When Hon. Dimeji Bankole became Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives after the resignation of Patricia Etteh, everybody was asking, “Who is he?” When they were told that he studied at Oxford and Harvard, everybody was tight-lipped. They were only able to say, “He must be educated. This is the speaker we want”. They said this without knowing anything about the man other than he studied at these world renowned institutions. This clearly illustrates the fact that, if you can associate your name with Oxford or Harvard, people will see you as soundly educated and highly intelligent even if you share the same neurons with the Dumb and the Dumberer.
Are you not just curious to experience first hand if the value of Oxford education equals the hype? As you’ll soon discover, Oxford education is within the reach of every body. Even the secondary school leaver that sells pure water in the streets of Abuja - and who is roundly hounded by the FCDA task force- can go to Oxford. And I’m not talking about ability only; I’m also talking about affordability. This pure water seller can afford to go to University of Oxford! “What’s he talking about?” you say. Well let me tell you what this piece is not. It’s not an inspirational writing that will get you so exhilarated only for the excitement to wear off tomorrow. This piece is a road map that when you follow, will not only lead to having your name on the University of Oxford certificate, but it will also make you an alumnus of the university in the next couple of months. Thereafter, you can rub shoulders with the Speaker, if you like.
What can I register for?
This discussion does not cover undergraduate degree, master degree or any degree. Not that these are not attainable by ordinary Nigerians. They are. But I believe it’s always better to start from the simplest things so that the height you gained from taking the first steps will enable you to see higher horizon. Thus, we are starting with 10-week certificate courses. It doesn’t matter for now whether you’re going for certificate, diploma or degree courses, what matters now is to experience Oxford University in the comfort of your own room and to have your humble name on that oft-glorified card and start enjoying the benefits that come with it. So Oxford is Oxford whether you studied Nuclear Physics there or you were taught 1, 2, 3 and a, b, c.
Courses
At Oxford Continuing Education Department, there are several courses you can register for. But we are going to limit ourselves to two philosophy courses that I’m sure are open for enrollment right now. The courses are Epistemology (The Theory of Knowledge) and Political Philosophy. Each is a 10-week course beginning January 2007.
Epistemology
The aim of the short Epistemology course is to:
(1) introduce students to the main themes in the theory of knowledge, such as the problem of scepticism, the various debates regarding how best to understand what knowledge is, and the key issues regarding the sources of knowledge;
(2) like all philosophy courses, it also aims to help participants to think clearly and critically.
Additionally, the course will introduce students to philosophy and to the critical skills that are involved in doing philosophy, guide students through the central topics in the theory of knowledge and enable students to gain a thorough grounding in the key debates in this central area of philosophy.
The theory of knowledge is one of the most central areas of philosophy. In this online course students will cover the key questions in the theory of knowledge, such as:
What is knowledge?
Why is knowledge valuable to us?
What are the sources of knowledge?
Do we really have any knowledge?
Certification
The course is accredited and you will be awarded credit by the Board of Studies of Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. The award will take the form of 10 units of transferable credit at undergraduate level 1 of the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS). To receive the credit, the student must participate and complete written contributions passably.
Assessment methods
The course assessment will be a written essay of about 1,000 words. Alternatively, students can submit a commentary on their contributions to the course discussions in about 1,000 words. Isn’t that easy?
Recommended reading
To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following book ;Pritchard, D. H., What is This Thing Called Knowledge? (2006) Routledge, London. ISBN: 0415387981. The price is £14.99.
Prof Duncan Pritchard who is the author of the above book is also the author of this course. Prof Pritchard has written extensively on epistemology. His recent works include, Epistemic Luck, published in 2005 by Oxford University Press.
It’s not necessary to give details on Political Philosophy because the information on Epistemology roughly covers it. Except that in the case of Political Philosophy you have to buy two books unlike Epistemology which requires only one.
Fee
The fee for each course minus the books is £395. That’s roughly N100, 000 (one hundred thousand naira). Even if you don’t have the money right away, you can save towards this simple way of obtaining excellent education from a world-class university.
For more information, visit: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/
Next, we are going to guide you towards putting your name on the Harvard Graduate School of Education certificate for less than N70, 000 (seventy thousand naira). A pie in the sky? Stay with me!
Visit my website www.degreein1year.googlepages.com to learn more about affordable courses and accelerated degrees.
Friday 22 August 2008
How to earn a master degree from the best university in the world even without a first degree
The ‘best university in the world’ means Edinburgh Business School, the Graduate School of Business at Heriot-Watt University.
Many graduates of the school have said it is the best Business School in Scotland. And from what we know of UK education, any school that can be one the best in UK can be one the best anywhere in the world.
Recently, in its survey of 20 of the top global distance learning MBAs, Financial Times Newspaper ranked Edinburch Business School Heriot-Watt University as Europe’s largest and second largest in the world.
In 15 years, the EBS programmes have spawned over 10,000 graduates in 150 countries.
More than 50% of fortune 100 companies have their staff on the Edinburgh Business School MBA programme.
The school was given the Queen’s Award for export in 1994 and 1997.
Options
Student can acquire a General MBA or a Specialist Masters in an assortment of areas. You can have your MBA in Marketing, Human Resource Management, Finance, Strategic Planning or Public Administration.
A shower of Certificates
Students can obtain up to three certificates en route to completion of the MBA. This is good news for Nigerians. Admit it! Are we not a certificate crazy lot?
You can grab the following certificates as you go through the programme.
1. Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration
2. Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration
3. Specialist (named) Postgraduate Diploma
I will tell you more about these certificates and how to obtain them presently.
From the horse’s mouth
“Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University offers a range of Postgraduate programmes in business and management, including one of the most popular online distance learning MBA programmes in the world.
“Intentionally different, we offer you choice and flexibility in your learning style, and judge you on your examination results not your coursework, language of study, attendance or life experience.
“We at Edinburgh Business School remove the barriers to study. If you have the determination and intellect, we give you the opportunity to succeed at Postgraduate level.”
Three months before the examination is scheduled register at ebsglobal.net your choice of exam and approximate location. You will then be allocated an examination centre, invigilator or proctor appointed by Edinburgh Business School.
If you need help registering for the exams, contact enquiries@ebs.hw.ac.uk.
Exam Sessions
The exam sessions called diets are held in all exam centres for all courses in June and December every year. Other exam sessions are held at selected centres for selected courses.
