₦airaland Forum

@Danosh, Please I would like to meet this Daniel guy, seriously. Is it possible to link me up with him since you know him personally?

Federal Government Girls' College Benin - FEDIBEN - 1996 set

1. Buy Brighter Grammar Books 1-4 (published by Longman) you would be surprised how much you would learn about using the parts of speech.

2. You could also go to schools that specialise in teaching people to read and write and speak English properly. I think there is one at the Maryland Complex on Ikorodu Road (around Idiroko Bus stop).

3. Buy a good dictionary and thesaurus - complete with CD ROM versions so you can install on your computer. Some online dictionaries come with pronunciations so as you check up a word, you can also know how to properly pronounce it.

4. Read good novels - as others have advised. You don't have to spend a fortune buying them. At Ikeja, Oshodi, Ojuelegba, Yaba and other places, you'll see vendors displaying second hand books. Search properly and you would get good ones. I would advice you to go for classics.

All the best

akp:
Please does Unilag enrol HND holder who have upper credit with work exprienc for MBA?

I think UNILAG allow HND Holders with Upper Credit to do MBA. Give it a try. Cheers.

ferdiii:
If it has been: please does Unilag enrol HND holders who have upper credit with work experience for MBA? I bet there would have been floodgate of good responses. I guess some folks are sick of wrong grammar here!

Ferdii, I'm not sure it's because of his grammar that people have not flooded responses to his query. He just missed an 's' and 'e'. Please be more sensitive. Even the best writers make mistakes if they write in a hurry.
I'm sure you don't have the answer to his query. If you do, respond

What is your desire for the Nigerian Education system in 2008?

Let me state mine:

I wish/pray/desire/hope that in 2008

- Education administrators would be less corrupt
- Malpractice would be a thing of the past
- Learning would be more fun in schools
and
- School content would be more relevant in the job market

Pls state yours

I think students should have the following in order of priority

1. Money (for fees, levies, textbooks)
2. Foodstuff (to survive when funds for eating out runs out)
3. School bag, note books and texts books (what's the point being in school without them?)
4. Good friends who will help you get to where you're going
5. Focus so you don't get carried away by the 'in' things (like using an expensive phone, wearing designer t-shirts and hanging out with the big guys)

OND is the old acronym. The NBTE has abandoned its use in favour of just ND which is National Diploma. It is likely your friend's result is way back that is why it is still reading OND instead of ND. But if it is recent, then his school is not up to date.
But i think the bank just had to eliminate one name that was why they removed his.

fedibengal:
ladykay could you email me please. i want to ask u for more info.
thanks

Hello fedibengal, pls send me your email address, and, if u don't mind, what info do u want me to include in the mail? mine is kofosagie@yahoo.com

JAMB is conducted in the UK. Find out from the board about the venue. i believe it is possible.

I think NOUN would soon get over the problems they are having. The school is not bad and would stabilise.

Since u are married, u could still give ur HND a shot and try going to NOUN afterwards. There is an uncertainty about the HND now becos govt is still reviewing Oby Ezekwesili's call that it should be scrapped.
But whatever u do, don't just sit at home doing nothing becos the time would pass anyway.

zebra:
is NOUN a school?? School for bunch of old men/women and illiterates who want to hold Degree certificate by all cost. No be the school wey OBJ dey be that?? Him no see UI, UNILAG, IFE and even UNAAB before him go there??

I think ur comments are rather insensitive. Illiterates are people who do not go to school not those who make attempt to better their lives by seeking an education. NOUN is not as bad as you think.

jayon:
SHEY OSU NAH UNIVERSITY OR GRAMMAR SCHOOL(Cuz i know a graduate from OSU wey hin english nah, sengemenge)

u can find graduates from every university in Nigeria who cannot speak english to save their lives. Olabisi Onabanjo University is not the problem. The problem was with the person's foundation. He must have attended primary and secondary schools that gave him poor education. Pls don't condemn any school because of the graduates u meet.

Dear Lord,

1. I want to pick the BERA award this year and the ADEA, CNN next year
2. Funding for MA next year
3. Settle down with my soulmate next year

If a graduate cannot speak proper english, it is not because of the university or polytechnic that he attended. He must have had that problem long before he gained admission. It is at the Primary school level that the foundation for speaking proper English is laid.
So, next time before anyone condemns any higher institution, he should pause to find out what primary or secondary school produced the graduate. Our primary and secondary schools (especially public owned) are churning out substandard products that university or polytechnic lecturers cannot help.

le govo:
For instance,
You happen to be a baker, after baking bread, you test your bake to determine whether its good for consumption or not, and wont hesitate to eliminate anything in the bread that is poison to the eater ?

Covenant uni. is all out to help them become Outstanding Gradute with a real i.D to occupy Leadership Positions in the nearest future, and not just a nigeria "gradute ".

Covenant uni. is not a freelance uni., the students and parents knew they must comply, before they paid their first fee, its no jackpot deal !
In Covenant uni, Freedom is controlled, and liberty without limitation is captivity in disguise. For power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Le govo, are u a student of CU? You were almost quoting Oyedepo word for word.

