INVITATION TO THE EVALUATION FORUM FOR THE AGDC/ IYF SAMSUNG REAL DREAMS PROGRAM
Over the past 1-year, we have had reports of giant strides taken by SRD alumni, from the intellectual confines of Edinburgh Business School to America's Wall Street, to Nigeria's commercial centers and even in the Niger-Delta region.
Whilst we celebrate the success of all our beneficiaries, we know there maybe instances of unmet dreams and lingering unemployment. Hence, AGDC is convening the first ever "EVALUATION FORUM" for alumni of the program.
This session is specifically for those seeking their first or formal employment since their graduation from the SRD program.
If you are employed, kindly spread the word and inform those who are still doing the best they can to transition into the job market to come equipped with their current CV for an interactive session and resources.
Event Details:
Date: August 11th , 2011
Venue: AGDC Learning Centre, 5 Maitama Sule Street, Ikoyi SW, Lagos
Time: 10a.m Prompt
It is compulsory to confirm attendance latest by Wednesday, August 10, 2011 date to enable us plan for your arrival. Kindly confirm your attendance by sending an e-mail to bolanleokunuga@graddev.com, jenniferjoel@graddev.com or an sms to +2348083986255, +2348036443699
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Communique on The State of Education In Edo State
COMMUNIQUE
After School Graduate Development Centre (AGDC)
The Challenge of Equity in the Post-Primary Education System in Edo State
Held At The Sage Hotel, GRA Benin, June 16, 2011
INTRODUCTION
The educational system in Nigeria is on a geometric failure deficit; with increasing rates of youth unemployment; the existence of an equitable educational system in every state is non-negotiable. An “equitable” system provides high quality education to all pupils regardless of background or where they live. This report details findings from the evaluation of rural post secondary education in 10 Local Government and 14 communities in Edo-State, and establishes the existence of inequity in provisions for schools in urban and rural communities in Edo-State. Universally accepted measurements comprising of Pupil –Teacher Ratio (PTR), budgetary allocation and funding, as well infrastructure were used in this study.
Edo State is situated in Southern Nigeria within the Niger Delta Region; it is divided into 18 Local Government Areas. The state’s 2011 budget is 105,944 Billion Naira. Funded by TY Danjuma Foundation, the W.I.N.G.S Community Projects are 14 community projects implemented by undergraduates of the University of Benin whom were beneficiaries of the W.I.N.G.S 3 Week employability and enterprise training implemented by AGDC, i.e. the After School Graduate Development Centre, located in Lagos, Nigeria. This report is based on the findings of AGDC’s Monitoring and Evaluation team for the W.I.N.G.S Community Projects.
FINDINGS
Pupil –Teacher Ratio (PTR): For all rural community secondary schools, the largest teacher population for a single school was 6. These 6 teachers are expected to teach the 15 subjects curriculum for senior secondary schools in the state. Majority of schools visited had 3 or 2 teachers and these numbers includes the School Principal and Vice-Principal. The lowest ratio of teacher to pupil ratio was found in Ovia South East LGA with a median range of 168 Students per Teacher. Placing this against the universal benchmark of 40 pupils per teacher for developing countries (World Conference on Education, 1990), rural secondary schools in Edo-State are grossly understaffed. There seems to be a different administration for schools located in the city –centre as the average PTR is between 40-80 pupils per teacher. School administrators in the rural communities attribute the discrepancies between PTR of Rural and Urban secondary schools to 2 factors:
• Non deployment of teachers to the hinterlands by the Post-Primary Education Board
• Refusal of deployed teachers to report at their schools of posting
Thus, rural secondary schools not only suffer from discrimination from the administrative government body, but also from teachers who refuse to report to rural community secondary schools. Furthermore, it was discovered that teachers lecturing students in core subjects such as English, Mathematics, Biology and Economics are often reposted to schools located in the city centre.
Rural community secondary schools in Edo State are populated by staff members made up of National Youth Corps members. These Youth Corpers make up the core teaching staff in all schools; a Youth Corp member interviewed in Igueben LGA asserts “We are the teaching staff”. The schools’ Parents Teacher Association (PTA) for each school pays the remuneration for these Corpers.
