students (13)

Texas varsities to allow students to carry guns on campus

Agency Reporter


USA- Universities in Texas are set to be forced to allow students and academics to carry guns on campus, in a victory for a firearms lobby unbowed after last month's massacre in Arizona, the Telegraph reports.

 A new law that looks certain to pass through the Texas legislature would mean that its 38 public colleges, which are attended by half a million students, must permit concealed handguns on site.

It would become only the second state, after Utah, to enforce such a rule.

More than 20 states have rejected similar proposals introduced since the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007.

At present, colleges in Texas - along with churches and businesses - are free to ban firearms from their premises. Guns are prohibited from university buildings, dormitories and surrounding grounds.

The plan is likely to astonish most who recall the mass shootings at Virginia Tech, where a student killed 32 people, and in Northern Illinois the following year, where five people were murdered.

It also comes just six weeks after six people were killed and 13, including the United States Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, were wounded during a shooting spree in a supermarket car park in Tucson, Arizona.

Texas for Gun-free Schools, a group campaigning against the measure, said that it was supported by only one in four Texans and just 15 per cent of students.

"Guns do not belong in classrooms, and the incredibly low violent crime rate on college campuses demonstrates the success of this policy," the group said.

While the plan provoked anger among opponents, supporters said that allowing everyone to carry a hidden weapon was the only way to prevent more massacres...

"It's strictly a matter of self-defence," said Jeff Wentworth, a Republican state senator. "I don't ever want to see repeated on a Texas college campus what happened at Virginia Tech." "Some deranged, suicidal madman goes into a building and is able to pick off totally defenceless kids like sitting ducks."

Before Virginia Tech, the University of Texas was the site of America's worst college shooting, when a student killed 16 people and wounded dozens more in August 1966.

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a pro-gun group, said crime rates at universities in Colorado had dropped since the state allowed them to permit guns on campus.
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12166300684?profile=originalThe glamorous lovers’ day celebration on Monday turned bloody at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) when gunmen killed two students. Daily Sun gathered that the clash was between two rival cult groups, namely, Black Axe and the Buccaneers,’ over a female student allegedly snatched by the Capone of the Black Axe for Valentine celebration.

 

The action of the Capone , the source said did not go down well with the other group leading to the clash.
A student who witnessed the shooting said besides the two cult members who were shot dead, about four others sustained injuries and were ferried out of the campus by their leaders to shield their identity.

The sources said the cult members who carried out the attack were not UNILAG students but members from another campus, adding that the attack was carried out in a commando style with sporadic shooting.
An undergraduate student of English Department told Daily Sun that the Buccaneers’ group attacked the Black Axe members while another student returning from the Mosque said those who carried out the killing were not from UNILAG because they did not cover their faces.

It was learnt that as soon the shooting started, students scampered for safety while others took cover behind the wall and under cars packed around, while others ran into the halls to avoid being hit by stray bullets. 
A senior lecturer who confirmed the killings said the university management had met to curtail any reprisal attack while security personnel had taken over the investigation of the deadly cult clash.
When Daily Sun visited the troubled institution yesterday, there was uneasy calm, as most staff and students rebuffed efforts made by the reporters to get their comments.

However, one of the students who resides at Sodeinde Hall, said there was sporadic gunshots outside the premises which caused panic everywhere. 
It was gathered that the crisis, which erupted when the students were at the peak of lovers’ day celebration, created stampede on the campus as people ran for safety.

One of the victims of the attack reportedly ran into Sodeinde Hall for help, from where he was taken to the hospital.
Although the Hall Master of Sodeinde Hall declined comments on the issue, one of the officials, who wouldn’t want his name published, said the attack could not be linked to any cult group. He said there was increasing speculation that the perpetrators of the attack could be fighting for love. Efforts made by Daily Sun our reporter to ascertain the identities of the victims were unsuccessful.
The news bulletin of the university, Information Flash (ISSN 08195540) also captured the incident, while assuring the staff and students of the university of adequate security.

