Madonna University fondly known as MU is not your average university. Madonna University is the first private University in Nigeria and the first Catholic University in Nigeria. Enjoying both Stately and Ecclesiastical approval, it strives to revive in her community the age-long tradition of Catholic Education and the exacting demand of our contemporary society for sound education enrooted in salubrious life-promoting morality.

Carefully read the inscriptions on the image above, you will agree to the fact that student need to start an investment for themselves. It is to this note we have decide to share this  5 (Five) Steps To Start Investing as a Student 

Investing is actually pretty simple; you’re basically putting your money to work for you so that you don’t have to take a second job when you graduate. Most people think you have to be super rich to invest. This is not true, you do need some assets, but even students have something they can do that will launch their investment career. How?

Follow the steps below:

1. Examine Your Finances

Jumping into investing without first examining your finances is like jumping into the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim. Know how much you have, this includes physical cash, assets, such as belongings and your savings.  Luckily, investing doesn’t require a significant sum to start.

2. Establish Your Investment Goals

Why are you investing? Sounds like a simple enough question but many people can’t answer it because they haven’t fully articulated what they want their money to do for them. Are you putting money aside towards rent? A car? Retirement? Building assets? The reason you are investing will determine what kind of asset classes you should invest in.For you, it might be that you don’t wnat to have money troubles when you graduate.

3. Learn the Basics

You don’t need to be a financial expert to invest, but you do need to learn some basic terminology so that you are better equipped to make informed decisions. Learn the differences between stocks, bonds, mutual funds and certificates of deposit (CDs). Read a lot of books, make sure the books have to do with your own environment.

4. Pick an Investment Firm

After you have saved up some money and have a clearer idea of what your investment goals are, you need to speak to a professional. The reality is no matter how skilled you are in your business or line of work you may not have the skill or patience required to pick the best investments. Commercial banks offer some great savings products but an investment firm gives you a wider range of investment options that include stocks, bonds, real estate and other investment opportunities. pick the right one.

5. Keep Emotions At Bay

Students of the  Obafemi Awolowo University on Wednesday,  July 6, have expressed their displeasure about the closure of the institution.

The Association of Campus Journalists OAU, in a statement, urged the students to begin a social media protest.

The statement reads in part, “We have sampled Students opinion and we know Students want to resume.

“We are dedicated to being the masses voice objectively and to this end will not shy away from our duties.

“Governing Council has not been constituted at the moment and with feelers we are getting, if students don’t speak out, delay may make the close shut for longer.

“With the current pace of events, if Students do not voice out, the break still has long days ahead.

“Join us on Twitter and Facebook as we take over the Social media with #ReopenOAU.”

Several students, in reaction, took to the social media to join the campaign. They expressed their desire to return the school, with one saying, “5 months left in this year and we haven’t even started 2015/2016 session.“

Adeleke University 2nd convocation ceremony date, venue and time  have been released.

Authority of the Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State has announced the date, venue and time of its second convocation ceremony and thanksgiving service.

The 2nd convocation of Adeleke University, Ede  will hold at the University main campus located at Loogun – Ogberin road, Ede between Friday, July 15 to Sunday, July 17, 2016.

Friday: Commissioning of Class of Royal project

Saturday: Thanksgiving Service

            Time: 10:00am

            Venue: Salvation Chapel

Sunday: Convocation Ceremony

            Time: 10:00am

            Venue: University Performing Arts Theatre

One example is Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu Ijebu, Ogun State where lecturers are being owed up to 13 months’ salaries as of the end of June.

In reaction to this, lecturers have stayed away from the school in order to seek other ways to earn a living.

Student Union President, Ibrahim Dario, speaking during a protest against the lecturers’ plight, said that the students lamented  that they are not being thought despite the fact that they pay the required school fees.

Another university struggling with unpaid wages is Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo state, where lecturers are being owed up to three months salaries.

The workers have reportedly embarked on a strike on Monday, July 4, to protest the non payment of salaries.

Workers at the State University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, have also embarked upon a strike for the same reasons.

One reason given for this problem is that the tertiary institutions have been having a shortfall of N301m in its allocation from the Federal Government since last December.