You have 3 hours to finish each exam. All questions are compulsory and must be answered. Though exam scripts are marked by EBS faculty, the script are robustly dissected by external examiners from other UK universities. You pay 100 pound sterling for each examination you sit. Also, you are allowed only two shots (examination attempts) for each core course.
This means if you flunked a core course you have one more chance of re-siting it.
Exam registration deadline
31st January for the March diet. 20th February for the June diet. 17th July for the August diet and 20th August for the December diet.
Nigerian exam centres
As I couldn’t find any Nigerian centre on EBS website, I asked them if Nigerians have to go to Ghana, which has a centre listed for their examination. But fortunately for us we don’t need to dust our bags and head for the Goldcoast. You however need to go to any British council nearest to you for your examination.
How many examinations do you need to sit?
Students going for general MBA need to sit 9 courses only. While those doing specialist MBA will sit for 11 courses.
Exemptions
Exemptions from some core courses may be granted to holders of recognized academic or professional qualification if they are of degree level and if they have been obtained by examination. You can not be granted exemption from an elective course. Do note that you are not going to be given exemption for work experience. EBS advises students not to purchase a course until they have applied for and received a response on their exemption requests.
Matriculation card
Registration as Heriot –Watt MBA student means you are going to be automatically registered as a matriculated part-time student at Heriot-Watt university and your matriculation card will be sent to you.
Entry requirements
I wanted to leave the interesting part till the last paragraph but let me give it to you now. You are not qualified to sit for the MBA courses if you do not have a first degree or reasonable academic record.
However……….
Passing three courses one of which must be a core courses, qualifies you for the programme.
This means even if you are a toddler who has never attended a nursery school can go for this MBA provided you can pass the three papers.
Also passing these three courses counts towards your qualification. That is passing three courses means you have only six more papers to write (if you are doing the general MBA).
Certificates
These are the things your need to do in order to get the certificates I talked about earlier.
1. To become eligible for the award of a Postgraduate, a student must be matriculated and successfully complete three MBA courses, at least one of which must be a core course.
2. To become eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration, a student must be matriculated and successfully complete six MBA courses, at least one of which must be a core MBA course.
3. To become eligible for the award of a specialist Postgraduate Diploma, a student must complete six courses to include the relevant core course and at least four of the electives designated as relevant of the specialism in question.
For more information contact:
British Council Abuja, Lagos, Port-Harcourt or Kano.
Edinburgh Business School
Tel: +44 (0) 131 451 3090, Fax: +44 (0) 131 14513092
Email:enquiries@abs.hw.ac.uk, Web: ebsglobal.net
If you still don’t know how to start, I may be able to answer one or two questions: 09-4801415, 08045081919, 08033764520
Many graduates of the school have said it is the best Business School in Scotland. And from what we know of UK education, any school that can be one the best in UK can be one the best anywhere in the world.
Recently, in its survey of 20 of the top global distance learning MBAs, Financial Times Newspaper ranked Edinburch Business School Heriot-Watt University as Europe’s largest and second largest in the world.
In 15 years, the EBS programmes have spawned over 10,000 graduates in 150 countries.
More than 50% of fortune 100 companies have their staff on the Edinburgh Business School MBA programme.
The school was given the Queen’s Award for export in 1994 and 1997.
Options
Student can acquire a General MBA or a Specialist Masters in an assortment of areas. You can have your MBA in Marketing, Human Resource Management, Finance, Strategic Planning or Public Administration.
A shower of Certificates
Students can obtain up to three certificates en route to completion of the MBA. This is good news for Nigerians. Admit it! Are we not a certificate crazy lot?
You can grab the following certificates as you go through the programme.
1. Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration
2. Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration
3. Specialist (named) Postgraduate Diploma
I will tell you more about these certificates and how to obtain them presently.
From the horse’s mouth
“Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University offers a range of Postgraduate programmes in business and management, including one of the most popular online distance learning MBA programmes in the world.
“Intentionally different, we offer you choice and flexibility in your learning style, and judge you on your examination results not your coursework, language of study, attendance or life experience.
“We at Edinburgh Business School remove the barriers to study. If you have the determination and intellect, we give you the opportunity to succeed at Postgraduate level.”
Three months before the examination is scheduled register at ebsglobal.net your choice of exam and approximate location. You will then be allocated an examination centre, invigilator or proctor appointed by Edinburgh Business School.
If you need help registering for the exams, contact enquiries@ebs.hw.ac.uk.
Exam Sessions
The exam sessions called diets are held in all exam centres for all courses in June and December every year. Other exam sessions are held at selected centres for selected courses.
You have 3 hours to finish each exam. All questions are compulsory and must be answered. Though exam scripts are marked by EBS faculty, the script are robustly dissected by external examiners from other UK universities. You pay 100 pound sterling for each examination you sit. Also, you are allowed only two shots (examination attempts) for each core course.
This means if you flunked a core course you have one more chance of re-siting it.
Exam registration deadline
31st January for the March diet. 20th February for the June diet. 17th July for the August diet and 20th August for the December diet.
Nigerian exam centres
As I couldn’t find any Nigerian centre on EBS website, I asked them if Nigerians have to go to Ghana, which has a centre listed for their examination. But fortunately for us we don’t need to dust our bags and head for the Goldcoast. You however need to go to any British council nearest to you for your examination.
How many examinations do you need to sit?
Students going for general MBA need to sit 9 courses only. While those doing specialist MBA will sit for 11 courses.
Exemptions
Exemptions from some core courses may be granted to holders of recognized academic or professional qualification if they are of degree level and if they have been obtained by examination. You can not be granted exemption from an elective course. Do note that you are not going to be given exemption for work experience. EBS advises students not to purchase a course until they have applied for and received a response on their exemption requests.
Matriculation card
Registration as Heriot –Watt MBA student means you are going to be automatically registered as a matriculated part-time student at Heriot-Watt university and your matriculation card will be sent to you.
Entry requirements
I wanted to leave the interesting part till the last paragraph but let me give it to you now. You are not qualified to sit for the MBA courses if you do not have a first degree or reasonable academic record.
However……….
Passing three courses one of which must be a core courses, qualifies you for the programme.
This means even if you are a toddler who has never attended a nursery school can go for this MBA provided you can pass the three papers.
Also passing these three courses counts towards your qualification. That is passing three courses means you have only six more papers to write (if you are doing the general MBA).