Funding: Against the backdrop of 105,944 Billion Naira, 2011 Edo State budget; the average monthly subvention for senior secondary schools is 5.000 Naira. With an average population of 250 pupils for rural secondary, the Edo State government provides 20 Naira to fund a secondary school student per month. 20 Naira is the equivalent of ¼ of the cost of a bottle of soft drink, 4000% of the cost of a rubber school sandal and 200% of the cost of a Higher School Note-Book. It was reported that charging students extra fees is strictly prohibited in the state, but the question is; how does the Edo State government expects rural community schools to thrive with a monthly subvention of 5000 Naira? Which according to all schools visited was last paid in April 2011
Evaluation and Promotion of Students: The challenge of funding impedes proper evaluation of students for promotional examinations. According to one of the School Principals interviewed, the school have to consider 3 major factors;
• The ministry of education calculate the subvention provided for each school monthly by the number of paying students and not the actual students’ population; hence the school cannot afford to fail a paying student as it reduces the monthly subvention of the school. Hence, to ensure that the school stay afloat, the school administration is constrained to promote students en-masse.
• The presence of several private secondary school institutions in the community implies that the students if asked to repeat a class will most surely withdraw their studentship and enrol in a private secondary school, again leading to a reduction in the monthly subvention from the State’s Ministry of Education.
• Students pay tuition per term and due to dearth of funds, the school take in students at any term they can afford to pay for. It means that a young woman who have registered at the beginning of the school year but could only pay and attend classes in the 3rd term will automatically be promoted to the next class. The absence of proper evaluation and the high rate of examination malpractice at the WAEC and JAMB examination centres ensures that this young woman enters the university and at least in the next 4 years convocates as an unemployable graduate.
Infrastructure: All schools visited had dilapidated structures capable of collapsing under the most minimal of pressures. There were several cases of collapsed roofs, walls, absent windows and the most prominent; absence of desks and chairs. A unique phenomenon was the indication of desks and chairs as the most needed items reported by ALL schools visited. The students opined that “at least we can sit down and write, even under trees’. A school visited in Ovia North East LGA, JSS 2 students had to vacate their classes to the fields to enable JSS 3 students write the national Junior Secondary School Examinations. While the State Government is presently undertaking a renovation projects for secondary school in the state, we observed that two types of schools are being renovated; Schools located in local government areas in the city centre or along major roads in outlying communities. What are the criteria for selection of schools for renovation? This report make bold to assert that schools in the rural hinterlands are in worse states than schools in the city centre, and we could not find single one being renovated in all local governments visited.
Gender Proportion of Teaching Staff: An unconfirmed figure of about 4500 senior secondary school teacher population exists in Edo State, majority of who are reported to be women teachers. Given the need to urgently address the importance of educating the girl child in Edo State, efforts are needed to ensure that women teachers are not overly concentrated in the city centre to the detriment of rural girls whose access to education depends on them.
RESOLUTIONS
1. AGDC calls on the Edo State government to increase monthly subventions for schools in the state, in particular rural secondary schools. While we commend the state governor in implementing the new minimum wage figures, it is important to fund the institutions that train the labour force of the future, ie Secondary schools
2. The Protocol of Recruitment of Commonwealth Teachers adopted by Ministers of Education from common wealth countries explicitly advocate and recognizes the benefits of a well managed teacher exchange system. AGDC calls for an immediate end to arbitrary rural to urban reposting of teachers and also request that more teachers be posted to rural areas with additional incentives
3. AGDC further calls for recruitment of more teachers in Edo State and provide further trainings for current teachers in the rural areas, majority of who reported being sidelined in training programs in favour of teachers in the city centre.
4. AGDC calls on international and national funders to fund further research and intervention projects to investigate and address the inequalities in rural and urban education in Edo State and Nigeria as a whole
5. AGDC calls on NGOs, CBOs, private institutions and government agencies to become proactive in addressing the challenge in provisions for rural and urban education in Edo State and Nigeria.