This was according to a statement by University of Ibadan,Academic Staff Union of Universities Chairman, Omole Ayodeji. The development, he said, had resulted in the workers being paid less than 100 per cent of their salaries.

A few weeks ago, its Vice-Chancellor of University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, said that with 6,000 workers in its payroll, it needed about N878m to pay monthly salaries.

The Oyo State Government also owes members of staff of The Polytechnic, Ibadan. A source said the government owed workers in the school five months’ salaries.

Meanwhile, at the federal universities, including the University of Lagos, University of Nigeria and the University of Calabar, among others, their authorities have been regular with the payment of the workers’ salaries.

A Nigerian, Ifesinachi Nelson Ezeh, has won international acclaim for finishing his Master’s degree at Saint Petersburg Agrarian University in Russia with distinction and for his edge-cutting research in Agronomy. His feat earned him a Ph.D scholarship. HANNAH OJO writes on the exploits of the youngster whose aim is to tackle the food crisis in his fatherland.

Ifesinachi Nelson Ezeh, a 26-year-old Nigerian, has dazzled Russia with his brilliance. The Nsukka, Enugu State-born student finished his Master’s degree in Agronomy at Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University, graduating with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.0 – the highest Russia has ever recorded.

Ifesinachi’s feat was celebrated by Russians during the university’s graduation. Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture and the school leadership showered encomiums on him, praising his dedication to quality research and academic excellence.

His journey to success started from a newspaper in 2008, when he read about a scholarship scheme to study in Russia. Then, he had just enrolled at the Nigerian College of Aviation Studies in Zaria, Kaduna State. But, Ifesinachi forfeited the admission for the scholarship.

According to him, his father got the information about the scholarship and encouraged him to apply. The scholarship is a bilateral agreement between Nigeria and other countries, including Russia, Cuba, China and Libya.

He said: “I was among the top five students selected at the College of Aviation after the scholarship examination. This got my dad excited. I was waiting to resume at the college when I received a call from Abuja, inviting me to come for the scholarship interview. The urgency of the information gave me no room for preparation. But, I went for the interview and travelled to Russia for study.”

In November 2008, Ifesinachi arrived in Russia with 40 other students from Nigeria for his Bachelor’s degree. Since Russian language is a prerequisite for study in the country, he enrolled at Don State Technical University, where he learnt the language for one year. Afterwards, he was transferred to Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University to study Agronomy.

Ifesinachi’s brilliance was discovered in his sophomore year when he was assigned to Prof Lev Gennadievich Tyryshkin as his thesis supervisor. Also a researcher at the Russia Institute of Plant Industry, Prof Tyryshkin exposed Ifesinachi to academic and industrial research methodologies.

“That was when my journey in scientific research started,” Ifesinachi said, adding: “The professor is an atheist and for the time I spent with him in the laboratory, I literally became an atheist too, because my mind was preoccupied with research work.”
Ifesinachi’s research on species of Aegilops won him recognition from the Science Community in the Europe.

The research, he said, was to re-study six species of Aegilops (a wheat variety) and bread wheat that were said to have effective LR23 gene for resistance at juvenile stage. In the course of the study, Ifesinachi discovered inadequacies in the previous researches carried out by scholars in the field.

He said: “It was during the comparison of results of the DNA markers and phytopathological tests that I discovered there were possible errors in the previous studies. After that, we reset the conditions that were recommended nationally for phytopathological study. Our results were narrowed down to the large collection of specimens that have been approved for hybridisation with bread-wheat nationally from 15 specimens (six species of Aegilops) with effective LR23 gene for resistance at the juvenile stage.”
After his research, it was discovered that previous researchers falsified records and gave the Russian government wrong information about the Aegilops species. Ifesinachi’s results enabled the Russian government to update plant bank gene collections with effective genes.

The student said his closeness to Prof Tyryshkin contributed to his success, because he had access to Plant Bank Collection in Saint Petersburg, which he said houses several collections of genes and known species and varieties of plant.

It was not smoothsailing all the way. In 2012, his first research was rejected when it was published. Ifesinachi blamed it on his level of fluency in Russian language then. The rejection, he said, made him to develop more interest in research work.