Certificates
These are the things your need to do in order to get the certificates I talked about earlier.
1. To become eligible for the award of a Postgraduate, a student must be matriculated and successfully complete three MBA courses, at least one of which must be a core course.
2. To become eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration, a student must be matriculated and successfully complete six MBA courses, at least one of which must be a core MBA course.
3. To become eligible for the award of a specialist Postgraduate Diploma, a student must complete six courses to include the relevant core course and at least four of the electives designated as relevant of the specialism in question.
For more information contact:
British Council Abuja, Lagos, Port-Harcourt or Kano.
Edinburgh Business School
Tel: +44 (0) 131 451 3090, Fax: +44 (0) 131 14513092
Email:enquiries@abs.hw.ac.uk, Web: ebsglobal.net
If you still don’t know how to start, I may be able to answer one or two questions: 09-4801415, 08045081919, 08033764520
Improve your life, get LIFA!
I love simple things. But I love those who simplify things even more. Simplification of education is exactly what IRA (International Research Association) is doing. They are based in Harvard Square Cambridge, Massachusetts.
IRA owns the LIFA program. LIFA stands for Licensed International Financial Analyst. In simple terms this means that when you are LIFA certified, you will be licensed to analyze financial data anywhere in the world just like 007 is licensed to kill. LIFA is mainly for Finance and investment professionals, and business students.
CFA, ACCA, and CPA candidates, as well as MBAs around the world have registered for the Level III LIFA exam in record numbers to complement their other qualifications.
IRA claims that LIFA is the fastest-growing finance & investment
designation in the world.
Scholarship
The International Research Association announces the $21,750,000 Scholarship Program for candidates with an undergraduate or graduate-level business degree, and current university students.
This means that if you qualify, your Level III exam registration and enrollment fees are fully waived . Why? Here is what they said, "We do not believe that we (the International Research Association) should benefit financially if you were to fail the LIFA exam. We believe that no candidate should be prohibited from taking an exam because of excessive costs and fees. This revolutionary philosophy differentiates the LIFA Program."
You can sign up now for the Level III LIFA exam, allowing you to bypass the first two levels through their Waiver Program. All registration and enrollment fees are fully waived. With other exams, you do not have the option to bypass the first two exam levels anymore. Plus, the registration and enrollment fees for some other exams can exceed $1, 155.00. To sign up go to: http://www.the-ira.org/scholarship/
However, you will have to pay Prometric $91. 00 (about N12,740) for conducting the exams.
Prometric Connection
Can You Register for LIFA in Nigeria?
Yes you can. We already have Nigerians on board. At the last count 417 Nigerians have already either taken the exams or have registered. Some of the registered Nigerians are university students, some are bankers, and I saw somebody from Debt Management Office and even somebody from EFCC. To see the directory of registered members all over the world, visit http://www.the-ira.org/webapps/bmd/directory.
LIFA exam candidates enjoy unmatched exam-taking flexibility, security, and reliability. Thomson-Prometric administers the LIFA exam on behalf of IRA 260 days per year at thousands of secure exam centers worldwide, and also independently grades all exams. They have centers in Lagos and Abuja. You can schedule your exam date on any of the 260 days in a year. Others offer exams only one day per year, in venues that are not always designed for test-taking.
About Prometric
Prometric (www.prometric.com ), a part of The Thomson Corporation, is the global leader in technology-enabled examination and assessment services for information technology certification, academic admissions, and professional licensure and certifications. Prometric delivers more than six million standardized exams a year for more than 200 clients, in more than 25 languages, over the web or through a network of more than 4,800 secure exam centers in more than 140 countries. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Prometric employs more than 3,000 employees worldwide.
Curriculum
The curriculum is very comprehensive and almost intimidating. May be that's why IRA calls LIFA the PhD of financial analysis certification.
The LIFA designation was created with its candidates and members principally in
mind. Its main focus is on the accomplishment of earning the designation and
maintaining a level of ethical commitment unparalleled in the world of financial
analysis. The LIFA exam is designed to measure professional excellence in a broad
curriculum of investment-related subjects. Obtaining the designation will require an
in-depth knowledge of fundamental investment principles, as well as a thorough
understanding of current capital markets in the burgeoning global marketplace.
LIFA also wants you to attain the highest levels of professionalism and ethical standards in the global investment industry, through mastering its challenging curriculum in three stages of examinations.
Stage 1 has eleven modules. They are as follows:
Learning Module 1: Ethics
Learning Module 2: Economics
Learning Module 3: Corporate Finance
Learning Module 4: International Markets
Learning Module 5: Quantitative Analysis
Learning Module 6: Financial Statement Analysis
Learning Module 7: Fixed-Income Investments
Learning Module 8: Equity Investments
Learning Module 9: Derivative Instruments
Learning Module 10: Alternative Investments
Learning Module 11: Portfolio Management
The other two Stages have almost the same modules albeit at an advance level. But instead of eleven modules as in stage 1, stage 2 and 3 have ten modules. Stage 2 does not have the Ethics module and stage 3 has no Corporate Finance module. Go to http://www.the-ira.org/guides .html , to see the curriculum guide.
How Do You Pay?
You pay online. And you need a credit Card to that or a friend with one. I got my own Credit Card from Intercontinental Bank. But it took a life time before I finally got the card.
An easier way to pay online is through graphcard. The web address is www.graphcard.com. Please note that I have never patronized this people but others said they are good.
IRA owns the LIFA program. LIFA stands for Licensed International Financial Analyst. In simple terms this means that when you are LIFA certified, you will be licensed to analyze financial data anywhere in the world just like 007 is licensed to kill. LIFA is mainly for Finance and investment professionals, and business students.
CFA, ACCA, and CPA candidates, as well as MBAs around the world have registered for the Level III LIFA exam in record numbers to complement their other qualifications.
IRA claims that LIFA is the fastest-growing finance & investment
designation in the world.
Scholarship
The International Research Association announces the $21,750,000 Scholarship Program for candidates with an undergraduate or graduate-level business degree, and current university students.
This means that if you qualify, your Level III exam registration and enrollment fees are fully waived . Why? Here is what they said, "We do not believe that we (the International Research Association) should benefit financially if you were to fail the LIFA exam. We believe that no candidate should be prohibited from taking an exam because of excessive costs and fees. This revolutionary philosophy differentiates the LIFA Program."
