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Online Universities: The dawn of a new era

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Rayyan Tilde

 

By Rayyan Tilde

Since the start of the internet era, our civilization has been experiencing a great change in the way we do almost everything. From the way we communicate, to what we eat, down to how we entertain ourselves. Every sector has changed drastically since the advent of technology. Educational sector is one of the few sectors that is yet to be seriously disrupted by technology. I believe technology will continue to disrupt the way we do and see things even to the extent of fully actualizing what Huxley portrayed in his book (Brave New World).

The way things are taught today is [in some areas] the same as they were taught 200 years back or even the way Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya founded the world’s first university in 895 CE in Fez. That is about to change with online universities — the platforms that are ushering a new era of learning.

What’s an Online University?

An Online University, like any other conventional university, is an authorized place where you can study and earn your First, Masters and even Doctorate degrees. The major difference is that it is done remotely by using the internet as a medium that connects you with the university.

Challenge

The Online University like any other new thing before it, is still yet to be fully accepted by people especially in Africa. It’s clearly written in many traditions that humans tend to stick to what they are used to. They tend to perceive it as being safe while portraying the new one as being unpromising. Calestous Juma in his book “Innovation and its Enemies”, mentioned 10 innovations that were heavily criticized when they came into existence. He explained how coffee was rejected, Tractors, Electricity, printing of the Quran and other innovations.

Zulum is Coming-Dr Aliyu Tilde

A more recent example is how many scholars rejected the idea of listening to the Quran on a radio, regarding those that did that as apostates. Great Imams like Sheikh Ibrahim Niass had to go through a lot to convince the ummah that it is absolutely fine to listen to the Quran on a radio.

In 1892, John Froelich introduced the first tractor to replace the animals that were used on the farm, there was a great resistance from those that were using the incumbent source of farm power that had reached its biological capability, especially those that were fixated in the business of selling oxen and mules that work on the farm.

Today, it will totally be funny to find someone that’s against the above mentioned innovations as far as he is in a civilized society. An Austrian economist, Joseph Schumpeter, concluded in one of his researches that “Resistance to new technologies is often frowned upon as a temporary phenomenon that is inevitably overcome by technological progress”. I believe online universities will become more accepted as the technology used in the platform improves. With the progress that’s being made in fields like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, it is now possible for a university to teach its students basic practicals with Augmented Reality and a more complex one with a VR headset — from their homes. Though VR headsets are expensive now, I believe they’ll soon be available at a more affordable rate.

Advantages

According to BioHistory, new things emerge when humans reach a limit, thus being stressed which will then force them into finding a better solution, they considered it to be the building block of civilization — according to a research they did about the roman civilization and the modern-day western civilization.
I consider it to be a miracle from our Lord (SWT). For instance: With Farm mechanization, He saw how our population was increasing, if it were to increase without a creative way of producing farm produce for us to eat, there would have been a great hunger globally. Same with the way we study. If you look at the number of students that are trying to have a degree, there’s no way they can fit into our conventional university system without a compromise in the standard of learning. Online universities will be able to solve this since the platforms are tailored to appeal to every student in an individualistic manner.

Elon Musk’s Starlink is a device that uses satellite technology to deliver internet connectivity to anyone that’s using it at any point on this planet. This type of technology will help in allowing people in remote areas to still benefit from this system of learning.

Advantage – Finance

With Online Universities, you don’t have to worry about the cost of accommodation, feeding, transportation and other expenses that you may incur if you were to study away from home. This means one can study in a university that’s in the United Kingdom while he lives in an environment where life is extremely cheap.

Many online universities now allow students to enroll for a single course at a time. This makes it easier for students who can’t afford to pay for a complete program, by allowing them to take their courses as funds become available to them.

Advantage – Morality

I believe it is the fear of every right-thinking parent that their child will leave their home and go to a place where his upbringing will be challenged by the influence of other people — if they are to enroll in a conventional university.

