Education

University Bans Baggy Trousers, Dreadlocks, Others

By Web News 259

A Nigerian varsity, Babcock University in Ogun State, has introduced a new and stricter dress and grooming code for its students ahead of forthcoming examinations, banning dreadlocks, beards, and other unapproved hairstyles.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by the Vice President for Student Development, Olanivi Arije, the university announced the cancellation of all hair-pass permits previously in circulation.

According to the statement, hair-pass tags — documents issued to students as waivers for certain hairstyles — are illegal and do not grant any valid or legitimate right to keep unapproved hairstyles on any of the university’s campuses.

The management declared that “the use, circulation, or recognition of hair-pass in any form is henceforth outlawed at Babcock University with immediate effect”.

It added that the new regulations will take effect from the beginning of the second semester in January and will be strictly enforced across all campuses.

“Students currently in possession of any form of hair-pass or exemption are directed to disregard and discontinue its use immediately. Any student found presenting, using, or relying on such a document shall be investigated for the violation of University regulations and, if found liable, shall face the inevitable consequence accordingly,” the statement said.

The university further stated that male students are prohibited from keeping voluminous or unkempt hair, beards and dreadlocks, while female students are not permitted to wear extreme, indecent or inconsistent hairstyles.

It also listed body-hugging outfits, sleeveless blouses or dresses, sagging trousers, as well as baggy, boot-cut or over-length trousers as prohibited.

This policy follows a trend among Nigerian universities, like Benue State University, BSU, Obafemi Awolowo University, and Adekunle Ajasin University, which have also implemented strict dress codes, sparking debate and controversy over personal expression and student discipline.

The management added that tying scarves to corporate or official academic wear is not allowed at certain times, while outfits such as bubu, danshiki, joggers, sportswear or walk-out wear are banned during stipulated periods.

Babcock warned that any student found in possession of prohibited items on campus would face disciplinary action.

“The University will not entertain excuses, appeals or claims of ignorance. All students are expected to resume fully compliant with these regulations,” the statement added.

Culled/Adetutu Adetule

Follow us on Telegram and YouTube, and join our WhatsApp Update Group for more news updates.

Environment

Ozone Layer: Don Seeks Urgent Action to Protect Earth

By Web News 390

By Lanre Omotoso 

As the world observes the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, Professor Oluwayemisi Arowosoge of the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, has called for more awareness and urgent action to safeguard the earth’s protective shield.

Speaking on the significance of the day with Radio Nigeria in Ado-Ekiti, Professor Arowosoge described the ozone layer as “a natural sunscreen” that protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays, saying its continuous depletion could lead to skin cancer, eye damage, more diseases and low crop yields.

The don stressed that it could also lead to climate change which resulted to global warming, high evaporation, erratic rainfall and flooding.

Professor Arowosoge, explained that harmful chemicals in old refrigerators, air conditioners, perfumes, insecticides, fire extinguisher and some cleaning agents release substances that break down the ozone layer.

She urged Nigerians to embrace safer and eco-friendly alternatives, stressing that protecting the ozone layer is a collective responsibility for present and future generations.

Professor Arowosoge advised companies to replace harmful coal and oil machines with renewable energies such as solar, wind and hydro as well as fossil fuel vehicles with electric cars.

She also called for strict laws against unnecessary bush burning and advocated planting of more trees, which store carbon and reduce greenhouse gas that caused global warming.

The United Nations set aside September 16 of every year as International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer to remind the world of the need to protect the environment, following a global agreement signed in 1987 to phase out such chemicals.

Subscribe to our Telegram and YouTube Channels, and also join our WhatsApp Update Group.

Crime

Murdered ACU Student Will Get Justice, NANS Assures

By Web News 348

The National Association of Nigerian Students, Oyo Axis, has given assurance that Alex Timileyin, a student of Ajayi Crowther University, who was tortured to death due to a phone theft allegation, will get justice.

Chairman, Oyo NANS, Ridwan Adegoke, said this during a telephone interview with Punch correspondent on Wednesday.