You can sign up now for the Level III LIFA exam, allowing you to bypass the first two levels through their Waiver Program. All registration and enrollment fees are fully waived. With other exams, you do not have the option to bypass the first two exam levels anymore. Plus, the registration and enrollment fees for some other exams can exceed $1, 155.00. To sign up go to: http://www.the-ira.org/scholarship/
However, you will have to pay Prometric $91. 00 (about N12,740) for conducting the exams.
Prometric Connection
Can You Register for LIFA in Nigeria?
Yes you can. We already have Nigerians on board. At the last count 417 Nigerians have already either taken the exams or have registered. Some of the registered Nigerians are university students, some are bankers, and I saw somebody from Debt Management Office and even somebody from EFCC. To see the directory of registered members all over the world, visit http://www.the-ira.org/webapps/bmd/directory.
LIFA exam candidates enjoy unmatched exam-taking flexibility, security, and reliability. Thomson-Prometric administers the LIFA exam on behalf of IRA 260 days per year at thousands of secure exam centers worldwide, and also independently grades all exams. They have centers in Lagos and Abuja. You can schedule your exam date on any of the 260 days in a year. Others offer exams only one day per year, in venues that are not always designed for test-taking.
About Prometric
Prometric (www.prometric.com ), a part of The Thomson Corporation, is the global leader in technology-enabled examination and assessment services for information technology certification, academic admissions, and professional licensure and certifications. Prometric delivers more than six million standardized exams a year for more than 200 clients, in more than 25 languages, over the web or through a network of more than 4,800 secure exam centers in more than 140 countries. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Prometric employs more than 3,000 employees worldwide.
Curriculum
The curriculum is very comprehensive and almost intimidating. May be that's why IRA calls LIFA the PhD of financial analysis certification.
The LIFA designation was created with its candidates and members principally in
mind. Its main focus is on the accomplishment of earning the designation and
maintaining a level of ethical commitment unparalleled in the world of financial
analysis. The LIFA exam is designed to measure professional excellence in a broad
curriculum of investment-related subjects. Obtaining the designation will require an
in-depth knowledge of fundamental investment principles, as well as a thorough
understanding of current capital markets in the burgeoning global marketplace.
LIFA also wants you to attain the highest levels of professionalism and ethical standards in the global investment industry, through mastering its challenging curriculum in three stages of examinations.
Stage 1 has eleven modules. They are as follows:
Learning Module 1: Ethics
Learning Module 2: Economics
Learning Module 3: Corporate Finance
Learning Module 4: International Markets
Learning Module 5: Quantitative Analysis
Learning Module 6: Financial Statement Analysis
Learning Module 7: Fixed-Income Investments
Learning Module 8: Equity Investments
Learning Module 9: Derivative Instruments
Learning Module 10: Alternative Investments
Learning Module 11: Portfolio Management
The other two Stages have almost the same modules albeit at an advance level. But instead of eleven modules as in stage 1, stage 2 and 3 have ten modules. Stage 2 does not have the Ethics module and stage 3 has no Corporate Finance module. Go to http://www.the-ira.org/guides .html , to see the curriculum guide.
How Do You Pay?
You pay online. And you need a credit Card to that or a friend with one. I got my own Credit Card from Intercontinental Bank. But it took a life time before I finally got the card.
An easier way to pay online is through graphcard. The web address is www.graphcard.com. Please note that I have never patronized this people but others said they are good.
ACCA,The fastest way to be a professional accountant
I chose ACCA because it is recognized worldwide and also gives me the option to practice in my country. It is also the fastest way to pursue a professional qualification through affordable part-time study.
Liew Yuk En, ACCA student from Malaysia
Ask any undergraduate student in Nigerian universities how long they intend to stay in school and most of them will answer, “forever!” with “fool” thrown in, as you turn your back.
But if you prod beyond the cynical cover, almost all of them will tell you they’d love to have graduated yesterday.
Our universities all over the country have consistently maintained the same pattern: keeping students on campus for many years learning little.
It is this situation amongst other things that makes ACCA attractive to at least the accounting students in Nigeria.
Adam Muhammad who is a graduate of ABU Zaria and a part 3 ACCA student said if he had known the existence of ACCA before gaining admission into the university, he would have chose to study ACCA right from the beginning and stayed away from the university.
“ If I knew this programme will be this flexible , I wouldn’t have gone to ABU. The four (plus a year of teachers’ strike) I spent at ABU would have been more than enough for me to go through the three parts of the qualification and also earn myself a BSc. in Applied Accounting from the Oxford Brookes university.
As at December 2005, ACCA’s global student body stands at 260,000 and ACCA membership is 110,000 worldwide. They have 359 examinations centres in 139 countries.
How it works
ACCA has two schemes: The CAT (Certified Accounting Technician) and the professional scheme.
CAT is for beginners who have never studied accounting before. Nigerian students who have just graduated from secondary school can start fall into this category. Even some university graduate chose to start from CAT before moving onto Professional scheme
CAT scheme papers are ten:
Paper 1: Recording Financial Statement
Paper 2: Information for Management Control
Parper3: Maintaining Financial Records
Paper 4: Accounting for Costs
Paper5: Managing People and Systems
Paper 6: Drafting Financial Systems
Paper 7: Planning Control and Performance Management
Paper 8: Implementing Audit Procedures
Paper 9: Preparing Taxation Computations
Paper10: Managing Finances
These ten papers could be finished in a year and a half, especially if you take the maximum of 4 papers per sitting. Unlike LIFA, ACCA organizes examinations only twice a year; in June and December.
If a graduate chooses to start from CAT before doing the professional scheme, they need not do all the ten papers since they will be given exemptions in some papers. This will enable them to obtain the CAT qualification in a year.
Also, any student who successfully completed the CAT scheme is automatically give exemptions in three papers of the professional scheme. These are papers 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3.
A graduate in any field is also given exemptions in the above 3 papers.
The professional scheme has 16 papers but you’re required to do only five papers in part 3 instead of the seven listed. This brings the total down to 14 papers in all. These 14 papers are distributed into 3 parts that consist the professional scheme.
Part 1 papers are: 1.1 Preparing Financial Statements, 1.2 Financial Information for Management and 1.3 Managing People.
Part 2 consists of 2.1 Information Systems, 2.2 Corporate and Business Law, 2.3 BusinessTaxation, 2.4 Financial Management and Control, 2.5 Financial Reporting, and 2.6 Audit and Internal Review.