Online Universities in Nigeria

There are a few number of accredited online universities in Nigeria, the one I can attest to, after researching both online and offline is the one from ABU Zaria. They offer a variety of courses and the best part is, they offer the same certificate as that of the students in-campus.

Conclusion

In the next 20 years, I believe online universities are going to dominate the educational system. The fact that someone from my village at Tilde or any other place on earth — as far as he is connected to the internet, can be able to enroll in a university anywhere on this planet and graduate will make life easier for everyone.

Rayyan Tilde
17.07.2022

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Features

How Maryam Abacha Varsity Produced 5 Provosts of Nursing Colleges, 1,000 Lab Scientists, 100 Lawyers, Others in 12 Years

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Twelve years after its establishment, the Maryam Abacha American University of Niger (MAAUN), in Maradi, Niger Republic, has produced five Provosts of Nursing Colleges in Borno, Yobe, and Bauchi States.

Dr. Hadiza Sabo a graduate of Nursing from the University is the current Provost of Shehu Sule College of Nursing and Midwifery, in Damaturu, Yobe state.

Varsity Appoints Gombe Emir As Chancellor

Equally, Dr. Hadiza Yahya is serving as Provost, College of Nursing Sciences in Maiduguri, Borno state, while Dr. Rakiya Saleh is the Provost College of Nursing Sciences in Bauchi, Bauchi state. The trio of Rakiya and the two aforementioned Hadizas all bagged their first and postgraduate degrees from MAAUN.

In addition, Kiloh Nifor who is also the Provost, College of Nursing Sciences in Jalingo, Taraba state, and Dr. Yusuf Bello, the Provost, Kaduna State College of Nursing Sciences, are also alumni of the university.

MAAUN, which was founded in 2013, is owned by Professor Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo, a philanthropist and French Linguistics scholar.

Politics Digest also reports that the Faculty of Law of the premier Ivory Tower, established only in 2015, has produced over 400 law graduates, with more than a hundred of them already called to the Nigerian Bar.

In addition, over 1,000 Medical Laboratory Scientists produced by MAAUN are presently working in Nigeria, while no fewer than 700 of them are practicing abroad.

It would be recalled that the institution was the first to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in Niger Republic, where thousands of nursing officers trooped for their university education from different countries.

“The Nursing Degree programme greatly increased the number of nursing graduates in Nigeria. The university started offering Nursing in 2012 and has so far graduated over 2,000 graduates who are rendering their services at different hospitals in Nigeria and abroad,” said the university’s President, Prof. Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo.

Barrister Umar Isa Sulaiman, a law lecturer at MAAUN, while informing Politics Digest that their Faculty commenced academic activities in 2013, said: “Our graduates are working in different government agencies and parastatals. Some are Sharia Court Judges, Magistrates, and some are working in the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

“Also, a high number of our graduates are in private practice. We do meet and appear before different courts. I can categorically tell you that they are doing wonderfully well as advocates.”

Furthermore, the Prof. Adamu Gwarzo-owned university has been positively impacting the lives of several Nigerians.

A MAAUN graduate of Nursing, Hamisu Iliyasu, who hailed from Sokoto State, told this newspaper how his alma mater produced many Directors and Heads of Nursing Colleges in Nigeria.

“You know universities in the North don’t offer Nursing; you either go to the South or you end up retiring at Level 14 as a civil servant. But our prestigious Maryam Abacha American University came to the rescue of so many of us, and we are grateful,” he said.

According to Dr. Kabiru Mahmud, a staff member of the Medical Laboratory Sciences Department of MAAUN, “Our great and pace-setting university has helped increase the number of Medical Laboratory Scientists, not only in Northern Nigeria but in the country at large. We have students from across the country.

“Some came from Lagos, Benin, and Ibadan. I can categorically tell you that Maryam Abacha American University of Niger has the highest number of young Medical Laboratory Scientists in Nigeria.

“Before now, one could hardly find someone with a degree in this field, but only a Diploma. But MAAUN came and provided the opportunity to many undergraduates. Go to Federal Medical Centres across the country, and you will find it difficult counting the number of their staff who are our products.”

