Education

Over 200 Nigerians set to depart for EU postgraduate scholarship programme

Published

9 months ago

August 23, 2022

The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Samuela Isopi, says over 200 young Nigerians are to depart for Europe for the Erasmus+ Mundus Postgraduate Scholarship.

The Ambassador made this known at a news conference on Monday at the EU’s Headquarters in Abuja, to announce the study package.

The envoy added that the students were selected, based on merit, by the 20 universities in the EU countries with no interference with the bloc.

She said the EU offered postgraduate scholarship to the over 200 young Nigerians in top European universities, under its flagship educational programme, Erasmus+.

Isopi said the programme was for two years, and it would avail the students, opportunity to study in 20 EU countries, adding that, each student would study in three countries out of the 20.

According to her, out of the three countries the students would be studying, two would be in EU countries.

“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 master’s programme.

“A key component of the Erasmus+, is that master’s programme are of high-level and integrated study programmes at master 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 universities in at least three different universities in as many countries during the duration of the programme.

“At least two of the countries where each student will study are EU Member States. Many of the scholarship awardees have already departed for Europe to commence their studies.

“The figure represents a steep increase from the number of Nigerians that benefited from the initiative last year.

“It also places Nigeria second, among countries with the highest number of students selected for the prestigious programme in 2022, coming only after Pakistan,” she said.

She added that education, youths and women remained a key area of partnership between the EU and Nigeria, adding that, the bloc would increase the potential by increasing more Nigerians.

She said to celebrate the achievement, there would be a special event for the awardees where they would be intimated about the countries they would be visiting.

“The beneficiaries were selected through a rigorous, highly competitive process, and from various academic disciplines. Over 730 Nigerians have benefitted from the master programme since 2004.

“The number of Nigerians selected for the scholarship 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.

“From 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 most awardees.

“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,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the flagship programme represents one of the Europe’s most tangible achievements: uniting people and creating a European sense of belonging and solidarity through life-changing learning experiences.

With the launch of a new Erasmus+ programme for the period 2021-2027, there is a further increase in the opportunities provided for mobility and cooperation with partner countries beyond Europe.

Findings showed that the new Erasmus+ programme has an estimated budget of 26.2 billion euros, and this is nearly double the funding, compared to its predecessor programme (2014-2020).

70 per cent of the budget will support mobility opportunities for students and staff of higher education institutions. (NAN)

Education

Withheld salary arrears: Buhari transferring crisis in Nigerian varsities to incoming administration — NLC

Published

1 week ago

May 26, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

Buhari

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said President Muhammadu Buhari will be transferring the crisis in the university system to the incoming administration by refusing to pay the withheld salaries of university unions.

The Congress directed the four university-based unions which included the; the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities; the Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Education Institutions and the National Association of Academic Technologists to meet and revert to the NLC on the withheld salary backlogs.

President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero said this during a visit to the headquarters of SSANU on Wednesday in Abuja.

This is as the SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim appealed to President Buhari to pay the withheld salaries of its members before handing over on May 29.

The university unions went on strike last year which lasted between four to nine months.

In return, the Federal Government invoked the No work No pay policy for the duration the strike lasted.

Ajaero said: “The federal government is making a mistake by not paying those arrears of salaries. That is part of the crisis they (Buhari’s administration) are transferring to the incoming government and they must face it. There is no way you will say no work no pay when you are the cause of the No work. You can’t benefit from your inadequacy.

“If we accept that that will be the end of industrial relations and we should also be conscious of precedence in law; that precedence cannot stand.

“I want to plead with you that the unions in the education sector should meet and send us a memo in NLC. We are going to call national action for the payment of arrears of withheld salaries.

“We have waited enough for the Nigerian state to retrace its steps. It is bad enough to owe people for three to five months as a punitive measure for an agreement the government failed to obey and still boasting.

“If the unions could get across to us, all the sectors- electricity, oil and gas; we will start a solidarity action until the federal government takes responsibility for its inaction. This is not a threat because we are not known for issuing threats.

“The federal government must respect the sanctity of its agreement and we must insist on it. The unions should not waste time on this. We need to do it as soon as possible.

“We are on a course to return the NLC as a fighting organisation; to be proactive. If we allow eight months (of withheld salary arrears) to pass then that’s the end of this movement.

Ibrahim lamented the failure of the federal government to release the N100 billion for teaching and non-teaching staff of universities.

“Even the N100bn meant to pay for the salaries of all university staff – academic and non-academic. Till date, we have not seen anything. And this government is exiting soon.

“We went on strike for four months in 2022 and our salaries were stopped in the process. We followed due process, we sought the audience of the minister of Labour and Employment for the renegotiation of our agreement.

“Even if it is the last thing this government does before exiting office, let them release the salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff of universities. Because we have suffered and lost our members because they couldn’t access their money.

“Mr president we plead with you as a father not to leave behind the backlog of unpaid salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff.”