Candidates who successfully complete this part are eligible to apply for a BSc (Honours) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. You can check your eligibility status on ACCA’s website at www.accaglobal.com/students
What will interest Nigerian students about this degree is the fact that as you finish papers 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6, you’re only required to submit a research paper called Research and Analysis Project (RAP) to get the degree.
The part 3 papers are: 3.1 Audit and Asssurance Services, 3.2 Advanced Taxation, 3.3 Performance Management and 3.4 Business Information Management. You’re required to take only two from the above four.
The three core papers from part 3 which are not optional are 3.5 Strategic Business Planning and Development, 3.6 Advanced Corporate Reporting and 3.7 Strategic Information Management.
FEES
How much does it cost to get through the entire professional scheme? According to Adam Muhammad, it costs far less than what it takes to get a decent degree from Nigerian universities. “ only about N200,000 will cover the entire ACCA professional scheme and the BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes university if you chose to study on your own.”
But don’t take Adam’s word for it, do your own calculation with the figures below using 150 naira for 1 pound sterling.
Initial subscription: 59 pounds sterling
Re-registration: 59 pounds sterling
Annual Subsription: 59 pounds sterling
Part 1 examination or exemption: 41 pounds sterling
Part 2 examination or exemption: 49 pounds sterling
Part 3 examination or exemption: 57 pounds sterling
From ACCA students
Abdul Hakeem Usman Galadanci (08037512264) is a Part 3 ACCA student from Katsina State. This is what he said of his experience. “What I like about ACCA is its flexibility. Also being an ACCA member means international recognition and tremendous career growth opportunities as an accounting professional. Though the qualification is tough A lot of people flunk their papers, it’s worth it. If one works hard enough, there wouldn’t be problem. The student accountant magazine even points out where to focus on where to ignore.”
A female Part3 ACCA student from Abuja who doesn’t want her name published said, “ ACCA is especially very challenging to Nigeria students because the currencies used in the text and examination questions are not naira. There’s also the problem of qualified teachers. It is very hard to get someone who can teach ACCA subjects even if you’ve the money to pay for the tuition. That’s why some Nigerians go to the UK for their ACCA studies. But all in all the experience is very fulfilling and the opportunities are abundant.”
Adam Muhammad (08036901534) from Minna, Niger State agrees with the lady. “Most ACCA training centres in Nigeria use ICAN teachers. ICAN and ACCA are not the same thing. So how can someone who has not gone through ACCA teach ACCA? In UK, the tuition providers require approval ratings from ACCA like premium tuition provider or tuition provider plus. The best bet in Nigeria is for ACCA students to teach themselves. For example I go to Abuja on weekends to teach some busy executives who do not have the time to read. I read the books then give them the predigested information.
“We have only a handful of ACCA members in Nigeria. That’s why members have no trouble getting good jobs in Nigeria. I’m still a student but I was recently offered a job by a first generation bank with excellent pay package but I chose not to take it. ACCA is the flagship of accounting certifications.”
For more information, you can call the ACCA students above or contact ACCA directly:
29 Lincoln’s Inn Fields London WC2A 3EE
info@accaglobal.com
www.accaglobal.com
Liew Yuk En, ACCA student from Malaysia
Ask any undergraduate student in Nigerian universities how long they intend to stay in school and most of them will answer, “forever!” with “fool” thrown in, as you turn your back.
But if you prod beyond the cynical cover, almost all of them will tell you they’d love to have graduated yesterday.
Our universities all over the country have consistently maintained the same pattern: keeping students on campus for many years learning little.
It is this situation amongst other things that makes ACCA attractive to at least the accounting students in Nigeria.
Adam Muhammad who is a graduate of ABU Zaria and a part 3 ACCA student said if he had known the existence of ACCA before gaining admission into the university, he would have chose to study ACCA right from the beginning and stayed away from the university.
“ If I knew this programme will be this flexible , I wouldn’t have gone to ABU. The four (plus a year of teachers’ strike) I spent at ABU would have been more than enough for me to go through the three parts of the qualification and also earn myself a BSc. in Applied Accounting from the Oxford Brookes university.
As at December 2005, ACCA’s global student body stands at 260,000 and ACCA membership is 110,000 worldwide. They have 359 examinations centres in 139 countries.
How it works
ACCA has two schemes: The CAT (Certified Accounting Technician) and the professional scheme.
CAT is for beginners who have never studied accounting before. Nigerian students who have just graduated from secondary school can start fall into this category. Even some university graduate chose to start from CAT before moving onto Professional scheme
CAT scheme papers are ten:
Paper 1: Recording Financial Statement
Paper 2: Information for Management Control
Parper3: Maintaining Financial Records
Paper 4: Accounting for Costs
Paper5: Managing People and Systems
Paper 6: Drafting Financial Systems
Paper 7: Planning Control and Performance Management
Paper 8: Implementing Audit Procedures
Paper 9: Preparing Taxation Computations
Paper10: Managing Finances
These ten papers could be finished in a year and a half, especially if you take the maximum of 4 papers per sitting. Unlike LIFA, ACCA organizes examinations only twice a year; in June and December.
If a graduate chooses to start from CAT before doing the professional scheme, they need not do all the ten papers since they will be given exemptions in some papers. This will enable them to obtain the CAT qualification in a year.
Also, any student who successfully completed the CAT scheme is automatically give exemptions in three papers of the professional scheme. These are papers 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3.
A graduate in any field is also given exemptions in the above 3 papers.
The professional scheme has 16 papers but you’re required to do only five papers in part 3 instead of the seven listed. This brings the total down to 14 papers in all. These 14 papers are distributed into 3 parts that consist the professional scheme.
Part 1 papers are: 1.1 Preparing Financial Statements, 1.2 Financial Information for Management and 1.3 Managing People.
Part 2 consists of 2.1 Information Systems, 2.2 Corporate and Business Law, 2.3 BusinessTaxation, 2.4 Financial Management and Control, 2.5 Financial Reporting, and 2.6 Audit and Internal Review.
Candidates who successfully complete this part are eligible to apply for a BSc (Honours) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. You can check your eligibility status on ACCA’s website at www.accaglobal.com/students
What will interest Nigerian students about this degree is the fact that as you finish papers 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6, you’re only required to submit a research paper called Research and Analysis Project (RAP) to get the degree.