“The attention of the universities authorities has been drawn to the incident which occurred in one of the Halls of Residence in the late hours of Monday, February 14, 2011 where two persons were reportedly injured in fracas. The university management has commenced investigation into the unusual incident, in particular at a time when preparation for the first semester examinations due to commence on February 21, 2011 are in top gear. Security has been intensified to ensure safety of life and property on campus. Law enforcement agents have been involved to assist the university in this respect,” it said. 
Daily Sun learnt that students are leaving the campus because of the fear of reprisal attack while some parents called their wards on phone to return home until the situation is brought under control. 

The Deputy Registrar Information of UNILAG, Mr. Dare Adebisi refused to pick his calls or replied to text message sent to his phone.
When the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Samuel Jinadu (DSP) was called thrice, he promised to contact the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area and did not call back as at the press time....

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Female students threaten to protest nude

The National Association of Nigeria Female Students (NANFS) has given a seven-day ultimatum to the governors of the South-east geo-political zone to re-open the state universities or face the wrath of female students in the area. ..
In a statement in Owerri yesterday, the students warned that they would be forced to mobilize all Nigerian female undergraduates to demonstrate naked on the streets of Abakiliki, Awka, Enugu, Owerri and Umuahia should the governors fail to comply with their ultimatum which commenced yesterday.

The statement jointly signed by the Secretary-General, Mr. Jemila Audu, the PRO, Pauline Onyegbule, the ex-officio (I), Anita Igbandu, the students expressed regret that the protracted industrial action forced many of them to go into prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery and other social vices.
The students berated the governors for allowing the strike to linger without addressing the problems that gave birth to it, stressing that all that was required of them was to properly fund the universities and make them attain the required standard.

“But, the South-east governors were unconcerned because none of their female children are students in the universities in the South-east zone.”
The statement read by Mr. Anita Igbandu explained that the entire membership of NANFS had taken a deeper view of the collapse of education in the South east zone and had come to the conclusion that the governors in the zone had no reason to seek for second term because their first outings had proved a monumental disaster for university education.

The students also noted that the Governors had shown that they have nothing to offer Nigerian students who incidentally were the future of the zone and the entire country pointing out that, their only interest is to seek ways to manipulate the system and fraudulently secure their second tenures and continue to deceive their people.
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Hoodlums rape 5 secondary school students in Owerri

By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI-Dare devil hoodlums numbering about 10, reportedly broke into the premises of Owerri Girls Secondary School last Sunday and raped five senior secondary school students.

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Confirming the ugly incident to newsmen in Owerri, the Principal, Senior Section, Mrs. Pat Uche Obasi, said the hoodlums stormed the SS3 dormitory between 1:00am and 2:00am but escaped when men of Imo State Police Command intervened.

Lamenting that the hoodlums succeeded in raping five girls, the principal also recalled that the bandits equally escaped through the hole they created in the school fence.

"These boys came from the back of the school premises. They came through a hole they created in the fence, armed with cutlasses, rods and what looked like a gun and went into SS3 dormitory. They succeeded in raping about five students in the process," the principal said.

The Divisional Police Officer, DPO, at the New Owerri Police Division, Mr. Okezie Okoroafor, confirmed the incident and explained that when he got a distress call from the former principal of the school, he quickly mobilized his men and intervened.

He said his men were able to rescue the school security officers, whose hands were tied to their legs by the rampaging rapists and assured the students and their parents that security had been beefed up in the school.

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In line with the provision of the Islamic legal code, the Vice Chancellor of the Niger State government-owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Professor Ibrahim Adamu Kolo, has outlawed hugging of female students in the university.

Kolo said that anyone caught "embracing or hugging" any female students would be severely dealt with.

The vice chancellor gave the order in Lapai, on Tuesday, while addressing a one-day enlarged re-orientation workshop organised by the institution for all its staff.

Describing hugging and embracing of female students as immoral, the vice chancellor said the management had decided to "forgive" those caught in the act but said those affected had been noted and would be closely watched by the authorities.

Kolo also warned staff of the university against leaking official secret as those that violated the law would be summarily sacked from the school...