My younger brother who attends a private school came told me that his project supervisor has obtained a printer, binding machine and has stocked reams of paper so that those students assigned to him are forced to type, print and bind their projects with him, otherwise,

What could be worse than this? Pls share your experiences with lecturers and lets see how low some tutors can descend,

Hi nairalanders, i thought this should make for interesting debate.

culled from http://www.thenationonlineng.com/dynamicPage.asp?id=6&menu=main

Are students just lazy? 12/7/2007

Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

Well, are they really? Many tutors would agree they are.
Once, I was at the University of Lagos to see some lecturers. They had gone out of the campus so I hung around the Faculty of Education to wait for them. Soon, I overheard a conversation between a girl and her male classmate which made my wait thought provoking and less boring.

The girl asked if he had completed a particular assignment that was due for submission and he answered in the affirmative. She then complained that she had not done hers because she did not know how to approach the questions. The boy offered to teach her if she could make herself available. Instead of agreeing on a date, the girl slyly suggested that the boy do the assignment and explain it to her afterwards. I guess the boy was not interested in chasing her because he did not accede to her request.

In a typical classroom setting, there are students revered by classmates as gurus. This subset (they are not usually many) are called efikos because apart from being perceived as having extra grey matter bestowed on them by the Almighty, they are also believed to possess exceptional ability to withstand the ‘stress’ of studying and sourcing for materials for seemingly difficult assignments. But, while I believe in natural intelligence, I have come to understand that the average student would do better if only they would exert more effort in their studies.

I read an article in a daily where a lecturer at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye claimed students no longer challenge their lecturers but are more interested in the paper qualification than academic ambition. He added that they read only to pass examinations. Another lecturer, Prof Jerome Adepoju, who heads the Mathematics department of UNILAG, shared a similar view at an event I attended recently. He noted that his students do not like the fact that he does not recommend a particular text for them. On the contrary, he tells them a textbook is any book that clearly explains the topic. The students do not like the idea because it means they have to read wide.

To an extent, I agree with the lecturers that students do not push themselves enough. I say so because of what I have observed at examination centres, my interaction with students and my experience at school. And I think my opinion is backed by research.

Carol Dweck, a Psychologist at Stanford University, USA, carried out studies involving more than 400 high school students that have proven that effort, more than smartness, brings about good grades. In one of the studies reported in the New York Times, students were divided into two groups in which one was taught study skills, and the other, in addition to study skills were told that intelligence is not innate – that the brain is just a muscle that grows new neurons when challenged. The grades of students in the second group changed after the study because they improved their study habits.

As a student, there were times I was among the top one per cent, there were many other times I was just an average student and there was a time I hit rock bottom. My performance was largely a direct result of what I did or failed to do. When I discovered this, I developed habits that conformed to academic success and some of my classmates thought I was a superstar. But I only worked harder.

Oluwafemi James Atoyebi – the 46-year-old who tied with a younger candidate for the best UME score of 325 for the 2005/2006 session said he achieved the feat by dint of hard work. By the time he spent over a year preparing for the examination there was no need or desire to do any back up in form of malpractice. He was confident in his ability to excel.

However, as much as I blame students for being lazy, I also fault lecturers who by their permissiveness encourage lethargy in students. When lecturers insist that their students purchase handouts or textbooks they wrote (and attach scores to such purchase), students usually would not study outside the text. And when project supervisors collect money from final year students to approve their projects, they would go to libraries of other schools to dub past projects without gaining from the exercise or adding to knowledge in their field. The same thing happens when secondary school authorities arrange for expo so their candidates pass the WASSCE, NECO and UME without working for it because they want to make more profit.

I believe many students would do better if teachers challenge them to work hard. Then, the best grades will not be the preserve of a limited few but for anyone who tries hard enough to earn them. Dweck said: "Emphasising effort gives a child a variable that they can control. They come to see themselves as in control of their success. Emphasising natural intelligence takes it out of the child’s control, and it provides no good recipe for responding to a failure." I don’t think there is anything more to add to that.

I will welcome enthusiastic debate via email and SMS on this topic from lecturers and students – possibly for publication in the next issue.

kambo:
first class or 3rd class is a picture of a past reality the future is moving on.
heroes are proved in the battle field of life ,not in doctored academic settings.
that why, Gates, Ellison, Google inventors, all others who made a contribution to life.
will be really true indices of success not paper .
First class is rife. intelligence is rife.

Worth giving a thought

rock2:
I love Nigerians
Instead of trying to get the best,
they'll console themselves with any situation.

That's not true. Gates did not graduate from harvard. he dropped out and he is one of the best in his field.

Christino:
I guess Gani has a 3rd too, but Jim Ovia has a 1st

You can't boo Gani or Soyinka today becos they made 3rd Class. Their achievements today just goes to show that success in life is not all about the class of degree you have. But its also ok to make a 1st Class.