The part 3 papers are: 3.1 Audit and Asssurance Services, 3.2 Advanced Taxation, 3.3 Performance Management and 3.4 Business Information Management. You’re required to take only two from the above four.
The three core papers from part 3 which are not optional are 3.5 Strategic Business Planning and Development, 3.6 Advanced Corporate Reporting and 3.7 Strategic Information Management.
FEES
How much does it cost to get through the entire professional scheme? According to Adam Muhammad, it costs far less than what it takes to get a decent degree from Nigerian universities. “ only about N200,000 will cover the entire ACCA professional scheme and the BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes university if you chose to study on your own.”
But don’t take Adam’s word for it, do your own calculation with the figures below using 150 naira for 1 pound sterling.
Initial subscription: 59 pounds sterling
Re-registration: 59 pounds sterling
Annual Subsription: 59 pounds sterling
Part 1 examination or exemption: 41 pounds sterling
Part 2 examination or exemption: 49 pounds sterling
Part 3 examination or exemption: 57 pounds sterling
From ACCA students
Abdul Hakeem Usman Galadanci (08037512264) is a Part 3 ACCA student from Katsina State. This is what he said of his experience. “What I like about ACCA is its flexibility. Also being an ACCA member means international recognition and tremendous career growth opportunities as an accounting professional. Though the qualification is tough A lot of people flunk their papers, it’s worth it. If one works hard enough, there wouldn’t be problem. The student accountant magazine even points out where to focus on where to ignore.”
A female Part3 ACCA student from Abuja who doesn’t want her name published said, “ ACCA is especially very challenging to Nigeria students because the currencies used in the text and examination questions are not naira. There’s also the problem of qualified teachers. It is very hard to get someone who can teach ACCA subjects even if you’ve the money to pay for the tuition. That’s why some Nigerians go to the UK for their ACCA studies. But all in all the experience is very fulfilling and the opportunities are abundant.”
Adam Muhammad (08036901534) from Minna, Niger State agrees with the lady. “Most ACCA training centres in Nigeria use ICAN teachers. ICAN and ACCA are not the same thing. So how can someone who has not gone through ACCA teach ACCA? In UK, the tuition providers require approval ratings from ACCA like premium tuition provider or tuition provider plus. The best bet in Nigeria is for ACCA students to teach themselves. For example I go to Abuja on weekends to teach some busy executives who do not have the time to read. I read the books then give them the predigested information.
“We have only a handful of ACCA members in Nigeria. That’s why members have no trouble getting good jobs in Nigeria. I’m still a student but I was recently offered a job by a first generation bank with excellent pay package but I chose not to take it. ACCA is the flagship of accounting certifications.”
For more information, you can call the ACCA students above or contact ACCA directly:
29 Lincoln’s Inn Fields London WC2A 3EE
info@accaglobal.com
www.accaglobal.com
PhD on the basis of published work
Lest we forget, the purpose of this proposal to the northern governors is to bring to the notice of governors some little known educational opportunities that will stimulate rapid increase in the number of our graduates and thereby bridging the educational gap between the north and the south at the university level.
I was told that there is a state in the south that has more professors than all the 19 states of the north combined. Thus, its not only undergraduates that we want our governors to support but also PhD students who will later become professors that will teach our students and improve upon our failing educational system. PhD by published work is a fine route to accelerate this achievement. Progressive universities with clear vision of where they are going award PhD through different routes. These are through course work, research, professional PhD and on the basis of works published in the past. Thus, a published book can earn the writer a PhD provided he satisfies other requirements of the awarding institution.
Several universities in UK grant PhD on the basis of published work. Although some of them admit only their own staff (their teachers), an increasing number of them allow students from around the world to apply for doctoral qualification through this channel. One of such universities is Anglia Ruskin University.
Anglia Ruskin University
Originally Cambridge School of Arts then, Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT), Anglia Ruskin University is one and a half centuries old. Since its year of establishment in 1858, the university has gone through higher education status, to polytechnic position before it was granted university standing in 1992.
The school is committed to academic excellence and has spent over 90 million pounds on facilities for its 28,000 students on their two campuses in Chelmsford and Cambridge. And Anglia Ruskin University has the largest part-time students' population in UK.
It has Odile Crick, the wife of Francis Crick who discovered the structure of the DNA with James Watson in 1953, as a past lecturer. Odile herself created the simple iconic image of DNA, as two intertwined ribbons linked by 10 rungs per turn of the double helix.
Other lecturers were the author Tom Sharpe and Anne Campbell, the former Labour MP for Cambridge.
Principle of award
A PhD by published work is awarded to a candidate who, having already published work which has demonstrated an understanding of research methods appropriate to the field and an independent and original contribution to knowledge, defends that same published work and its critical appraisal, to the satisfaction of the examiners.
Definition of published work
'Published work' refers to papers, chapters, monographs, books, scholarly editions of a text, edited collections of essays or other materials, software and creative work (which may be in any field including fine art, design, architecture, music, composition, dance or performance) or other original artifacts. The precise selection of work undertaken by the candidate will depend upon the discipline concerned. The work must be traceable through ordinary catalogues, abstracts or citation indices and copies must be available to the general public.
Works that are not regarded as 'published'
Memoranda and reports to government departments, industrial organizations or NGOs are not regarded as 'published' and therefore not submissible unless they have been published and are publicly available.
Currency of publication
The publications submitted for the degree shall normally have been published within the last ten years and should demonstrate a continuing record of publication normally within the last two years.
Research done in collaboration with others
Where any work submitted for the degree has been written in collaboration with others, a statement clearly indicating the intellectual and practical input by such persons must be submitted with the candidate's application for registration and, wherever possible, endorsed by the collaborator.
Declaration by candidate
The publications shall not have been submitted by the candidate for a research degree of any other institution and a declaration to this effect must be submitted by the candidate at the time of application for registration.
Period of registration
The procedures for considering an application and awarding the degree of PhD by published work will normally be completed within one year.
Entry requirements
A candidate for the degree based on published work shall hold a first or upper second class honours degree of a UK university or a qualification which is regarded by the Research Degrees Committee as equivalent to such an honours degree. Or a candidate shall hold any other appropriate equivalent qualification, other than those above awarded as a result of studies carried out with not less than five years relevant professional experience.
Fee
The registration fee and other fees associated with this programme total about 2500 pounds sterling. That's about N640, 000 (six hundred and forty thousand naira). But our governors can negotiate a discount whenever they decide to sponsor students through this programme.