He challenged staff and students to have a change of attitude in their approach to work and studies as all forms of idleness and laziness would not be tolerated.
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The Deputy Chief of Mission, United States Embassy in Nigeria, Mr James McAnulty, has said that more than 6,500 Nigerian students are currently enrolled in various schools in his country.

Speaking at the annual College and Career Fair organised by the US Mission in Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja, McAnulty said Nigeria had the highest number of foreign students in the US

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, he said the statistics of Nigerian students studying in the US had continued to rise over the years, with the hope that it would continue to rise.

``Nigeria has recently become the country with the largest number of students who attend universities and high schools in the US

``This is a great achievement because it is a testimony to the hard work of Nigerian students.

``Nigerian students bring their ideas and values to their community in the university, and are able to interact with students not only from the US but from other parts of the world.

``We think that the diversity is very important in our educational system; it helps people to understand other cultures,‘‘ he added..

McAnulty also noted that out of the 83 Nigerian students who gained admission into the current academic session, 67 students were awarded 2.5 million dollars on partial and full scholarships.

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SAP trains African students

SAP, a software application firm, has teamed up with the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, to extend an ancillary course in enterprise resource planning application to students in emerging market countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.


This will enable the students to obtain an official SAP certification. The students are expected to be trained in several courses for 10 days. The courses will offer up to 300 participants the chance to acquire valuable SAP competencies during the period in Germany.


This will enable the students to enhance their career opportunities in emerging markets with strong demand for qualified SAP professionals.

The learning materials and tutorial support will be provided completely via e-learning through the university, while the final certificate examination will be held by SAP Education on site at local SAP training centres. The training is designed to provide participants with broad, well-founded knowledge of SAP ERP, its core business processes, and their operational interrelations..


Heimo Adelsberger, the Head of the Department, Production and Operations Management, Institute for Computer Science and Business Information Systems at the university, said, “After the successful completion of all case studies, participants will receive a course certificate from the University of Duisburg-Essen which emphasises the practical application of know-how in addition to theoretical and methodical knowledge.”

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As residents of Abia State and all Nigerians bask in the euphoria of the release of 15 pupils of a private school in Aba, six students have again been kidnapped in Abia State. The victims are students of Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
It was gathered that the abducted students were going back to school when gunmen ambushed their bus at Ohanze, in Obingwa Local Government Area and took them hostage.

According to the driver of the students’ bus, whose identity could not be ascertained immediately, “when it appeared to the hoodlums that I hesitated to stop, they shot at me and one of the bullets hit my hand and I had to stop. They ordered me out of my vehicle at gunpoint and took the students along with it.”
The driver said the police at Umuobiakwa, in Eastern Ngwa, were alerted when the incident occured, but the matter was not followed up immediately. He said if the police had acted immediately, the abductors would have been tracked down.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers have asked for N2 million ransom. They also threatened to kill the students if their demand was not met and in reasonable time.
Parents of the affected students have appealed to the kidnappers to release their wards so that they would go back to school and resume academic work. They said they had no money to meet the ransom demand.
When contacted, the PPRO, Abia State Police Command, Mr. Geoffrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident. He said that efforts were on to effect the release of the students...
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Parents and guardians of students of Kenneth Dike Memorial Secondary School, Awka, Anambra State, yesterday stormed the premises of the Anambra government house to protest what they termed government's silence over a recent shooting incident in the school that left 13 students injured..

On June 21 this year, gunmen suspected to have been hired by a land speculator involved in a land dispute with the school, opened fire at students of the school, moments after the students had pulled down the walls of the encroaching building. The attack sent 13 students to the hospital with varying degree of injuries.

The attack came barely six days after an attempt to abduct the school principal was foiled when the students pursued the kidnappers and drew the attention of the police. One of the kidnappers was arrested by the police.

Since the shooting, the school had been unceremoniously vacated by both students and teachers, even with examinations close at hand.

Worried by this development, parents of the students decided to take their case to the state government.

The chairman of the Parents-Teachers-Association, Innocent Anyaso, told NEXT that they were unhappy with government's silence, which he described as unusual.

