The Lagos State University has employed more than 80 students to work in its library on a part-time basis.

The University Librarian, Dr Oduwole Adebanbo, said on Wednesday in Lagos that the initiative was a work-study project aimed at empowering the students.

Adebanbo said it was also geared towards developing the students’ employability skill.

“Management of this university is committed to developing the employability skills and work experience of our students.

“We also want them to earn substantial money while they school here.

“The project is just one of many the university management is working on,” he said.

According to him, any of the students, who perform well, will be retained by the university.

Adebanbo advised the students to be at their best in terms of dressing, dedication and maturity.

“Keep doing your level best. We will retain the outstanding and exceptional ones among you,” he said.

The President of LASU Students Union, Kappo Samuel, described the initiative as laudable, saying that it was the fallout of existing cooperation between the university management and the union.

Samuel said the 80 students were shortlisted out of hundreds of applicants and the selection process was transparent.

“The work-study project is a synergy programme between LASUSU and the management of the institution.

“It will employ over 500 students at its peak as the process for other similar opportunities will soon be announced.

“Students interested in the library work were asked to submit applications. They were interviewed.

“The criterion used in selecting the best employees included good composition, grammatical structure and handwriting,’’ Samuel said.

According to him, the beneficiaries had a four-day intensive training and had started work on July 8.

He said the students would get stipends ranging from N10, 000 monthly.

Samuel said the students would work only on weekends so that the project would not affect their academic activities.

Their schedule of duty includes retrieving books with cards and sorting retrieved books back to shelves, amongst other duties.

– There had been clamour from education rights groups as well as workers for the removal of the differences between HND and university degrees

– The federal government, headed by President Muhammadu Buhari, finally succumbed to pressure and announced the removal in all of its services

The Nigerian government has reportedly stopped the dichotomy between holders of university degrees and Higher National Diploma (HND).

This regularization that comes after many years of agitation, is now to be implemented in all government services.

Channels Television reports that the decision was reached after a meeting of the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Board (CDFIPB) and chaired by the minister of interior, retired Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau.

“The board has directed that all officers with HND to be upgraded to COMPASS 08, which is the salary Grade Level for holders of degree certificates at entry point.

“While the nomenclature for the HND holders will start with the rank of Senior Inspector, the Degree holders are with the rank of Assistant Superintendent II,” a statement from the permanent secretary of the ministry, Abubakar Magaji, said.

NAIJ.com learnt that the board also approved the commencement of the 2017 promotion exercise for all the services and that this would commence with effect from July 17.

The report further said the establishment of the Institute of Domestic Security was also approved by the board to boost internal security mechanism in the country.

The federal government also approved a re-organisation of the Nigeria Immigration Service saying this was in line with the provision of the act that set it up.

The report quoted the minister as saying the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration places a high premium on the welfare of its workers.

He urged the workers to show their appreciation by improving on their performances and dedication to duty.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that the degrees acquired at universities, polytechnics and colleges would be treated as of equal importance and the senate committee on tertiary education is currently working on it.

The chairman of the committee, Sen Binta Garba, commented on the process in Abuja saying: “Again what we are doing as a committee on tertiary institution; we are trying to come out with a conference on legislative agenda on education.

We are trying to look at all other summits on education, trying to look at policies of government on education and trying to see how we can have a balance.”

Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), on Friday urged Nigerians to help preserve the environment by planting trees.

Fagbohun, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Olumuyiwa Noah, said this at the 2017 Lagos State tree planting ceremony organised by the university.

Tree planting, a campaign institutionalised by the Lagos State Government, holds yearly on July 14.

The theme for the 2017 Tree Planting Day is `Think Green, Plant Trees and Live Green`.

“When we plant trees, we are simply helping ourselves; we must plant trees because felling trees endangers our environment.

“If you fell a tree, plant ten to save us from climate change,” he said.

According to him, plants are medicinal and essential for all that human beings do and so planting must be supported.

He said by supporting the government initiative, the environment is beautified and also far from the risk of climate change.

A copy of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode’s of Lagos State’s speech also read by Prof. Noah stated that 500,000 trees are targeted to be planted this year.

