By Abah Sunday Adah
The Vice Chancellor (VC), Modibbo Adamawa University Yola, Professor Ibrahim Umar, has reiterated his administration’s commitment to the welfare of staff and the overall development of the institution.
Professor Umar stated this during the Third Annual International Conference of the Faculty of Education of the Ivory Tower.
The Third Annual International Conference of the Faculty of Education was organised for prominent scholars to brainstorm and come up with ideas on how to move the education sector forward amid the myriad of challenges bedeviling the nation.
The Vice Chancellor, represented by Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) Academic, Professor Iliasu Audu, said all the debts incurred by the university, as well as the backlog of the staff entitlements and promotion had been cleared by the VC,
The vice chancellor also revealed that the university operates on 24 hours uninterrupted power supply, which, according to him, is the first of its kind in the history of universities in Nigeria, giving the requisite conducive atmosphere provided for learning.
“When the Vice Chancellor came on board, there were too many issues, including promotion areas. Immediately he came in, we cleared all debts. And we have cleared all the backlog of entitlements to our staff.
“And it is one of the universities in the whole of Nigeria that is operating on a 24 hours light supply. As we are talking now, we’re the only university in Nigeria that has absolutely provided uninterrupted electricity supply 24/7,” the DVC said.
In an address of welcome, the chairrman, Local Organising Committee (LOC), Professor Joseph Zambwa thanked the management of the university for the approval and support for the event to hold.
Giving an insight, Zambwa said some recommendations from the conference, if implemented, will assist in mitigating security challenges in Nigeria.
“It is actually going to look into the challenges posed by AI, with Nigeria in focus. It will also address the issue of insecurity,” he said.
Chairman of the occasion, Professor Ibrahim Danjuma, urged participants to make good use of the knowledge they would garner in the course of the conference.
The Dean, Faculty of Education, professor Fatima Joda, said the aim of the conference is to address some of the challenges facing the education sector.
“Artificial Intelligence, as you can
see, has a global benefit and side effects as well. But it’s all over us; it’s a global phenomenon. We cannot be left out without in partaking in issues that have to do with artificial intelligence,” she said.
During the occasion, some personalities presented papers on different topics, including Professor Okolie Chukwuma on AI and insecurity as they affect the education sector, while Professor Benson presented a paper on the importance of artificial intelligence on the education sector.
The Conference recommended that the Government should be intentional about financing, supporting and providing quality education to all citizens at all levels of education in Nigeria, noting that the remote causes of insecurity should be sincerely addressed and all grievances should be pacified and resolved amicably.
“Schools administrative security protocols should be automated to proactively safeguard all learning centers/schools/campuses in Nigeria.”
“There should be coordinated actions among government agencies, educational institutions, technology providers and all stakeholders to ensure AI improves education quality without replacing teachers’ or students’ cognitive powers; via integrated technology-security aware innovations.”
Finally, there is a need for training more teacher and technologists on AI tools and digital literacy to support teaching other learners about same.