By Suleiman Yakubu

The Acting Managjng Director of Newsline Newspaper, Aisha Abubakar, has warned that staff promotion in the organisation will strictly be on merit, based on the performance of the individual.
Speaking during a meeting she held with the editorial staff of the organisation in her office on Friday, she explained that the usual practice whereby staff were promoted every three years or when they presented additional paper qualifications would no longer be tenable if such staff did not perform their duties satisfactorily.
Aisha stated that such a type of promotion does not encourage productivity and efficiency, saying that she was determined to effect a change in the attitude of staff towards work and will stop the promotion of staff who were not working but waiting to collect salaries at the end of every month, as well as waiting for three years to get promotion without doing anything.
She disclosed further that any officer due for promotion in the organisation will be meticulously assessed, pointing out that good conduct, punctuality to work, and respect for seniority will be some of the criteria to be considered before anyone is promoted.
The acting managing director, who also spoke on the operations of the online edition of Newsline inspite of the challenges being faced by operators, commended reporters for their resilience in keeping the online version of the paper alive with their reports and urged those who were not doing much by contributing stories to wake up from their slumber and do the needful, as motivation will only be given to the hardworking staff when the need arises.
On the suspension of production of hard copies of Newsline Newspaper by her management, which she attributed to the introduction of Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the state government, she stressed that anytime the government announces the exemption of media organisations from TSA, she will not hesitate to resume the hard copy production of the newspaper.
"It is not my fault that Newsline hard copies are not on the street. I am ready to work by ensuring that the production of hard copies resumes as soon as the government removes Newsline from TSA arrangements, which has been an obstacle to our operations over some time now.
"I cannot do anything regarding the production of papers as long as the problem of TSA remains unsolved by the state government," she added.
Aisha Abubakar informed the editorial staff that the meeting was aimed at encouraging them to put in more efforts in their various endeavours and chart a way forward towards actualizing the set objectives of the paper.
She therefore called for the support and cooperation of all the staff to enable her to succeed.
Speaking also during the meeting, the News Editor, Uriah Gana, commended the acting managing director of the organisation for her zeal and determination to work for the progress of the organisation, which were tailored towards bringing about a change that will correct the wrongs of the past.
While appreciating her for her efforts in giving priority to staff welfare by providing factors that motivate the staff, especially those from the editorial department, he urged the reporters to reciprocate the gesture by remaining committed to their jobs.
He admonished them to always report their challenges in their various forms to the head of department in order to offer a lasting solution.
He also tasked the reporters to write features or news analyses on a regular basis for use, not necessarily waiting for ceremonial activities, which he acknowledged were not always available.
A similar meeting was held with staff members of other departments in the organisation.

By Abubakar Hassan

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL) has held the 2023 international symposium for Connected Learning for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (CL4STEM), with participants advocating for a workable education through innovative approaches.  
The CL4STEM symposium, with the theme "Innovative Approaches to STEM Instruction and Teacher Capacity Building," seeks a shift from the traditional way of teaching, which is more of a teacher-centred method, to the STEM model, which is a collaborative approach to teaching.
Addressing the participants before declaring the symposium open, Niger State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Hadiza Asabe Mohammed, who was represented by a Deputy Director in the Ministry, Daniel Yisa Loguma, said she was committed to fostering a transformative landscape in education in the state, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).  
She observed that STEM education stands at the forefront of global progress, serving as the bedrock for innovation, development, and problem solving in an ever-evolving world, adding that it is imperative to equip educators with the necessary tools, resources, and support they need to inspire the next generation of thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators.  
The Commissioner also disclosed that innovation lies at the heart of effective STEM education and that we must challenge traditional pedagogies, embrace emerging technologies, and cultivate an environment that nurtures creativity and critical thinking among both educators and students.
Also speaking at the event, Permanent Member Two of the State Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Haruna Arafat Abubakar, said the board will explore and key into the STEM model approach to teaching and learning to ensure that their teachers have the STEM education skills.  
He observed that the emergence of the STEM model was timely and promised that the board will get in touch with the team to ensure that teachers under SUBEB, especially those in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, get the STEM skills.
Earlier in his address, the Vice Chancellor of IBB University, Lapai, Prof. Abu Kasim Adamu, said that the institution had been doing the state proud with its recognition as a global centre of excellence in research and development among states' owned universities in Nigeria.  
The Vice Chancellor, who was represented by the Director, Academic Planning of the institution, Prof. Aliyu Bello Mohammed, disclosed that IBB University was the first university to be given a Professorial Chair endowment by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on hydrocarbon research.  
He added that IBB University had collaborated with both local, national, and international agencies in terms of research, and that on the CL4STEM project, in which about four countries—Nigeria, Tanzania, Bhutan, and TISS Mumbai, India—were involved, IBB University was leading the research.
The Vice Chancellor also assured that IBB University was committed to the project, and with the support of the state governor, who is the proprietor of the university, he had directed that CL4STEM be infused into the curriculum of the university education faculty.  
He added that with the one-year extension given to do more work on the project, IBB University was hoping that partner countries, as well as Bayero University Kano and Kaduna State University, would work closely with the project team to ensure that the outcome of the studies is embedded in the respective country's policy formulation for education and curriculum development.  
Also, in his address, the CL4STEM project global leader, Prof. Nuhu Obaje, gave an overview of how the project started with a proposal in 2020 and how it was selected under highly competitive bidding in 2022.  
He disclosed that the project, which was funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) through the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, aimed at piloting an innovation for building the capacities of teachers of junior and middle secondary schools in science and mathematics to foster higher-order teaching with inclusion and equity in their classrooms and to research its effectiveness and potential scaling.
Prof. Obaje said the CL4STEM project was generally about shifting from the traditional way of teaching and learning to a more refined method of teaching that is student-centred rather than teacher-centred, calling on all critical stakeholders in education to mainstream the principles of. CL4STEM into curriculum development for secondary schools and further training of more teachers.
In her keynote virtual presentation, the Principal Technical Consultant of the programme from Tata Institute for Social Sciences (TISS), Prof. Padma Sarangapani, who was represented by Dr. Vikas Maniar, stressed the importance of the teachers in the implementation of the CL4STEM project.  
There were also contributions from the Director General of the Nigeria Teachers Institute (NTI), Kaduna Dr. Ibrahim Sani, Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Salihu Abdulwaheed Adelabu, the Executive Director of the Niger State Teachers Professional Development Institute, Dr. Mustapha Lemu, Director of the Kano State Science and Secondary School Board, Salihu Tijjani, and a host of other participants.