He said: “In 2013, I got more results and I presented them to the university leadership. Two of us were selected to represent the university at a regional level. We presented our research results to the jury of the regional contest. We won and moved to the national level. My research was adjudged third best work at the national level and I am the only African student among the best student-researchers. I was recognised by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture. My university gave me an honorary degree in recognition of my feat.”

Ifesinachi’s feat improved the ratings of Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University and fetched him a scholarship for his Master’s degree. He completed his undergraduate degree with a CGPA of 4.92 and finished his Master’s degree with a CGPA of 5.0 – a distinction.

He got a scholarship for his doctoral degree during the university’s convocation.
While his academic feat was being celebrated by the Russians, he was unsung by his country
Ifesinachi said he did not get any commendation from the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow.

He said: “The only reward I got came from the Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University. I never got a call from the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow. I felt I should pass the information through the scholarship board, but it appeared nobody showed interest.”

On the challenges he faced while in Russia, Ifesinachi said the greatest was being alone in the midst of Russians speaking their language fluently. “I always felt lonely in their midst,” he said.

Ifesinachi suspended his doctoral programme and returned to Nigeria last month for the National Youth Service. Against the expectation of his supervisor, Ifesinachi said he decided to return home and serve Nigeria in field research before going back for his Ph.D.

“The Dean of my faculty was worried when I told him I would be in Nigeria for a year before resuming my Ph.D. I think it is justified to impart the knowledge I garnered in Russia to my countrymen. I was on scholarship for seven years. I also need to serve my country, which gave me the opportunity.”
Ifesinachi is also a budding writer. He has published a fiction work titled: Sister Kingdom. He said the motivation came from his family.

According to him, he wants to use his innovative research expertise to solve the country’s food crisis through plant breeding. This, he said, would enable him fulfil the purpose of his scholarship.

Due to the recent directive by the Federal Government, at least 3 schools have shut down their Admission Screening portals.

MOUAU

Indications show that the postal for the 2016 admission screening registration of Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUA) has been disabled as candidates have been unable to proceed with their registration.

This may not be unconnected with the recent directive by the minster of education that all forms of post-UTME exercises in disguise by tertiary institution be stopped.

Candidates are advised to await further directive from the management.

FUPRE

This is to notify all aspirants of Federal University of Technology (FUPRE) that the registration portal has been shut down till further notice.

It is believed that this is linked to the recent directive by the Minister of Education that all institutions should stop the conduct of post-UTME in any guise.

Candidates should await further directive from the management.

UNIBEN

The management of the University of Benin hereby notifies the entire University of Benin Community that the 2016/2017 ongoing admission screening exercise has been suspended with immediate effect in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive.

The Federal Government has formally banned the conduct the Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). If any tertiary Institution has already conducted Post-UTME, such an exercise stands annulled and money taken from such candidates must be refunded immediately.

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu has reiterated the ban on the Post Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, otherwise known as Post-UTME, saying that the ban is with immediate effect.

A statement issued and signed by Ben Goong, the Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, quoted the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, as saying that the ban was with immediate effect and directed all higher institutions to comply with the directive.

The statement said: “The ban is with immediate effect, and under no circumstance should any institution violate the directive.

“The responsibility for admission into public tertiary institutions lies solely with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and under no circumstance whatsoever, should anybody or institution take over that responsibility by proxy.

“For the avoidance of doubt, any educational institution after secondary education is regarded as a tertiary institution.

“Therefore, all tertiary institutions, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, Universities or by whatever name it is called after secondary education, must be subjected to admission through the JAMB.”

The statement said at the end of probationary admission by JAMB, the candidates could be screened for final admission.

Adamu was quoted as having said: “Those who have already advertised for the conduct of the Post-UTME under any guise should stop the exercise immediately as any university caught conducting Post-UTMNE will face appropriate sanctions.

“If any tertiary Institution has already conducted Post-UTME, such an exercise stands annulled and money taken from such candidates must be refunded immediately.”

The Non-Academic staff of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, occupied the front of the Senate building for the third straight day to protest against some policies of the institution.

Our correspondent gathered that the angry workers chased away the Vice-chancellor, Prof. Olusola Oyewole, from his office along with some other academic staff with charms.