He noted that the state government was determined to sustain the tempo of greener Lagos.

Also, the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Babatunde Adejare, represented by Mr Taiwo Oluwasegun, lauded the state government for its campaign and effort.

Adejare said it is an offence to fell trees without the permission of Lagos State Park and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) and so residents must desist from such act.

He said that the 2017 exercise was the 10th of its kind, and urged Lagos residents to continue keying into the initiative.

Contrary to Federal Government’s policy, Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, has announced its readiness to conduct “computer-based aptitude tests” in place of post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for the 2017/2018 academic session.

Besides, the university is charging each candidate N5, 000, in addition to N1, 000 bank commission, bringing the total cost to N6, 000 against the maximum N2, 500 allowed by the government’s order for the screening.

In an official bulletin with reference number S.E. Vol. XXIV No. 36 and dated June 13, the institution directed candidates to visit its admission portal to “generate a virtual pin with N5, 000’’.

Candidates were directed to make the payment at Ecobank, Unity Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA or Fidelity Bank.

According to it, the payment is for centre-screening and covers honoraria for centre-facilitation, logistics for producing screening materials and security.

But, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, had in a statement on June 28, 2016, warned tertiary institutions against charging candidates for post-UTME screening.

The warning followed reports that some institutions had ignored the earlier abolition of post-UTME test and devised other means to screen students with certain fees imposed on them.

“Any screening which tertiary institutions choose to conduct should only be for the purpose of verification of certificates of the candidates, JAMB scores, and any other physical examination to ensure that such candidates are not cultists.

“After this, the candidates are qualified for matriculation. Such screening should be at no cost to the parents or students and should be done upon resumption in order to avoid unnecessary travels in search of admission,” Adamu said.

When contacted, the Registrar of DELSU, Mr Daniel Urhibo, confirmed the authenticity of the school’s bulletin and defended the N5, 000 screening charge per candidate.

“It is an aptitude test. We are not setting another kind of examination for them the way JAMB sets for them, and it is going to be computer-based,’’ Urhibo said.

Asked to differentiate the “computer-based aptitude test’’ from the post-UTME test abolished by the government, he told NAN that the Federal Government did not scrap post-UTME test.

“It is the same agency of the government that said `you can select your students.’

“Twenty-six thousand candidates applied to DELSU; how do you select, may be 5,000 or 6,000? There must be some kind of uniform test to assess them.

“Last year, we asked them to submit their secondary school results and we graded them. Do you know that people claiming to have `A’s in their results could not write their names?

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“Some of them had forged results. We went to the internet and discovered that somebody who claimed to have scored 300 in UTME had just 120.

“So, if you use that type you won’t get the best; that is why there is some kind of a little aptitude test for them,’’ he said.

Urhibo explained that the N5, 000 charge was needed to conduct the exercise as the university was not in a good financial position to bear the cost.

“We need materials to do this test; we will pay the people who are going to administer the test and those who will mark it.

“We need money to service our computers and to develop the software for the test. So, from where do you expect us to get the money to do these?’’

The minister of education or spokesman of the ministry could not be reached for reaction to this in spite of several attempts in more than two weeks.

However, a top official of the ministry, who craved anonymity, said what the university was trying to do was illegal.

The National Universities Commission (NUC), tasked with enforcement of the abolition of the post-UTME test and screening charges, was also not forthcoming on the matter.

Its Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, neither answered several calls to his mobile telephone nor replied NAN enquiry sent to him via SMS and Whatsapp.

The commission’s spokesman, Mr Ibrahim Yakasai, also did not respond when contacted through the three channels.

Wizkid teams up with Major Lazer on a new song titled “Naughty Ride”, the latest offering from his forthcoming Sounds From The Other Side album.

Listen & Download “Wizkid Ft. Major Lazer – Naughty Ride” below:-

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Africa’s female dance-hall export who is now signed to her self led label “Madrina Records” Cynthia Morgan puts the hiatus to rest with the release of new trap song titled “No Cameras” featuring indigenous rapper “Phyno“.

Listen and Enjoy!

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