MEMBERS OF THE MONITORING AND EVALUATION TEAM
Jennifer Joel-Obado
Otubure Emmanuel Godbless
Audu Oguns Clement
Nweke McDuke. C
Osaghae Aigbe David
Frank Okhions
Roland Omozuwa
After School Graduate Development Centre (AGDC)
The Challenge of Equity in the Post-Primary Education System in Edo State
Held At The Sage Hotel, GRA Benin, June 16, 2011
INTRODUCTION
The educational system in Nigeria is on a geometric failure deficit; with increasing rates of youth unemployment; the existence of an equitable educational system in every state is non-negotiable. An “equitable” system provides high quality education to all pupils regardless of background or where they live. This report details findings from the evaluation of rural post secondary education in 10 Local Government and 14 communities in Edo-State, and establishes the existence of inequity in provisions for schools in urban and rural communities in Edo-State. Universally accepted measurements comprising of Pupil –Teacher Ratio (PTR), budgetary allocation and funding, as well infrastructure were used in this study.
Edo State is situated in Southern Nigeria within the Niger Delta Region; it is divided into 18 Local Government Areas. The state’s 2011 budget is 105,944 Billion Naira. Funded by TY Danjuma Foundation, the W.I.N.G.S Community Projects are 14 community projects implemented by undergraduates of the University of Benin whom were beneficiaries of the W.I.N.G.S 3 Week employability and enterprise training implemented by AGDC, i.e. the After School Graduate Development Centre, located in Lagos, Nigeria. This report is based on the findings of AGDC’s Monitoring and Evaluation team for the W.I.N.G.S Community Projects.
FINDINGS
Pupil –Teacher Ratio (PTR): For all rural community secondary schools, the largest teacher population for a single school was 6. These 6 teachers are expected to teach the 15 subjects curriculum for senior secondary schools in the state. Majority of schools visited had 3 or 2 teachers and these numbers includes the School Principal and Vice-Principal. The lowest ratio of teacher to pupil ratio was found in Ovia South East LGA with a median range of 168 Students per Teacher. Placing this against the universal benchmark of 40 pupils per teacher for developing countries (World Conference on Education, 1990), rural secondary schools in Edo-State are grossly understaffed. There seems to be a different administration for schools located in the city –centre as the average PTR is between 40-80 pupils per teacher. School administrators in the rural communities attribute the discrepancies between PTR of Rural and Urban secondary schools to 2 factors:
• Non deployment of teachers to the hinterlands by the Post-Primary Education Board
• Refusal of deployed teachers to report at their schools of posting
Thus, rural secondary schools not only suffer from discrimination from the administrative government body, but also from teachers who refuse to report to rural community secondary schools. Furthermore, it was discovered that teachers lecturing students in core subjects such as English, Mathematics, Biology and Economics are often reposted to schools located in the city centre.
Rural community secondary schools in Edo State are populated by staff members made up of National Youth Corps members. These Youth Corpers make up the core teaching staff in all schools; a Youth Corp member interviewed in Igueben LGA asserts “We are the teaching staff”. The schools’ Parents Teacher Association (PTA) for each school pays the remuneration for these Corpers.
Funding: Against the backdrop of 105,944 Billion Naira, 2011 Edo State budget; the average monthly subvention for senior secondary schools is 5.000 Naira. With an average population of 250 pupils for rural secondary, the Edo State government provides 20 Naira to fund a secondary school student per month. 20 Naira is the equivalent of ¼ of the cost of a bottle of soft drink, 4000% of the cost of a rubber school sandal and 200% of the cost of a Higher School Note-Book. It was reported that charging students extra fees is strictly prohibited in the state, but the question is; how does the Edo State government expects rural community schools to thrive with a monthly subvention of 5000 Naira? Which according to all schools visited was last paid in April 2011
Evaluation and Promotion of Students: The challenge of funding impedes proper evaluation of students for promotional examinations. According to one of the School Principals interviewed, the school have to consider 3 major factors;
• The ministry of education calculate the subvention provided for each school monthly by the number of paying students and not the actual students’ population; hence the school cannot afford to fail a paying student as it reduces the monthly subvention of the school. Hence, to ensure that the school stay afloat, the school administration is constrained to promote students en-masse.