Timileyin was clubbed to death by his colleagues on Saturday over an accusation that he stole a mobile phone. He was beaten after the lost item was allegedly found in his possession, and it was said that his attackers had allegedly had his (the deceased) hair forcibly shaved.

Witnesses also confirmed the incident, stating that Timileyin was beaten from “6 p.m. (Friday) until he died at about 10 a.m. (Saturday).”

The management also released a statement that the culprits, now expelled, have been handed over to the police for investigation.

Adegoke said the students’ body was monitoring the justice process, as he gave assurance that they had not been given a reason to doubt, as he was abreast of the management and police efforts in making sure the law takes its place.

He said, “I have been working with the state police command, and I can confidently say that they are on their toes. You are hearing directly from me; I am active and interested in seeking justice because the deceased was a fellow student whom I am representing, so I cannot compromise.

“I was at the ACU campus yesterday and met with the management team, and I also visited the police station where the perpetrators are detained. When they were handed over to the state criminal investigation department, I had to call the police to confirm if they had arrived there, so that is how we have been monitoring the progress of the case.

“The school as well is proactively involved in this case; I gathered that they involved DSS in apprehending the alleged student on the run, and it was said that his parents have been contacted and instructed to provide him. It was even the school that hand-picked 18 suspects and handed them over to the police for interrogation.

“We are acting as watchdogs, and the concerned authorities (university and police) have not given us a reason to doubt; when we observe lapses, manipulation, or foul play, we will blow the whistle.”

Adegoke also noted that the incident has prompted a broader discussion on the need for the management to strengthen campus security in order to prevent future occurrences.

“We have met with the school, briefed them of our agitation, stance, and also made our request known. The primary interest is how we can barricade future occurrences, as we have told them to improve their school security,” Adegoke said.

Meanwhile, Oyo State Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, on Tuesday, however, called for calm and cooperation among all parties involved.

The state Commissioner for Education, Salihu Adelabu, noted that efforts are ongoing to resolve the issue at hand. He urged the school to increase campus security.

“The Oyo State Government has called for calm among parties involved in the lingering crisis at Ajayi Crowther University Oyo while security agencies investigate to ascertain the origin of the incident for appropriate action.

“The state government has been discussing with the management of the institution towards finding lasting solutions to the crisis,” it read.

Adelabu said Governor Seyi Makinde’s government is committed to academic excellence and a peaceful environment.

Punch/Adebukola Aluko

Subscribe to our Telegram and YouTube Channels and also join our Whatsapp Update Group

Education

Students Strip Varsity Lecturer over Alleged Sexual Harassment

By Web News 291

A senior lecturer at the Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State, was, on Friday, stripped following accusations of making sexual advances towards a female student, The Nation reports.

The lecturer, whose full name remains unknown, reportedly angered female undergraduates from the institution’s English Department, where he teaches, upon learning of his alleged misconduct.

They insisted on his public humiliation, declaring that “his actions have caught up with him.”

Stripped down to his boxers, the lecturer was spared further embarrassment by the collective efforts of the school’s security unit at the Adankolo mini campus.

During questioning, the lecturer implicated his colleagues, suggesting that they provided him with names of students to “pass or fail” based on their relationships with such female students.

When contacted, the university’s spokesperson, Mr. Daniel Iyke, confirmed that the management was aware of the incident and had initiated an investigation.

Punch/Simeon Ugbodovon

Subscribe to our Telegram and YouTube Channels and also join our Whatsapp Update Group

Education

Premium on Varsity Certification Fuelling Illegal Institutions, Says NUC

By Web News 268

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has blamed the proliferation of illegal degree awarding institutions on parents whom he said had placed a premium on university certification.

The Acting Executive Secretary, Mr Chris Maiyaki, said this on Sunday in Abuja during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He told NAN that unaccredited degree awarding institutions and satellite campuses remained banned in the country.

He advised parents to thoroughly scrutinise institutions before sending their wards there to acquire certificates.

“Everybody is right to pursue university education but how you go about it is the crux of the matter.

“The challenge of access, the huge gap between supply and demand makes parents desperate about getting university education for their children  and this makes them vulnerable to greedy and fraudulent persons with commercial undertone,” he said.