The workers, it was gathered began the protest on Tuesday and have not failed to gather to protest each day since then.

The workers under the aegis of Joint Action Committee had vowed never to return to their duty posts until the school management yield to their demands, which include upgrading of staff with additional qualifications, appointment of substantive directors to all non-academic teaching staff units and provision of working tools, among others.

When our correspondent visited the campus on Thursday, angry workers were seen in front of the Senate building waiting for the directive from the leadership of the unions.

Some of them were seen holding charms, made with cow horns covered with red clothes while others entertained themselves with the music of the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

The NASU Chairman, who’s also the JAC Chairman, Ishaq Odunjo, told the workers that a meeting was held with the school management late Wednesday night where their demands were discussed.

The Head, Directorate of Public Relations of the university, Mrs. Emi Alawode, could not be immediately reached for comments.

Her office was locked and she did not pick her calls or reply a text message sent to her.

Report reaching us  has it that Non-academic Staff Union of Universities, (NASU) and Senior Staff Association Of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) chapter of imo state University (IMSU) has called off its 3 months strike.

It was learnt that the announcement came after the emergency meeting held on Tuesday 21st June 2016 to discuss recent developments concerning the strike.

However, academic activities are yet to resume as ASUU chapter of the institution is yet to call off its strike though efforts are already being made to see it comes to an end soonest.

Following this development, these offices are expected to resume work
1. Bursary.
2. exams and records.
3. Library.
4.Admission unit.
5. Imsu Ict.
6. Works department.
7. Registrars office.
8. Bookshop.
9. Imsu outreach consultancy services – OCS.
10. SIWES offices for I.T students who haven’t collected
their necessary materials to start up their industrial
training.
11. Faculty offices and departmental offices for non
academic staff (e.g office of various faculty officers, Deans, secretaries, HODs secretaries etc.

Five (5) students of University of Jos UNIJOS has been found guilty of committing offences ranging from examination misconduct to being a member of unregistered associations in the University have been expelled. Their expulsion was confirmed by the University Management after due process which included appearance before the Students’ Disciplinary Committee.

Below are their names:

1. Gardina Samuel Musa

2. Aliyu Hadiza

3. Adamu Mohammed Idris

4. Akor Gift llbaye

5. Joseph Ephraim Achimugu

Plans are reportedly underway to introduce a uniform identification card which will be used by all students in Nigeria’s tertiary institution.

This development was confirmed by the National Association of Nigeria Students which is reportedly partnering with leading technology and insurance firms for the scheme to materialize.

NANS president, Tijani Usman Sheu said that no system currently gives recognition to the numerous identity documents presented by the Nigerian students, stressing that due to this unfortunate situation, students are robbed of some benefits that normally accrue to them traditionally.

Sheu added that after the last senate meeting held by NANS in Jos  on May 13 to 15, it was agreed an initiative will be implemented to create a secured benefit based uniform identification document for all Nigerian Students in tertiary institutions to include but not limited to all recognized diploma and certificate issuing institutions, Vocational and Technical Colleges, Schools of Nursing and Midwifery, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Universities.

He stressed that the challenges facing the average Nigerian students in tertiary institutions are numerous, adding that the prevailing security challenges and the economic situation in the country are not making these challenges easier.

He added that the identification card will be created by a system that will issue a unique identification number using a complex algorithm similar to one recommended to be used on travel documents by the United Nations and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

“The ID card substrate is designed using secured technology reserved for currency printing making it almost impossible to forge. The system will also create a database for all Nigerian students subscribing to this initiative and is designed to be able to generate a user definable statistical data that may be used by the Federal Ministry of Education, States Ministry of Education other approved government institutions and NGO’s to aid in education planning“, he stated.

Sheu said this secured benefit ID card would be called theNigerian Students Uniform Identification Card (NSUID). He however, stressed that NSUID does not preclude the individual institutions from issuing their own identity card.

The NANS President listed the benefits of NSUID to include ability of the students to generate user identifiable statistics (a needed tool in educational planning); term life insurance, which include sponsorship of the student’s education in the event of death or permanent disability of the students sponsor.