and Glass Technology, Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana, Afikpo, Ebonyi, has declared intention to renounce his Nigerian citizenship for what he called social injustice.

Koreyo in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said he was demoted for a period of eight years by the management of the institution and urged the President to endorse his request.

NAN discovered that a directive was given by the Federal Government in 2007 directing all lecturers to produce additional qualification relevant to the job they do.

It was gathered that the 7th Governing Council of the institution gave Koreyo two years to produce a foreign institution master degree in Ceramic Science and Engineering or he would be dismissed from service.

Koreyo from Nasarawa State, said that the management of the polytechnic refused to communicate the information to him in written.

He alleged that since 2010 till date, the institutions had refused to approve his application for staff development opportunity because the Igbo constituted principal officers in the school.

He also said that several communications to the institution from the Head of Service of the Federation (HOSF), Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Servicom and host of others, on the issue was in his favour for reinstatement.

Koreyo also accused the ministry of Education for allegedly writing a counter-directive letter to the rector to disregard the government directives issued by the HOSF and AGF.

According to him, this is social injustice that is not in line with the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“I love to continue as citizen of this great nation on earth.

“But since I do not have the financial power or connection to challenge the Rector to obey the Federal Government’s directives in my favour, I decided to take this peaceful action.

“I believe this peaceful action and step of honour will prevent the rector from killing me by premeditated frustration of my constitutional rights to social justice as the citizen of Nigeria.

“I have nursed this feeling of suicide to end these eight years of frustration by the Rector and officials of the Akani Ibiam Polytechnic division of tertiary education department of the Federal Ministry of Education.

“And have decided the renunciation of my citizenship by birth will be the best way to peacefully end my quest for social justice at the ministry of education and finally resign from Federal Public Service of Nigeria,” he said.

However, a staff of the ministry of education told NAN, on condition of anonymity, said that the ministry was already looking into the matter.

According to him, the matter is also before the newly constituted council of the institution.

He urged Koreyo to be patient as the new council would resolve the problem.

“I just got to know that the new council was already handling the matter and it is a national issue.

“The Federal Government has constituted a body to look into this problem because it is a general problem and not peculiar to him alone.

“A directive was given to some staff to go and acquire more knowledge and those that brought their master degrees in relevant disciplines were upgraded.

“But in his own case, where he got his masters is not relevant and is not in line as at that time.

“I want to say that the matter is before the new council so he should exercise patient,” the Ministry source told NAN.

Meanwhile, the authorities of Akanu Ibiam Federal polytechnic, Uwana in Afikpo noted that the decision of the institution was in compliance with the directive of National Board for Technical Education (NBTE),

Dr Edmond Oyeneho, a former chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Akanu Ibiam Federal polytechnic, Uwana chapter, told NAN in Afikpo that the institution was acting on instruction.

According to him, NBTE in 2007 introduced a policy aimed at ending the dichotomy between polytechnic and University education in Nigeria.

He said the policy, which upgraded the course content of Polytechnic education to be at par with University education, also mandated lecturers in Polytechnics without Master degrees in their core areas to upgrade.

He explained that the policy took about three years before its implementation started across Polytechnics in Nigeria.

He noted that many lecturers in the polytechnic system, who had fallen short of the new requirements had to enroll for either Master in Science or Master in Arts degrees programmes in their core areas.

“At the expiration of the three years grace period all Polytechnics in Nigeria including Uwana implemented the policy by demoting all lecturers in the system without Master’s in their core areas to lecturer 1.

“Those who went and remedied their situation came back and were reinstated to their former positions.

“Koreyo was therefore in line with the policy demoted from the senior lecturer position he previously occupied to lecturer 1 because of his failure to upgrade his situation.

“He is a lecturer in the department of Ceramics and Glass Geology but he went to Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), to do a Master degree programme in Management Project and was awarded Master Business Administration (MBA).

“The academic programme did not fulfill the NBTE requirement because MBA is a professional programme, while Master of Science (M.Sc) is an academic qualification required to teach in Polytechnics and universities,” Oyeneho said.

Oyeneho, a senior lecturer in the Department of Public Administration and Director, Internally Generated Revenue in the institution, criticised Koreyo’s threat to denounce his Nigerian citizenship.

He said that the institution would not be blackmailed and forced to reinstate him to his former position in disregard to existing policy direction.

“He is not alone in the situation and it will be a disobedience to existing NBTE policy to isolate him for preferential treatment.

“The MSc programme was sponsored by TETFUND with N5 million study grant and affected lecturers receive their full monthly salary throughout the duration of the academic programme,” he added. (NAN)

Education

Federal Government Sets To Commence School-To-Work Scheme

Published

2 weeks ago

May 3, 2024

Alice Ginika Simon

The Federal Government says plans are underway to launch a school-to-work scheme to enable youths to become productive and self-employed.

The Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Hamid Bobboyi disclosed this in Abuja during a meeting with Commissioners of Education, Executive State and FCT Universal Basic Chairmen, Education Boards and UBEC on the School-to-Work Scheme.

