With her innovation project, ‘Capturing of CO2 For Cooling Process,’ Miss Kehinde Adegboye, a 200-level Mechanical Engineering student from the University of Lagos, has emerged as the APWEN Lagos Innovation Month winner.

The month aims to encourage female engineers to break barriers, challenge conventions, and devise solutions for a sustainable future.

Adegboye had a tie with Miss Chinaza Goodness Okpala, a 200-level Electronic and Computer Engineering student of the Lagos State University, Epe Campus, also emerged as a winner with 35 points for her innovative idea and solution, ‘The Application of Sound As A Clean Source Of Energy’.

Miss Omolola Olarenwaju, a master’s student, emerged third with her ‘ Smart Cook Stove’ innovation idea and solution project. They beat eight other contestants who participated in the ‘Step out and Innovate’ project competition.

They received certificates and plaques for their efforts.

Speaking at the public lecture and mentorship programme in commemoration of the World Creativity and Innovation Day themed, ‘Embracing Sustainability in Engineering Innovations and Best Practices’, the Chairwoman of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, Mrs. Atinuke Wuraola Owolabi, explained that the day reaffirms the association’s dedication to nurturing creativity and innovation within its organisation and the broader engineering community.

With societal challenges and opportunities, she stated that creativity and innovation enable progress.

The chairwoman noted that the association has proactively established an Artificial Intelligence club for female engineering students and young engineers, enriching them with technological insights. She added that its 200-capacity hall will soon evolve into a hub for resources, technology, and innovation, empowering women and girls in engineering.

“APWEN Lagos remains steadfast in promoting diversity, inclusivity, and excellence in engineering. We encourage all female engineers to embrace innovation and leave an indelible mark on the world,” Owolabi stated.

In her remarks, the guest speaker and a former president of the association, Mrs. Idiat Amusu, expressed concern that Nigeria is behind in innovation and creativity.

She stated that the country should place more emphasis on the environment, the effect of waste generation and reduction in our system, and how these will affect climate change.

She described the day as one set aside to encourage the younger generation to think creatively about the effect of innovation and technology on society.

“We are talking about sustainability. You cannot talk about climate change and its effects without talking about sustainability. Today, innovation and creativity brings to focus what are talking about,” said Amusu. “The focus is for us to step out and innovate, which is what we are trying to innovate into the children.”

Amusu stressed the need for greater emphasis on the sustainability of renewable energy, particularly through natural resources such as water, wind, and geothermal energy sources.

“All these are renewable and if we can harness it properly, the cost of the provision of electricity will go down,” Amusu explained.

Awards were presented to talented Nigerian children who distinguished themselves in the FAEO-WIE Art Competition 2023, designed to demonstrate their creativity and passion for engineering.

The federal government on Tuesday night approved a pay rise of between 25 and 35 per cent for civil servants across various consolidated salary structures.

The announcement was made on the eve of May Day, or Labour Day, which is celebrated worldwide to recognise and honour the achievements and contributions of the working class.

The announcement came ahead of the submission of the report of the 37-member tripartite committee on national minimum wage, led by Bukar Goni Aji, a former Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoCS), which was inaugurated in January this year.

A statement signed by the Head of Press, National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Emmanuel Njoku, said the increases took effect from January 1, 2024.

But the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said the announcement was “a waste of time.”

In an interview with Theheute on Monday night, the NLC Assistant General Secretary, Chris Onyeka, said the commission does not have powers to fix national minimum wage.

“What they pretend to have done is a waste of time. It does not amount to anything for us and those in the federal civil service,” Onyeka said.

Njoku’s statement said that the augmentation applies to the six remaining consolidated salary structures, namely the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS), Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS), Consolidated Paramilitary Salary Structure (CONPASS), Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS), and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS).

It added that the federal government had also approved pension increases ranging from 20% to 28% for pensioners enrolled in the Defined Benefits Scheme within the aforementioned consolidated salary structures, with the same effective date.

Before the latest development, salary increases were implemented for tertiary education and health, among them the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS), Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS), Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONPCASS), Consolidated Tertiary Educational Institutions Salary Structure (CONTEDISS), Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and Consolidated Health Sector Salary Structure (CONHESS).

When contacted to shed more light on the statement he issued hours to the May Day, Njoku told Theheute that there was no wrong time for workers to benefit from government policies.

He also confirmed that the government would pay the arrears of the backlogs from January.

Njoku added that the increment was different from the multi-stakeholders committee headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.

However, some senior government functionaries and security officials, who spoke in confidence, told Theheute that the announcement by NSIWC was to avert an impending embarrassment.

Less than 24 hours after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board released the 2024 UTME results which recorded a a 77% failure rate, Nigerians have started identifying factors responsible for the poor performance.

Theheute reported that JAMB released the 2024 UTME results on Monday.

The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, announced the release of the UTME results at a press conference held at the board’s headquarters, Bwari, in Abuja.

According to the examination body, over 1.94 million candidates registered and sat the examination in 118 towns and over 700 centres across the country.

The board noted that 77 per cent of the 1,842,464 candidates whose results were released on Monday, scored less than 200.

Giving a breakdown of the results of the 1,842,464 candidates released, Oloyede noted that, “8,401 candidates scored 300 and above; 77,070 scored 250 and above; 439,974 scored 200 and above while 1,402,490 scored below 200.”

A lawyer identified as Foundational Nupe Lawyer1 on X.com lamented the deplorable 77% failure recorded in the UTME results.