Education

Engr. Prince Arthur Eze, OFR, Appointed Pro-Chancellor of Newly Approved PEACELAND UNIVERSITY Enugu

Published

2 weeks ago

May 23, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

Engr. Prince Arthur Eze

History was made when the Promoters and the Planning and Implementation Committee of Peaceland University, Enugu, appointed a world acclaimed philanthropist, great uncommon humanitarian and Liberator of the destitute, Engr. Prince Arthur Eze OFR (Ozoigbo Ndu), as the pioneer Pro-Chancellor of Peaceland University, Enugu. The appointment and ceremony took place at the Abuja residence of the Business Mogul.

The Peaceland University, Enugu is coming after the establishment of Peaceland College of Education and Peaceland College of Health Sciences and Technology, all in Enugu. The former which is the mother of the Peaceland project was founded and funded by a Swiss mother, lover of education, Frau Pia Meier Knuesel – Mama Pia – who stopped at nothing in donating all her life earnings, including the sale of her only private house in Switzerland; bequeathed all the proceeds to Fredypia Development and Education Foundation, Nigeria, which worked in collaboration with “Alfred und Pia Knuessel Stiftung”, Switzerland, for the construction and establishment of a College of Education, known today as Peaceland College of Education, Enugu. In the course of her preparations leading to her visit to Nigeria in 2007, there were lots of discouraging and dissenting voices from Mama Pia’s people aimed at stopping her from travelling to Nigeria because of her age (87 years) but especially because of security concerns in Nigeria and lack of immediate access to health care. But Mama Pia was not be stopped. She went on to commit in writing to Swiss authorities that she should be buried in Nigeria in the event of death.

Peaceland University Enugu

Peaceland College of Education, Enugu came into legal existence in 2014 through the instrumentality of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Abuja, to offer wide range of programmes leading to the award of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). The College, in her quest to make quality education available up to degree level to the teeming population of Nigerian youths, sought an affiliation agreement with the Abia State University, Uturu. The affiliation was formally ratified by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to offer degree certificates in Education.

Similarly, through the proceeds from the College of Education (founded and funded by Mama Pia,) Peaceland birthed the Health Education by establishing Peaceland College of Health Sciences and Technology sector: thanks to the College administration, to offer, among others, the following programmes: Community Health Extension Workers; Pharmacy Technicians; Medical Lab Technicians; Environmental Health Workers; Public Health; Epidemiology and Disease Control; and Information and Health Management. All these programmes were licensed in 2022 by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Kaduna. Worthy of note is that our Colleges of Education and Health Sciences and Technology fulfilled Mama Pia’s double desire for education and healthcare for others, herself an educator and a healthcare worker.

Frau Pia Meier Knuesel – Mama Pia

In 2019, the Promoters together with the Planning and Implementation Committee of Peaceland University, Enugu, approached the National Universities Commission (NUC) for a possible establishment of a University. The choice of our would-be Pioneer Pro-Chancellor was a fruit of prayer and hard search. For several years, we searched for a man or a woman whose spirit shares with Mama Pia’s spirit that cuts across human race, colour, etc., and whose giving goes beyond the shores of a nation.

Engr. Prince Arthur Eze – a Pillar and Promoter of academic emancipation through quality education, a Philanthropist of the highest order, a consummated Oil Magnate, humanitarian par excellence, global business guru of inter-continental connectivity, became the best choice for this prestigious position. He is indubitably and unarguably one of Nigeria’s foremost philanthropists who has provided, solidly supported and single-handedly undertaken ventures that touch human lives and put smiles on faces of both the high and the low. His magnanimity and generosity cut across ethnic and religious lines, classes, climes and creeds. There is hardly any area this great man has not beamed his light of benevolence. They include institutions of learning of all levels, rural development and infrastructure, human capital development, women and youth empowerment, church buildings, projects and programmes executions, etc.

In his usual magnanimity, this simple and humble man of charity, an Apostle and Prince of immense grace, lover of development and progress, practical Christian and Peace builder, acknowledged his appointment as the Pro-Chancellor of Peaceland University, Enugu and announced his support of the University, with a great sum of Five hundred million (N500,000,000.00) naira.

The Promoters and the Planning and Implementation Committee are ever grateful to the pioneer Pro-Chancellor of Peaceland University, Enugu for the hospitality at his house and for accepting to become the pioneer Pro-Chancellor of Peaceland University, Enugu, and for expressing his solid financial support for our dear nascent University. Our humble prayer is that the Good Lord will continue to guide, protect,

strengthen and bless him as we work with him together to realize and actualize the desires and dreams of our founding Mother.

PEACELAND UNIVERSITY ENUGU

Education

FEC approves 37 new private universities

Published

3 weeks ago

May 16, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

Despite complaints of proliferation of universities in Nigeria, the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has approved the licensing of 37 new universities in the country.

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, announced the approval after the extra-ordinary Council meeting on Monday.

He noted that the development brings to 72 the total number of universities licensed by the Buhari administration since 2015.

He failed to name the universities, but revealed that one of them is an online university, the first of its kind in Nigeria, and owned by a woman from Bauchi State, with expectation that it will cater for the likes of northern Muslim women who feel reluctant or are restrained from attending physical campus education.

Fielding questions on the expediency of additional universities given funding challenges of the existing ones, Adamu explained that these ones are all private, with enough funds to run them and they should not be denied the opportunity to exist.

The Minister further explained that Nigeria actually needs more universities as the available ones are not adequate to take up all those yearning for higher education.