• The presence of several private secondary school institutions in the community implies that the students if asked to repeat a class will most surely withdraw their studentship and enrol in a private secondary school, again leading to a reduction in the monthly subvention from the State’s Ministry of Education.
• Students pay tuition per term and due to dearth of funds, the school take in students at any term they can afford to pay for. It means that a young woman who have registered at the beginning of the school year but could only pay and attend classes in the 3rd term will automatically be promoted to the next class. The absence of proper evaluation and the high rate of examination malpractice at the WAEC and JAMB examination centres ensures that this young woman enters the university and at least in the next 4 years convocates as an unemployable graduate.
Infrastructure: All schools visited had dilapidated structures capable of collapsing under the most minimal of pressures. There were several cases of collapsed roofs, walls, absent windows and the most prominent; absence of desks and chairs. A unique phenomenon was the indication of desks and chairs as the most needed items reported by ALL schools visited. The students opined that “at least we can sit down and write, even under trees’. A school visited in Ovia North East LGA, JSS 2 students had to vacate their classes to the fields to enable JSS 3 students write the national Junior Secondary School Examinations. While the State Government is presently undertaking a renovation projects for secondary school in the state, we observed that two types of schools are being renovated; Schools located in local government areas in the city centre or along major roads in outlying communities. What are the criteria for selection of schools for renovation? This report make bold to assert that schools in the rural hinterlands are in worse states than schools in the city centre, and we could not find single one being renovated in all local governments visited.
Gender Proportion of Teaching Staff: An unconfirmed figure of about 4500 senior secondary school teacher population exists in Edo State, majority of who are reported to be women teachers. Given the need to urgently address the importance of educating the girl child in Edo State, efforts are needed to ensure that women teachers are not overly concentrated in the city centre to the detriment of rural girls whose access to education depends on them.
RESOLUTIONS
1. AGDC calls on the Edo State government to increase monthly subventions for schools in the state, in particular rural secondary schools. While we commend the state governor in implementing the new minimum wage figures, it is important to fund the institutions that train the labour force of the future, ie Secondary schools
2. The Protocol of Recruitment of Commonwealth Teachers adopted by Ministers of Education from common wealth countries explicitly advocate and recognizes the benefits of a well managed teacher exchange system. AGDC calls for an immediate end to arbitrary rural to urban reposting of teachers and also request that more teachers be posted to rural areas with additional incentives
3. AGDC further calls for recruitment of more teachers in Edo State and provide further trainings for current teachers in the rural areas, majority of who reported being sidelined in training programs in favour of teachers in the city centre.
4. AGDC calls on international and national funders to fund further research and intervention projects to investigate and address the inequalities in rural and urban education in Edo State and Nigeria as a whole
5. AGDC calls on NGOs, CBOs, private institutions and government agencies to become proactive in addressing the challenge in provisions for rural and urban education in Edo State and Nigeria.
MEMBERS OF THE MONITORING AND EVALUATION TEAM
Jennifer Joel-Obado
Otubure Emmanuel Godbless
Audu Oguns Clement
Nweke McDuke. C
Osaghae Aigbe David
Frank Okhions
Roland Omozuwa
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
AGDC warns on the state of Education in Edo State
The After School Graduate Development Center (AGDC), sponsored by the TY Danjuma Foundation, yesterday, raised the alarm over what it described as the deplorable state of the education sector in Edo State, saying that from the survey carried out by the organization, the educational sector in the state would have collapsed if not for the assistance of NYSC members.
The group described as imbalance in the posting of teachers and construction of school buildings in urban and rural areas in the state despite the enormous infrastructural investment in the education sector in the state, asserting that if things continue in this manner, the state may not be able to produce employable graduates in the nearest future.
In a communiqué by the Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Director of AGDC, Jennifer Obado and the Project Coordinator, TYDF/AGDC, Brian Orji, the Foundation said students teacher ratio in the rural area was an average of 160 students to one teacher while in the urban areas, it was a case of one teacher to 40 to 50 students, an indication that there were more teachers in the urban than rural areas.