Miketomi:
Great post from everyone.
First class is the highest academic acheivement you can make in life but I must say, It is not absolutely equivalent to success in life.
Everyone who believes he has what it takes to make a firstclass degree, please do go for it.
To the author of this post, I sympathize and as well empathize with you to have graduated with such a CGPA (4.48).
Remember, making it in life is not only a function of first class. The Lord will console you the more.
5 Gbosas to you, for the great result. [b][/b]

True talk. Sorry you couldn't make your desired grade but it does not stop you from being the best in all that you lay your hands on. I wish you all the best.

Ollie39:
Thanks for that. I am seriously considering a move as I can't see why I should continue paying for poor service.

Ollie, I could furnish you with a list of good schools if you give me your preferred location and the ages of ur kids.

i hear the last meeting with the FG did not yield fruits.  All students in the house, how have u been coping with the strike?

Ollie39:
Private schools in Nigeria are grossly over priced and over rated. Take my childrens school - Lagos prep in Ikoyi. They charge you a non-refundable development fee of 1000 pounds per child even if your child is there for a day.

Ollie, I think u can get value for your money and have lots of change left if u patronise another school.  There are so many good schools run by professionals where u wont pay half as much.  i think u can make a change - even if u're here temporarily, and I don't think u should worry about them being disadvantaged, the curricula is not inferior.

Accounting, Business Administration, and increasingly, Mass Communication

nosa101:
Vivian Fowler and LJC are secondary schools not Universities, comparing them to Covenant is <<wrong>>

Nosa, I think u're the one who needs to examine what u just wrote, compare it to the content of the topic, take time to read the post on covenant university so u can see where the author quoted from. If you do just that, you'll realise that your comment was totally off the track.

hi, pls does anyone know where i can get the form to buy and how much? I'm in Lagos
I want to get it for my younger brother.
I hear it is not readily available at the Liason office.

I'm proud of her too.  I feel of her almost the same way I felt when Oluchi Onweagba won the maiden edition of the MNET Face of Africa competition.  I've read Purple Hibiscus but yet to read Half of the Yellow Sun.  
She sure is a star at her age.

Blue 2, this is an interesting topic but u shldn't have chosen UK Visa Application and Nigerian Students as the topic. U shld have specifically mentioned LGE.
You're right about LGE claiming that 80 % of independent applicants don't get Visa but they told the media that they have a high success rate too, over 80 per cent. they did not tell us they treat their clients in such a shoddy manner after coughing out N20,000.
I would check with LGE they have to explain themselves

Apart from the above, the PRO
- writes news/press releases and dispatches them to media houses;
- Sends out invitation for his organisation's events;
- Organises and anchors press briefing/conference for his company;
- Keeps track of news articles published about his organisation. (Eg he has a file that he cuts out newpaper articles for record purpose)
- He may be expected to write speeches for senior members of his company's management team.

Usually, organisations prefer to employ people with journalism and sometimes advertising experience as their PR Officers.

niceguy:
Please someone should tell me the University that have PUBLIC RELATIONS as a course and wht are the functions of one who study public relations as a course? and which company can PUBLIC RELATIONIST work?

Most universities don't offer Public Relations as a course on its own.  It is usually an option under Mass Communications. Eg, at UNILAG, Mass Communication students have to choose between Print and Broadcast and Public Relations/Advertising. 
However, not all schools have PR as an option but it is taught under Mass Communication/Journalism.
A PR Practioner can work in the Corporate Affairs Department of any company.  He deals with the different publics (people that have dealings with the company) and ensures his company has a good image in the perception of these publics.  In large organisations where they have internal news journals/organs, the PR department is usually in charge of putting the publication together. 
He is also in charge of events organised by the company.
In event of a crisis, the PR Officer is usually the one with the official information that reflects the view of the organisation and junior officers would refer outsiders to get clarification from him.  He is also the one most likely to deal with the media along with top management staff.
Sometimes if the crisis is such that would affect the goodwill/image of the organisation badly, management employs services of independent PR outfits to manage the crisis with their internal PR officers.
Big companies also contract PR/Events management outfits to organise progammes for them, working with the internal PR department.
In some places (especially public service) you find it difficult to get information from staff except they get permission from the PRO to speak.

Take it.

@layifioren. You have not served so i dont think u are in the rite position to talk about the experience. This issue is so funny. People talk about scrapping NYSC but each time i av talked to corps members themselves, they say otherwise. Instead, they advise the government to better organise the scheme.
I have been to the Lagos camp twice when the corps members were leaving orientation camp and all those i spoke with said the scheme should stay.
You may say its because they are in Lagos. But do u know that Lagos camp is always overcrowded? Last Tuesday, 3503 corpers left the camp for their primary posting. They complained of staying in rooms where they could hardly move around (about 30 in a small room). they complained about the bathrooms and toilet facilities - describing it as a nightmare. They complained about receiving lectures on the parade ground under the sun. Yet these same people said the scheme should stay.
NYSC is not a bed of roses. It rather exposes us to so much that needs to be done to develop the whole of Nigeria (not just the big cities). So rather than scrap it, I thnk we should find a way of making our own contributions through exposure to the scheme.
One more point layifioren, jobs are not so easy to come by.