He said the students had earlier trooped to government house to see the governor but were told he had travelled, a development that he said necessitated the visit of the parents.

Later, while channelling their grievances to Chuks Iloegbunam, representative of the government, the protesters requested the government to, among other things, fence the school; provide adequate security; help in offsetting the bill of the hospitalised students, and make the police to mount a checkpoint there..

Peaceful protest

Mr. Iloegbunam commended the parents on their peaceful disposition, as well as the role their children played in foiling the kidnap attempt on the principal. He restated government's commitment to the issue of security, and cited the recent resolution of south east governors to clamp down on kidnappers in the region.

He also noted that as part of the state government's commitment to the safety of the citizenry, each of the communities in the state had recently been given a N500, 000 security vote.

He recalled that the government had also mandated town union leaders to take care of security in their domains or risk being removed.

Mr. Iloegbunam promised to channel their case to the state governor, Peter Obi, once he returned from his trip.

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Academics are such an incomprehensible lot. As they sit in the classroom and reel out various normative theories, they make their students think that everything is that easy. They assume an indescribable air of infallibility as they criticise every government policy.

But whenever they cross over and join the government they leave you wondering if they were really the same people, who just months ago, were lambasting every government policy. We have had so many of such academics at the state and federal levels.

To be fair to them, some had found themselves in government and refused to change their principles, maintaining those high standards that made many of their students see them as role models.

For instance, there was a certain Professor Eme Awa (of blessed memory) who was appointed chairman of the then National Electoral Commission in the early 1990s by then military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. Being a man of proven integrity, Awa’s appointment was lauded by many Nigerians who knew him.

But Awa’s integrity, as later events proved, was only being used by the fox in power then to give credibility to his bogus transition programme. The old professor assumed office and was told to follow a script. But he refused to tow the line of the dictator and his cronies but instead resigned with his integrity intact.

Indeed, Awa must have remembered his students; those young men and women who saw him as a role model. He didn’t want to disappoint them and today, history is very fair to him.

Perhaps, that was why rgb(54, 99, 136);"">President Goodluck Jonathan told the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to remember his students while administering the oath of office on him and the commissioners of the electoral body.

The President said: “I was quite excited when people described you (Jega) as a radical and I am happy that a radical is going to INEC to do positive things and make sure that you don’t compromise that belief.

”Luckily, you are a professor of high repute; your students are all watching you whether you will stand by the principle you have been talking in the classroom. Your colleagues that you have left are also watching you.

That was a big challenge from the President. Indeed we have heard a lot about Jega’s radical tendencies; how as the President of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities during Babangida’s regime he challenged the dictator and pulled lecturers out of the classroom.

With such pedigree, he cannot afford to fail. Luckily, he is not a southerner like the President and as such, we are not expecting some southern ‘porapo’ camaraderie rather we are expecting him to be independent-minded and firm.

Thank goodness, Jega appears to understand the magnitude of his task, hence he said in his acceptance speech, “We also know that, to succeed in this assignment, we need the goodwill, support, cooperation and assistance of all stakeholders within our country and all friends of scroll 0% 0% transparent; cursor: pointer; border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136);">Nigeria and its development partners globally.”

He said the new INEC was “willing and ready to partner with all stakeholders who are genuinely interested in contributing positively to bringing about free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria in 2011”, even as he acknowledged that, “ this assignment given to us is an enormous and profound challenging one.”

If the truth must be told, only the prof cannot give us credible elections as he needs the support of all stakeholders. But his demeanor and attitude , sooner or later,will surely reveal his intentions and dream for Nigeria.

However, it is now left to the acclaimed radical to maintain his integrity- like Awa- or enter that black book where history has consigned those who conspired with the authorities to give us execrable elections. He cannot escape it, for in less than 10 months we will surely know where his name will be found. .

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Sources reaching us have revealed an engineering lecturer from the Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma has been caught red handed on film at a Female Students residence by Students .The video explicitly shows the half naked lecturer and the Student in question exchanging definite words relating to the incident.There are other insinuations about a cheque which he has promised to pay by the next month salary .