Foundational Nupe Lawyer1, who tweeted as @egi_nupe___, on Tuesday, attributed the mass failure to social media influence.

Sharing his thoughts on the high failure rate, the legal practitioner expressed disappointment while blaming social media.

He wrote “There are so many things to blame for this JAMB mass failure, but what tops the list for me is social media. Children who should be busy with studying are always on social media as content creators on different platforms, while neglecting their education or giving little time for it.

“I had to make conscious decisions to ban our last born, 17, from using TikTok by not using an internet-enabled phone while preparing for her WAEC and JAMB exams. She doesn’t need any internet access to study for these exams. All the materials are in hard copy and she was left with no other option than to study hard with full focus.

“In fact, her accessibility to an internet-enabled device is hinged on acing the exams very well. Otherwise, no man born of a woman can make her use it; and if she does, it means she has found another sponsor for her education moving forward.”

He said that though social media has its advantages, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

He added, “No doubt, social media has its good sides, but the negatives outweigh the positives, especially for children and teenagers. Even as adults, you have to make conscious efforts not to be swept away by the negativity and distractions of social media.

“Gone are the days when people used to be denied admission into tertiary institutions not because they didn’t pass well, but because the admissions were so competitive that even with good scores, you are not guaranteed admission. Today, the reverse is the case.”

He added that left to him, candidates with less than a 50% score should be made to resit the examination.

“People now gain admission with less than 200, or 180 and brag about it. God forbid! For me, anyone with less than 50% scores should be made to repeat or retake the exams, regardless of whether it’s a public or private practice institution they are seeking to be admitted into.

“Schools should no longer give room for rejects who performed below the minimum grade level to gain admission because such practice promotes laziness and mediocrity. Education is a serious business and should only be for people who have taken it seriously from the get-go,” he concluded.

Another person, Enkay Orji-Daniel, was quick to blame social media for the failure. He wrote, “What is expected with every child spending time with phones for the wrong reasons?:

Omotola Oluwadare blamed TikTok and internet fraud, popularly known as Yahoo Yahoo. He wrote, “The TikTok and yahoo generation, pampered by their too-know parents.”

Baring her mind on the result, a Facebook user, Beauty Oduali-Olusakin noted, “A lot of factors are responsible for this not-so-encouraging outcome. Some children didn’t prepare adequately for whatever reason(s). Some had issues with the computer. Some got to the exam venue late and couldn’t relax while doing the exam. Some had examination fever being the very first external exams for them. Some couldn’t meet up within the allotted time, so they couldn’t attempt all the questions.

“Some dwelled on some questions longer than they should have, So, that ate into the time for other questions, so they were just picking answers randomly to answer all the questions instead of reading each question first before answering. Some came very sick and did the little their strength couldn’t muster.

“Some didn’t open their books at all for those exams but just came because of their parents. Some wrote to fail because they didn’t want to go to higher institutions. Some due to unnecessary delay just very tired and probably forgot most of what you read. Some didn’t even have ideas about the questions asked because they got to SSS classes by crooked means.”

Responding, another Netizen, Stella Uduak, wrote, “Beauty Oduali-Olusakin, your reasons are valid. JAMB should pay attention to these computer issues because it’s a major reason for students’ failure.

“My friend’s daughter who is very intelligent had computer issues during the exam but with her knowledge of Tech and computer studies, she was able to sort herself out and continued after 35 minutes.”

Joy Ifeoma thought that most candidates are used to malpractice, hence their failure. She wrote, “Most of them are used to examination malpractice that is the bedrock of SSCE. So, there was little or no preparation. A student who had excellent A’s and B’s in SSCE, only to score 80 in JAMB. Most private schools help their students, as such, it is difficult to convince the students to study. Until we start CBT for SSCE to minimise exam malpractice, the woeful results in all external exams will continue.”

Lina Omagbitse wrote, “Shame of a country. A lot of parents invest so much money in sending their children to high-paying schools but along the line, they ruin the children’s lives by pushing them to jump into class at a very early age and fly into a future they are least prepared for. Until this aberration is stopped, the hope of education in this terrain might be blink. We all have a share in this issue. What a sad reality.

Ajayi Abolade Solomon blamed students, JAMB, parents, the government and private schools for the failure.

He wrote This is an abysmal performance. The students, JAMB, parents, government and private schools are to be blamed for this woeful outcome.”

Rêx Ôsçãr blamed JAMB for the failure. He wrote, “And lemme guess, the 24% are students from that Deeper Life School in the east. Something is wrong. Can we also talk about the plethora of students who were unable to write? Those who were rescheduled and JAMB didn’t send notice to them? As an exam body, JAMB is failing.”

Reacting, another Netizen, Josephine Nwankwo Ezike, noted that candidates need to show more signs of seriousness in their studies. He also advised JAMB to quit fixing examinations for as early as 7 am.

He wrote, “Poor performance! These youngsters need to be more serious with their studies. JAMB also needs to stop 7 a.m. exams.”

Adedayo Adeniken believed that a couple of reasons may have been responsible for the 77% failure recorded. He wrote, So many factors could be attributed, poor computer skills is one apart from other issues of low reading habits and bad preparations.”

Henry Oke urged the examination body to probe the root cause of the mass failure because the percentage was too high. He wrote, “Not a good one. The reason for the mass failure should be investigated although IT-related issues may play a negative role in the mass failure.”