Please note that the fee and the regulations above applied to Anglia Ruskin University only. Other schools which offer this programme have their own fees and regulation which may be different from that of Anglia Ruskin.
But why don't we do this in Nigeria?
At a time that a country like China is boasting of having more PhDs than United States of America, Nigeria is still confused about what it wants in this direction. And the culprits are the government, university administrators and university teachers. While the top government functionaries are befuddled and confused because of the too much funds at their disposal, university administrators are busy backstabbing themselves and the teachers are engaged in infantile battle of wits with their students.
Our universities don't have a clear vision of where they want to be tomorrow let alone in the next 10 years and that's why they can afford to lock up their schools for three months (like what A.B.U has done) just because of a little misunderstanding. As the students suffer the disruption of their academic programmes their professors sit at home and enjoy their salaries.
But let's get back to our question; why don't Nigerian universities award PhDs based on published work as better universities in Europe are doing? We wouldn't do it because it's too easy (they think) and it has to be difficult to be good enough for Nigeria. That's why our professors write books that are unreadable! A student once told me that his father "spent 15 years! doing his PhD in Nigeria."
I was told that there is a state in the south that has more professors than all the 19 states of the north combined. Thus, its not only undergraduates that we want our governors to support but also PhD students who will later become professors that will teach our students and improve upon our failing educational system. PhD by published work is a fine route to accelerate this achievement. Progressive universities with clear vision of where they are going award PhD through different routes. These are through course work, research, professional PhD and on the basis of works published in the past. Thus, a published book can earn the writer a PhD provided he satisfies other requirements of the awarding institution.
Several universities in UK grant PhD on the basis of published work. Although some of them admit only their own staff (their teachers), an increasing number of them allow students from around the world to apply for doctoral qualification through this channel. One of such universities is Anglia Ruskin University.
Anglia Ruskin University
Originally Cambridge School of Arts then, Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT), Anglia Ruskin University is one and a half centuries old. Since its year of establishment in 1858, the university has gone through higher education status, to polytechnic position before it was granted university standing in 1992.
The school is committed to academic excellence and has spent over 90 million pounds on facilities for its 28,000 students on their two campuses in Chelmsford and Cambridge. And Anglia Ruskin University has the largest part-time students' population in UK.
It has Odile Crick, the wife of Francis Crick who discovered the structure of the DNA with James Watson in 1953, as a past lecturer. Odile herself created the simple iconic image of DNA, as two intertwined ribbons linked by 10 rungs per turn of the double helix.
Other lecturers were the author Tom Sharpe and Anne Campbell, the former Labour MP for Cambridge.
Principle of award
A PhD by published work is awarded to a candidate who, having already published work which has demonstrated an understanding of research methods appropriate to the field and an independent and original contribution to knowledge, defends that same published work and its critical appraisal, to the satisfaction of the examiners.
Definition of published work
'Published work' refers to papers, chapters, monographs, books, scholarly editions of a text, edited collections of essays or other materials, software and creative work (which may be in any field including fine art, design, architecture, music, composition, dance or performance) or other original artifacts. The precise selection of work undertaken by the candidate will depend upon the discipline concerned. The work must be traceable through ordinary catalogues, abstracts or citation indices and copies must be available to the general public.
Works that are not regarded as 'published'
Memoranda and reports to government departments, industrial organizations or NGOs are not regarded as 'published' and therefore not submissible unless they have been published and are publicly available.
Currency of publication
The publications submitted for the degree shall normally have been published within the last ten years and should demonstrate a continuing record of publication normally within the last two years.
Research done in collaboration with others
Where any work submitted for the degree has been written in collaboration with others, a statement clearly indicating the intellectual and practical input by such persons must be submitted with the candidate's application for registration and, wherever possible, endorsed by the collaborator.
Declaration by candidate
The publications shall not have been submitted by the candidate for a research degree of any other institution and a declaration to this effect must be submitted by the candidate at the time of application for registration.
Period of registration
The procedures for considering an application and awarding the degree of PhD by published work will normally be completed within one year.
Entry requirements
A candidate for the degree based on published work shall hold a first or upper second class honours degree of a UK university or a qualification which is regarded by the Research Degrees Committee as equivalent to such an honours degree. Or a candidate shall hold any other appropriate equivalent qualification, other than those above awarded as a result of studies carried out with not less than five years relevant professional experience.
Fee
The registration fee and other fees associated with this programme total about 2500 pounds sterling. That's about N640, 000 (six hundred and forty thousand naira). But our governors can negotiate a discount whenever they decide to sponsor students through this programme.
Please note that the fee and the regulations above applied to Anglia Ruskin University only. Other schools which offer this programme have their own fees and regulation which may be different from that of Anglia Ruskin.
But why don't we do this in Nigeria?
At a time that a country like China is boasting of having more PhDs than United States of America, Nigeria is still confused about what it wants in this direction. And the culprits are the government, university administrators and university teachers. While the top government functionaries are befuddled and confused because of the too much funds at their disposal, university administrators are busy backstabbing themselves and the teachers are engaged in infantile battle of wits with their students.
Our universities don't have a clear vision of where they want to be tomorrow let alone in the next 10 years and that's why they can afford to lock up their schools for three months (like what A.B.U has done) just because of a little misunderstanding. As the students suffer the disruption of their academic programmes their professors sit at home and enjoy their salaries.
But let's get back to our question; why don't Nigerian universities award PhDs based on published work as better universities in Europe are doing? We wouldn't do it because it's too easy (they think) and it has to be difficult to be good enough for Nigeria. That's why our professors write books that are unreadable! A student once told me that his father "spent 15 years! doing his PhD in Nigeria."
Two exams = a degree
Yes! Two exams! One GRE examination in Psychology and another ECE examination in Research Methodology in Psychology, will earn you a BA in Psychology from Excelsior College. I've never seen any degree so simplified, so straightforward or so affordable. GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) subject examinations are different from GRE General Examinations. The subject examinations are the standardized test colleges and universities use to admit students unto their post graduate programmes. Because the subject examination assumes you'd already studied the entire undergraduate contents of the chosen subject, the questions cover commonly offered courses within the universally defined field of psychology. Pass this examination, enroll in Excelsior College, pass their Research Method in Psychology and you've got a degree. It's that simple. And with the simplicity comes affordability. Subject GRE examination costs $150 and $205 is enough to get you registered as ECE Research Methodology in Psychology candidate. Add these to a few dollars you've to pay for enrollment at Excelsior College and you still don't have close to the amount Nigerian students spend at our public universities. All these added together make this program from Excelsior College one of the most uncomplicated way to earn a degree.