Watch and decide for yourself .Unfortunately this video has been removed as it has violated youtubes terms and conditions .However we have a fair text transcript of the whole episode :

The sexual harassment encounter between Engineer P. O. Otubu of Ambrose Alli University and a female student "Judith"-The video starts with an approach to a room with a burglary proof gate and a wooden door slightly open behind it. The gate appears locked and Engineer /Professor P. O. Otubu sat on a plastic chair panting after what appears to be a fight between him and student "Judith"

Female voice: Judith

Judith: Uhh

Femaile Voice: I wan talk to you

Lecturer: You don naked me now

Judith: (apparently calling the man) Otubu

Lecturer: Yes?

Judith: Otubu?

Lecturer: Yes?

Judith: Oh. Sheybi you for don pass me (meaning she already got a passing grade from an earlier sexual encounter with the professor) , make I go. It is better than all this sweat.

Lecturer: the other time I didn’t know your number then

Judith: Ah, ahn, you didn’t know…you did it intentionally

Lecturer: No, no, no no

Judith: So that I will come and you'll do it again , so that you will f**k

Lecturer: Me!

Judith: ( says something in local Edo dialect)

(Lecturer makes a pleading gesture to person filming the incident. Judith appears to use a phone to take lecturer’s picture)

Lecturer: my brother, you are a man. Are you a student?

Male voice: Judith, Judith, Juddith

Male voice 2: (apparently in response to lecturer’s pleading gestures) Wetin you dey beg, you dey beg me? You never see (inaudible)

Male Voice 1 from "film crew": Judith, Judith, that is okay. Open the door for him. Open for him, open for him. Please open for him

Male voice 2: Open where?

Judith: (apparently in answer to lecturer’s quiet question) I don’t know them o

Lecturer: (to man or men behind camera) My friend

(Judith derides the man’s privates )

Judith: John Thomas (laughs)

Male voice 1: Judith, wey the check wetin e wan sign. E don sign am?

Judith: I no see am see check

Lecturer:E no bounce check now I have the check

Male voices: Oya sign them now. You go sign that check before you leave this plave o. Which bank?

Lecturer: (apparently answering) Bank PHB…

Ale voice 1: okay I have somebody that can verify it for me

Lecturer: As soon as they pay in June salary, you cash it

Male voice 2: June salary? We should be waiting for June salary?

Male voice 3?: no, noooo. No.

Male voice 2: Sign it first

Male voice: where is the car key

Male voice: Sign it first

Judith: (Appears to be talking on the phone ) Honey? Ohhhh, e tell me say my car no…I dey video am sha, normal….my love

Male voice: E don sign am

(Judith , whilst on the phone, pulls lecturer’s trousers stripping him nearly naked)

Male voice: Judith, let him sign the cheque first now. (Shouting) Let him sign the cheque

(Whilst Judith is pulling the man’s trousers)

Female voice : Let am sign the cheque

Male voice: let am sign the cheque

Male voice: no worry, e no bounce

(man talks inaudibly)

Male voices keep calling out to Judith

Male voice; leave that man

Judith (still with phone to her ear says to lecturer): Put your hand down

Male voices support her request by shouting the same to lecturer

Male voice: What are you still waiting?

Female voice: Put your hand down

Judith: Put your hand down. Oya snap us. Put oyour hand down

(Lecturer complies revealing a shrivelled up penis)

Judith: Put your hand down.

Male voice: stay close, stay close

(lecturer smiles sheepishly)

Judith: (slaps his back because he has pulled his trousers up again.) Put you hand down. You are covering your john Thomas

Male voice 1: Put your hands down . you see you are covering it. Put your hands down

Lecturer: Are you taking it? (apparently asking if they are filming / taking pictures)

Judith: Oya, Snap am o. I hope e get memory card

Male voice: yes, yes

Male 2: better memory card, you never see

Judith: you are not going anywhere.