Relevant Links
West Africa
Nigeria
Education
The group also observed that most of the staff in secondary schools in the rural areas are members of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) whose services were paid for by the schools' Parents Teachers Association (PTA).They observed that secondary schools were being grossly underfunded in the state with a monthly grant of between N4, 000 to N7, 000 depending on the location of the school just as they lamented the dilapidated state of buildings in most secondary schools visited in 10 of the 18 local government councils selected for the research.
Meanwhile, 2,000 students from 14 institutions, including secondary and tertiary institutions in the state, have benefited from the Wing Community Development Project, sponsored by the T.Y. Danjuma Foundation.
The group described as imbalance in the posting of teachers and construction of school buildings in urban and rural areas in the state despite the enormous infrastructural investment in the education sector in the state, asserting that if things continue in this manner, the state may not be able to produce employable graduates in the nearest future.
In a communiqué by the Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Director of AGDC, Jennifer Obado and the Project Coordinator, TYDF/AGDC, Brian Orji, the Foundation said students teacher ratio in the rural area was an average of 160 students to one teacher while in the urban areas, it was a case of one teacher to 40 to 50 students, an indication that there were more teachers in the urban than rural areas.
Relevant Links
West Africa
Nigeria
Education
The group also observed that most of the staff in secondary schools in the rural areas are members of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) whose services were paid for by the schools' Parents Teachers Association (PTA).They observed that secondary schools were being grossly underfunded in the state with a monthly grant of between N4, 000 to N7, 000 depending on the location of the school just as they lamented the dilapidated state of buildings in most secondary schools visited in 10 of the 18 local government councils selected for the research.
Meanwhile, 2,000 students from 14 institutions, including secondary and tertiary institutions in the state, have benefited from the Wing Community Development Project, sponsored by the T.Y. Danjuma Foundation.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
AGDC on CNN iReport
In furtherance of our mandate to equip Nigeria's youth for the global market, Nigeria's foremost career centre has launced its unique profile on CNN ireport.
Express Yourself; Post your Comment on AGDC... Checkout the latest post on AGDC profile on CNN;
http://ireport.cnn.com/people/AGDC
Express Yourself; Post your Comment on AGDC... Checkout the latest post on AGDC profile on CNN;
http://ireport.cnn.com/people/AGDC
Landing Your Dream Job...1
I have heard so much from graduates about how difficult, competitive and congested the labour market is. The tales of woes and misery never stops. Interestingly, I disagree! I know you might say I have a job, am not a fresh graduate et al, but we have graduates who have landed their dream jobs without the ‘you must know someone’ syndrome! Everyday people get hired and some get fired.
The job market maybe difficult but it’s not impossible. There is more to a job search than mere sending out resumes, writing cover letters and attending interviews. It's not that simple as there are more applicants than available jobs at any point in time. That is a given. Besides, these jobs are going to be filled by the best. You not only have to be competitive, you have to be super-competitive and be ready to make a strong positive impression on every HR manager.
At present, there are so many facets to a job search. Averagely, when we think of beginning a job search, most of us have the idea of browsing various job search engines, find positions that match our desire, and email our latest resume; Q.E.D! However, have you thought of the number of applicants that one advert can attract? How then are you going to differentiate yourself from the volumes of other applicants who are also attempting to obtain the same position? The answer is simple; You need to be strategic! Deviate from the norm.
It's time to adjust our thinking when applying for a job, from being "an applicant," to actively marketing your skills and experience! When you approach job search from a marketing perspective, with a strategic plan, you find that you'll land that job in no time. Dare to be different. It’s high time you treated your job search as a full time job! The difference is that your Job Description will be; spotting hidden vacancies, preparing for aptitude tests, interviews, amongst others. Your salary at the end of the ‘Job Search’ is you getting the job! Resumption time will be 8am and you close at 5pm as if you have the job already.