Maiyaki explained that a committee was however set up to stamp out illegal institutions across the country.

“When we were challenged by this menace of our satellite campuses, NUC in 2000 undertook resource assessment of all outreach centres and we came up with the state of affairs of satellite campuses.

“We wrote to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and FEC was so gracious and there was a total ban on satellite campuses at that time.

“We took a step further at NUC and shut down these centres. So satellite campuses remain banned and outlawed.

“We establish a committee on the closure of illegal universities and we mandated it to identify, locate and prosecute those perpetrating illegalities and we also do this in a multi- stakeholders collaboration involving security agencies,” he said.

He also said a committee was reconstituted in 2021 to identify and prosecute operators of illegal institutions noting that effort  recorded a huge success.

Vanguard/Simeon Ugbodovon

Subscribe to our Telegram and YouTube Channels and also join our Whatsapp Update Group 

Foreign

Chinese Millionaire Fails University Entrance Exams 27 Times

By Web News 354

A Chinese millionaire says he has failed the country’s tough university entrance exams for the 27th time.

On Friday, the 56-year-old Liang Shi found out he had scored only 424 out of 750 points.

The mark is 34 points short of the baseline needed to apply for any university in China.

Nearly 13 million students sat the exams this year. Mr Liang has drawn local media coverage before for his attempts to pursue higher education.

Having attended the exams dozens of times since 1983, Mr Liang told local media he was disappointed in his result this year and was wondering if he would ever realise his dream.

“I used to say ‘I just don’t believe I won’t make it’, but now I’m torn,” the Sichuan-based man told Chinese media outlet Tianmu News.

Gaokao, the notoriously difficult exam, tests high school leavers on their Chinese, mathematics and English and another science or humanities subject of their choice.

Chinese government data shows only 41.6% of exam candidates were accepted into universities or colleges in 2021.

The Gaokao is seen as a make-or-break opportunity, especially for those from poorer families, in a country where a degree is considered essential for a good job.

The tests have been the focal point of the country’s education system since the 1950s, although they were suspended during the Cultural Revolution.

For Mr Liang, he said he had always dreamed of being accepted into a prestigious university and becoming an “intellectual”.

After failing his first attempt in 1983 when he was 16, he worked different jobs but kept applying every year until 1992, when he was considered too old.

After the factory he worked at went bankrupt in the same year, Mr Liang started his own timber wholesale business in the mid-1990s.

He soon became a much more successful businessman than a student – he made one million yuan within one year and then started a construction material business.

But in 2001, when the Chinese government removed the age limit for the Gaokao, he started his education journey again. He had only missed the annual exams due to poor health or a busy working schedule.

Over the years, the reason for his continuous attempts have shifted from changing his fate to being unwilling to give up, he said.

“I think it’s such a pity if you don’t go to college, your life won’t be complete without higher education,” he told local media outlet The Papers in 2014.

On 7 June this year, he once again took himself to a test centre to sit the exams.

Known as “the No.1 Gaokao holdout”, he had abstained from drinking and playing mahjong to focus on studying.

But it wasn’t to be, yet again.

Mr Liang has said that, unlike previous years, he’s starting to feel defeated.

“I have been contemplating whether I should continue,” he told Tianmu News. “Maybe I do need to reflect on myself.”

In another interview with a Sichuan outlet, Mr Liang expressed further doubts.

“I might give up (next year),” he said. “If I do attend it next year, I will give up my last name Liang if I fail.”

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

Subscribe to our Telegram and YouTube Channels also join our Whatsapp Update Group

Education

Osun State College of Education Becomes a University

By Web News 1891

Osun state government has decided to upgrade the Osun state college of education, Ilesa to a full fledged university.

The state governor, Adegboyega Oyetola announced this in Ilesa while commissioning a project.

Governor Oyetola informed that a consultant had been engaged to work out sustainable plan for the project.

Correspondent Abiodun Adeoye reports that Ijesa sons and daughters at the event expressed joy on the new department.

Abiodun Adeoye