Male voice1: you are not going anywhere. Come come come come, see

Male voice2 : The fact is, If this cheque bounce, this photograph will get around this school

Male voice: settle us first, settle us now first

Lecturer; I beg, give me something to wear

Male voice: I gave you something to wear – that white knicker. Put this oon , wear that one

Lecturer: I will wear it on top of it

Male voice: wear it on top. You can go with it . It is my own

Male voice 2: I wanted to give him my knicker if he he can pay for it

Female voice: Go sit down. Your own no pass money (she says apparently to the boy who wanted money for his own shorts) - instead make una dey beg my sister

Male voice: I don beg o. I don beg o

Lecturer: This is pass…Its cheque book

Male voice: Thre are some things inside ( the ma’s trousers). Give her everything to hold (must be female voice) so that nothing is missing

Male voice: Where is the cheque book? Where is the cheque book

Judith: If you do not put this thing, I will call your wife

Female voice: e say e wan sign cheque now

Male voice: Sign the cheque, before you do anything

( A lot of behind the scene conversations. People are asking what is going on )

Judith: Which date e go put for the cheque

Lecturer: June salary

Male voice: we don’t even know when…

Male date : put any date that

Lecturer: (inaudible utterance) soon as they pay, just come and cash it. This Monday

Make voice2: If you out Monday the cheque is oing to bounce because june salary…Monday is not okay. Put month end

Lecturer: 30th

Male voice: What is on the 30th?

Lecturer: It is Friday or so.

Male voice: okay put 29th

Male voice 2:You go settle our own?

Lecturer: I have already put 30th

Male voice: hope that signature is your signature. Or else you go see yourself inside TV today

Male voice: This one clear. E clear like DVD nah. This lecturer?

(lecturer gives a frowning Judith the cheque, smiling and petting her)

Male voice: show the cheque, show am show am

(someone holds cheque up to camera)

Male voice: This is the cheque? From Mr Okosun. N100,000

Male voice 2: N100,000?

Is N100,000 okay by you

Judith: He’s paid (inaudible) N500..(rest inaudible)

(Lecturer tries to hide face behind cheque. Voices ask him to bring h is hands down from his face)
Male voice: your father

Lecturer: (smiling) you are abusing me?

Male voice: you know wetin lecturer don do me for this school?

Lecturer: Which course are you doing?

Male voice: Why you dey ask me?

(Apparently to Judith’s further protests)

Male voice: Its ok , its ok. Here is your cheque. Hold the cheque

(The cheque appears to be in the name of one Okosun)

Male voice 2: Sign that cheque on the back. Sign that cheque on the back. Put your name , you number and….your name your number and your home address