Difficult times, they say, require drastic measures. I’ve developed a low-risk, high-gain plan to land your dream job. However, I won’t go into details this week. We will continue next week. I’ll like to reiterate that registration for the AGDC High Potential (HiPO) Graduate Program is still on. The HiPO program is geared towards building global talent locally, and raising a new generation of leaders for Nigeria’s economy and industries. It is an opportunity for graduates to launch their careers on a fast track, and be empowered to excel and add value to the companies they work in. The program has been structured to meet the employers' needs, develop insights and strategies to find gainful employment in this competitive job market. For enquiries and feedback, kindly call Bolanle on 0702977474 or send an email bolanleokunuga@graddev.com.
Don’t allow your career to take a "back-seat" during this tough economy; it's time to become a proactive job seeker! The true secret to landing your dream job, is moving your perspective from a passive job applicant, to an effective career skills marketer. Till next week, don't waste time chasing postings on job boards. Be strategic, be different.
The job market maybe difficult but it’s not impossible. There is more to a job search than mere sending out resumes, writing cover letters and attending interviews. It's not that simple as there are more applicants than available jobs at any point in time. That is a given. Besides, these jobs are going to be filled by the best. You not only have to be competitive, you have to be super-competitive and be ready to make a strong positive impression on every HR manager.
At present, there are so many facets to a job search. Averagely, when we think of beginning a job search, most of us have the idea of browsing various job search engines, find positions that match our desire, and email our latest resume; Q.E.D! However, have you thought of the number of applicants that one advert can attract? How then are you going to differentiate yourself from the volumes of other applicants who are also attempting to obtain the same position? The answer is simple; You need to be strategic! Deviate from the norm.
It's time to adjust our thinking when applying for a job, from being "an applicant," to actively marketing your skills and experience! When you approach job search from a marketing perspective, with a strategic plan, you find that you'll land that job in no time. Dare to be different. It’s high time you treated your job search as a full time job! The difference is that your Job Description will be; spotting hidden vacancies, preparing for aptitude tests, interviews, amongst others. Your salary at the end of the ‘Job Search’ is you getting the job! Resumption time will be 8am and you close at 5pm as if you have the job already.
Difficult times, they say, require drastic measures. I’ve developed a low-risk, high-gain plan to land your dream job. However, I won’t go into details this week. We will continue next week. I’ll like to reiterate that registration for the AGDC High Potential (HiPO) Graduate Program is still on. The HiPO program is geared towards building global talent locally, and raising a new generation of leaders for Nigeria’s economy and industries. It is an opportunity for graduates to launch their careers on a fast track, and be empowered to excel and add value to the companies they work in. The program has been structured to meet the employers' needs, develop insights and strategies to find gainful employment in this competitive job market. For enquiries and feedback, kindly call Bolanle on 0702977474 or send an email bolanleokunuga@graddev.com.
Don’t allow your career to take a "back-seat" during this tough economy; it's time to become a proactive job seeker! The true secret to landing your dream job, is moving your perspective from a passive job applicant, to an effective career skills marketer. Till next week, don't waste time chasing postings on job boards. Be strategic, be different.
Monday, April 11, 2011
AGDC Launches its Alumni Network!
The After School Graduate Development Centre, (AGDC) has launched an Alumni Network for all participants of its programs. Membership to this network is limited to individuals who are Samsung Real Dreams Alumni or/and individuals who have attended any of our training programs.
Membership Benefits include:
• Quarterly Online Career Newsletter
• Inclusion in AGDC recruitment Database
• Mentorship Opportunities
• Free Invitation to AGDC's roundtable discussions
• Free Invitation to AGDC Quarterly CEO Forum
• Discount for use of AGDC training facilities
• Volunteering opportunities
• Networking Opportunities
And so much more........
To register: Send a mail with your Name, Phone number, Occupation & Company to jenniferjoel@graddev.com
Membership Benefits include:
• Quarterly Online Career Newsletter
• Inclusion in AGDC recruitment Database
• Mentorship Opportunities
• Free Invitation to AGDC's roundtable discussions
• Free Invitation to AGDC Quarterly CEO Forum
• Discount for use of AGDC training facilities
• Volunteering opportunities
• Networking Opportunities
And so much more........
To register: Send a mail with your Name, Phone number, Occupation & Company to jenniferjoel@graddev.com
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