Bobboyi in his keynote address, disclosed that the target group for the scheme are learners in the junior secondary schools. He added that it will provide them the opportunity to detect early in life where their talents and potential lie, between academic pursuit and vocational skills development.

Explaining how the Scheme will run, the UBEC Boss stated that it is structured to provide at least six months training, broken into two months per year of study in the junior secondary school.

Also speaking, the Director Basic Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Folake Davies, stated that the Scheme which is inline with the road map policy of the ministry, is designed to provide youths with the requisite experience necessary to excel whenever they find themselves in the working environment.

The Director, who was represented by Rose Onoja stated that only collaborative effort from the Federal, State, and Local Government levels and active involvement from the private sector will make the implementation of the program successful. Liberate actions to mitigate the living conditions of their constituents.

Education

Fake University Degree Holders Soon To Be Fished Out And Arrested – Minister Of Education Announces

Published

2 months ago

April 3, 2024

Alice Ginika Simon

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on Tuesday, said security agencies will go after individuals with fake university certificates in the country.

According to the minister, the individuals will be tracked after the committee set up by the Federal Government to investigate the activities of university certificate racketeers in the country submits its report.

The Federal Government had set up an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers following an investigative report published by Daily Nigerian which exposed the activities of degree mills in the Benin Republic.

The investigative report, which exposed the illegalities perpetrated by some tertiary institutions in the West African countries, led to the Nigerian government placing a ban on the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo.

The committee set up by the Federal Government was also tasked with investigating Nigerian private universities established in the last 15 years. Recently, the committee invited memoranda from the public. Selected members of the committee also visited institutions in the Benin Republic.

While speaking at the first quarterly citizens engagement in Abuja on Tuesday, the education minister, Mamman, said;

“On the issue of the fake degrees, we set up a committee and we expect them to submit their reports soon. Once the report is submitted, I can assure you that individuals with fake certificates will be apprehended. They will be tracked by security agencies.”

Also speaking at the engagement, the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu, noted that the quarterly citizenship engagement was aimed at creating awareness of the activities of the ministry.

He noted that the engagement would “ also promote mutual understanding with stakeholders and citizens, build and sustain public trust, and improve transparency and accountability in the sector.”

“Worthy of mention is that this engagement also aims to improve efficiency and streamline government operations by identifying and addressing bottlenecks,” Sununu said.

Education

Stakeholders Head To Enugu For First South East Educators Conference

Published

2 months ago

March 16, 2024

Alice Ginika Simon

Stakeholders in the education circle are warming up for the maiden edition of Southeast Educators’ Conference 2024(SEEC’24).

The two-day SEEC’24 scheduled to hold 18th & 19th, April 2024 at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu under theme: Future-‘Focused Learning – Igniting the Competitive Edge’

Promises to host key players in the education sector with a potential attendance of over 500 delegates.
The conference will feature a diverse lineup of speakers, covering topics ranging from holistic learning approaches to cutting-edge technology integration.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Mrs Doris Chinedu-Okoro,CEO, Evergreen Group, said SEEC’24 is the first of its kind in the Southeast region, presenting a historic opportunity for stakeholders to pioneer positive change in the local education sector.
“It brings together diverse perspectives and innovative ideas,fostering collaboration and networking among educators and stakeholders.
Hundreds of delegates will be in attendance.
“SEEC’24 is dedicated to exploring transformative practices, emphasising holistic learning, technology integration, globalcitizenship, life-long learning, and community engagement”, she said.

Mr. Osita Chidioka, the former Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, who recently launched an online mentorship and leadership programme for Nigerian youths named Mekaria Mentorship Programme (MMP) Foundation Course, will deliver the keynote at SEEC’24.

Prof. Pieter Verdegem; Dr. Joy Isa, Mrs. Bukola Adewuiyi, Lady Uju Dike, Fr. John Njorteah, Alex Onyia, Rotimi Eyitayo, Rhoda Odigboh, Elfrida Diete-Spiff Omole, Dr. ChibuezeLawrence Ofobuike, Ify Obidi-Essien, Dr. Abimbola Ogundere, Angelina Ikeako, Odetola Ebenezer Israel and OgochukwuOnyia, are some of the speakers lined up for the event.

The Evergreen Group CEO added that the conference thrives on a vision to create a dynamic platform that equips educators with the tools and knowledge needed to make a lasting impact on the educational landscape of South-Eastern Nigeria.

SEEC’24 is open to School Owners, Heads of Schools (Public and Private), Educational Stakeholders, Counselors, Teachers, Parents, Investors, Startups, and others in the education ecosystem.
“Participants will have the opportunity to engage in two full days of conference sessions, diving deep into the future of Education.
“There will be ample networking opportunities with school leaders from across the geopolitical zone and beyond.
“The evening Gala Night promises a delightful atmosphere for dancing, dining, wining, and fostering deeper connections in a relaxed setting”, she further explained.

Registration is N100,000 via: https://bit.ly/3uTcv9e