Female voice: Do all this thing, make you open this door









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Activities at Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, stopped yesterday when over 2000 students took to the streets, protesting alleged increment in their school fees. The surrounding supermarkets and filling station were set on fire, banks were raided, while the Benin-Auchi-Abuja road was impassable as the protesting students barricaded the road, forcing all vehicular movement to divert through Iruekpen-Sabon-Gida-Ora-Afuze-Auchi road.The students were protesting the hike in school fees from N26,000 to N76,000 for full-time students, and from N30,000 to N100,000 for part-time students.The Edo State Commissioner for Education, Ngozi Osareren, denied that there was increase in the school fees of students but confirmed that the governing council of the university met last week where issues on school fees were discussed.Meanwhile, the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), a non-profit group, on Monday condemned the recent increase in tuition fees at the University.In a release jointly signed by the group’s national coordinator, and national secretary, Hassan Taiwo and Chinedu Bosah, respectively, the group called the state government and the school management to revert the fees immediately.“The fees have been provocatively and unwarrantedly increased, and we see no justification for it given the socio-economic difficulties most Nigerians are passing through,” the release reads.According to the group, the old fees, formerly between N20,000 and N30,000, is now between N54,000 and N100,000, depending on the level and the course of study. The part-time and the fresh students are now expected to pay N100,000; pre-degree students are to pay N90,000; science students are to pay N74,000, while non-science students are to pay N54,000.The group also argued that it would be inconsiderate to ask citizens earning N7,500 as minimum wage to pay N100,000 for their wards’ university education.Commenting on the issue, Information and Orientation Commissioner, Abdul Oroh, condemned the action of the students which he said was hijacked by hoodlums, adding that the police would be allowed to do its work and bring those responsible for the destruction of properties to book.
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A weak currency and a steady decline in foreign reserves are hitting international students from Nigeria. Parents are finding it increasingly difficult to remit money to their children studying abroad, some students are considering continuing their studies at home, and many parents are shelving plans to send their offspring to foreign universities. But universities in Nigeria will be hard-pressed to accommodate those who do return. Commercial banks have received fewer applications from parents to process tuition fees for students abroad. An official at the Central Bank of Nigeria who did not wish to be named, said that last year more fee applications had been processed by the central bank on behalf of commercial banks. For the past eight months there has been a close correlation between the drop in the number of tuition fee applications for Nigerian students abroad and the weak local currency - the Naira - along with a gradual decline in the country's foreign currency holdings. Nkiru Okechukwu, an international economics expert, said the central bank had to prudently manage foreign reserves in its possession. "There are competing demands for these scare resources. Industries must import machines and raw materials. Refined petroleum products must be imported," Okechukwu said. Paying the tuition fees of students abroad was a relatively low priority. The value of the Naira has declined because of lower international demand for crude oil, Nigeria's economic mainstay, Okechukwu explained. A year ago the country exported about two million barrels of crude oil a day and the barrel was selling for around US$147. At that time Nigerian's foreign reserve was $67 billion. The story is different today: outgoing central bank governor, Chuwukuma Soludo, recently admitted that foreign reserves had dwindled from $48 billion to $ 45 billion in the last two months. These factors, along with job insecurity, have made remitting money for students abroad more and more difficult. Traditionally, Nigerian middle class parents have sent their children to study abroad and those who could afford it preferred to send them to Britain, North America or other Commonwealth countries. This is no longer the case. Apart from the weak local currency and shortfall in foreign reserves, closure of factories and businesses have led to retrenchment of managers - members of the middle class - as well as ordinary workers. Many parents who dreamed of sending their children to study overseas have changed their minds. Bayo Akin, an engineer in a manufacturing company in Lagos, said he simply could not afford to send his children abroad - and was not even sure he would keep his job. "The company I work for has informed my colleagues and myself that our parent company may fold because of the current international financial and economic crisis. Consumers are not buying our products," Akin said. Even a special scheme to assist Nigerian students in the UK is faltering. A Nigerian financial institution, Bank PHB, established a loan scheme to assist Nigerian students in Britain, called the UK Education Scheme. The scheme takes care of fees, accommodation and living costs for the duration of the beneficiary's course. But to benefit from the scheme, each student must open what the bank calls an education account with an initial deposit of about 50% of the fees stipulated by student's chosen university. Nduneche Ezurike, an official at the bank, said: "It is a product targeted at a particular market as a solution to a particular need." The problem is that the market is no longer there. A bank official, who did not want to be named, said the scheme had not attracted enough customers. "When we conceived of the loan scheme, some few years ago, we targeted professionals whose earning power was a source of envy. We felt that these professionals, who were in favour of a British university education, could afford to send their kids to UK. Then came the recession. And our potential customers fizzled out." A source close to the National University Commission revealed that an (undisclosed) number of Nigerian students in the UK had been making frantic enquiries whether they could apply for inter-university transfer to Nigerian universities so they could continue their studies at home. Two main categories of students were involved, the source said: students whose parents had lost their jobs and wanted to relocate with their families back in Nigeria, and parents who were no longer able to remit money to children abroad because they had been retrenched or because of the depreciation of the Naira. Like camels marooned in a desert and squabbling for water at an oasis, returning students will have to compete hard with other Nigerians for limited spaces in Nigerian universities. A few weeks ago, some 1.5 million Nigerians sat for common entrance tests into 95 universities whose carrying capacity, according to the NUC, is about 170,000 students. The battle for admission into the next academic session promises to be stiff for returning and home-based candidates.
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