Checks by this newspaper further revealed that some MAAUN alumni are presently working at the National Hospital in Abuja and the Mallam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, AKTH, in Kano state.

The university according to findings has the highest number of Nurses working in Canada, USA and other foreign countries from West Africa.

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Features

Hotoro Residents Threaten to Vote Out Leaders in 2027 Over Dilapidated Road

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The untarred and dilapidated road

Residents of Hotoro in Kano State are voicing their growing frustration with local and state leaders over the deplorable condition of a key road in their community. In interviews with Nigerian Tracker, the residents expressed deep dissatisfaction and issued a warning that they may withhold their votes in the 2027 elections if their concerns continue to be ignored.

Shehu Usman, a long-time resident of Hotoro, articulated the sentiments of many in the area. “Our area is a vote bank, not just in Nassarawa Local Government but across the whole of Kano State,” Usman said. “Yet, the road is no longer passable in both the rainy and dry seasons, and those we elected—from the Governor to the Chairman and even the legislators—seem not to care about the deplorable state of this road.

The road in question, which remains untarred, stretches from the Ring Road around Nur Petroleum Junction, passes through Hotoro Primary and Secondary Schools, and ends at the Hotoro Police Division. The poor state of the road has been a long-standing issue, but despite repeated complaints, nothing has been done to address it.

Iliya Musa, another concerned resident, lamented that politicians only seem to care about the community during election season. “During election season, politicians flock to our area, making promises and shaking hands. But once they are in office, they turn a deaf ear to our problems,” Musa said. “This road could easily be constructed, but our leaders have ignored us, and now, it feels like the area is turning into a slum.”

As 2027 approaches, the residents of Hotoro are making it clear that their votes will not be taken for granted. If their elected leaders fail to address the worsening conditions in the community, they may face a harsh electoral backlash from a constituency that has had enough of broken promises.

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A Brief About Journalist and Whistleblower, Bello Galadanchi

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Bello Galadanchi a.k.a Dan Bello was born in State College, Pennsylvania on December 12, 1987 to Habeeb and Halisa Galadanchi. After birth, he spent hi childhood and early adolescence with his family in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, where he attended school with his siblings.

Throughout his time in Africa Bello worked a variety of jobs, including street food vending, construction, and helping run his father’s medical practice. One of his first jobs was the fabrication and sale of handmade footwear such as rope sandals and a special type of sabot heel native to Nigeria called aa “kumazie.”

Upon matriculation in 2006, his parents offered him education back in the United States, where Bello attended The Pennsylvania State University as a Bioengineering and Classical History double major and Film Studies and African Studies minors.

Considered a gifted young man, he graduated from university in 2009 with two degrees and two minor certificates and immediately entered the film industry, producing such short films as Charles in Arms, Unknowing Separation, Water for Baby, and Taken by Storm.

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His first film projects were prompted by various contests and promotional programs and soon became well-known to his former university circles. In late 2011, Bello received a grant from the Nigerian Film Festival and Nollywood, to produce various political films for the Nigerian government.

It was this opportunity that lend itself to Bello’s fame in that the new funding allowed him to make films in Pennsylvania and become more noticed. When not filmmaking, Bello spends his time volunteering in his community, making new friends in the city and writing narrative novel- IMDb Mini Biography By: Sand.

A dual citizen of the USA and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, writer/director Bello Galadanchi, made a name for himself after winning numerous awards at short film festivals around the globe. In 2012, at just 24, he wrote, directed and co-produced the feature film, A Dark Place.

Prior to making films Galadanchi obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering. Having also minored in sociology, the soft spoken filmmaker credits the “thought provoking” storylines commonly associated with his work to his humble upbringing in Jos, Plateau State of Nigeria.

Owner of Dalar Pictures, Galadanchi is also co-founder of To the Moon Productions, along with actor R. Tariq Powell. The filmmaker currently resides in central Pennsylvania.

 

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