Excelsior College
Excelsior College used to be Regents College of the University of the State of New York (USNY). This means it used to be a state funded college but now, it's entirely a private institution. Excelsior has been rated as the College with the greatest number of transfer students over 25 years old. This is what US News and World Report said, " Continuing its national winning streak, Excelsior College, one of the nation's oldest distance learning schools, topped the U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2008" report in two key categories: the number of transfer students enrolled and the schools with the highest percentage of students over 25 years old. Total enrollment at the online college is 30,000.
"The flexible and focused degree programs that Excelsior offers are so well tailored to accommodate the busy lives of working adults that we continue to lead in these two key demographic groups that define this student population," said Excelsior College President John F. Ebersole. "With an enrollment that has met the 30,000 mark for matriculated students we continue to grow in meeting the needs of adult learners, wherever and whenever they are."
Excelsior College has the most recognized accreditation for universities in the United States; the regional accreditation. Besides this, they've most of their individual courses accredited, including their courses in Nuclear Engineering. Excelsior has students from all 50 states of the United States and 27 countries across the world.
It's not only in Psychology that Excelsior offers this interesting programme. They award both Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Nursing, in Accountancy, Business Administration, Computer Information systems, History and the Liberal Arts. Most of these degrees can be earned by writing examinations. Other courses are Communication, Criminal Justice, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Geography, Geology, Sociology, Literature, Music, Literature, Political Science and Nuclear Engineering. Thus a student can choose to have a BA or BS.
Performance
To earn the Psychology degree from Excelsior, you've to score above 80th percentile in the GRE Advanced subject examination. As I've said before, GRE general examination and Subject examination are not the same thing. In the general examination, you can get away with superficial knowledge of Algebra, Quantitative and Verbal reasoning. But in the subject examination, you've to be well on the ball to do well. That's why students that are graduates of the subjects they are writing, do better. This is because they've been taught the subject over an extended period of time. But you don't have to be a graduate in the subject to do well in the subject examination. You don't even have to be a graduate at all to do well. A few months of diligent study will clue up any willing student and ensure a score above the 80th percentile.
More info.
For more information visit: Excelsior College, https://www.excelsior.edu/
Or for more information on the GRE, visit www.ets.org
Or visit the site I'm putting together on the whole issue of accelerated degrees, www.degreein1year.googlepages.com
Excelsior College
Excelsior College used to be Regents College of the University of the State of New York (USNY). This means it used to be a state funded college but now, it's entirely a private institution. Excelsior has been rated as the College with the greatest number of transfer students over 25 years old. This is what US News and World Report said, " Continuing its national winning streak, Excelsior College, one of the nation's oldest distance learning schools, topped the U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2008" report in two key categories: the number of transfer students enrolled and the schools with the highest percentage of students over 25 years old. Total enrollment at the online college is 30,000.
"The flexible and focused degree programs that Excelsior offers are so well tailored to accommodate the busy lives of working adults that we continue to lead in these two key demographic groups that define this student population," said Excelsior College President John F. Ebersole. "With an enrollment that has met the 30,000 mark for matriculated students we continue to grow in meeting the needs of adult learners, wherever and whenever they are."
Excelsior College has the most recognized accreditation for universities in the United States; the regional accreditation. Besides this, they've most of their individual courses accredited, including their courses in Nuclear Engineering. Excelsior has students from all 50 states of the United States and 27 countries across the world.
It's not only in Psychology that Excelsior offers this interesting programme. They award both Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Nursing, in Accountancy, Business Administration, Computer Information systems, History and the Liberal Arts. Most of these degrees can be earned by writing examinations. Other courses are Communication, Criminal Justice, Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Geography, Geology, Sociology, Literature, Music, Literature, Political Science and Nuclear Engineering. Thus a student can choose to have a BA or BS.
Performance
To earn the Psychology degree from Excelsior, you've to score above 80th percentile in the GRE Advanced subject examination. As I've said before, GRE general examination and Subject examination are not the same thing. In the general examination, you can get away with superficial knowledge of Algebra, Quantitative and Verbal reasoning. But in the subject examination, you've to be well on the ball to do well. That's why students that are graduates of the subjects they are writing, do better. This is because they've been taught the subject over an extended period of time. But you don't have to be a graduate in the subject to do well in the subject examination. You don't even have to be a graduate at all to do well. A few months of diligent study will clue up any willing student and ensure a score above the 80th percentile.
More info.
For more information visit: Excelsior College, https://www.excelsior.edu/
Or for more information on the GRE, visit www.ets.org
Or visit the site I'm putting together on the whole issue of accelerated degrees, www.degreein1year.googlepages.com
London School of Journalism
"Our intern program allows students to take part in the workings of our largest bureau outside the US, with responsibilities for both production and news casting. Students from the LSJ consistently demonstrate a good grasp of practical skills and requirements and obviously have been taught what is needed to be successful."
Tony Maddox, Managing Editor CNN Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
London school of Journalism is a world-renowned journalism training institution. Established in 1920, the school has close to 90 years journalism teaching experience. They have full time and part time postgraduate courses. The courses can be taken both as on campus attendance and online. They also have distance learning diploma programme on several journalism and writing related courses. These distance learning diploma courses are going to be our focus today.
Because of the ease of the courses, the dexterity of the teachers and the structure and flexibility of the distance learning programme, I think this is the shortest and the fastest route for northern governments to produce journalist from junior reporters level to world class status.
I'll also say it's the cheapest. With an average of 300 pounds sterling, a student will have the best diploma in Journalism, Media Law or Children Writing possible.
Our governors can enroll our northern students in this programme without the fear of quality tuition because almost all the known and unknown media organizations have currently or in the past employed graduates of London School of Journalism or entrusted their staff to them for in-house workshops.
Who goes to London School of Journalism?
The following governmental, non governmental and media organizations are some of those who have benefited from the courses of London school of Journalism.
American Express(Europe), BBC, BBC Worldwide, Sabah Times, British Airways, The college of Law, Cap Gemini Ernst Young, European Central Bank, the British Council, Office of the Deputy P.M., World Bank, Hoffmann-La Roche, London Underground, Lehman Bros, Oxfam, HSBC Bank, Hong Kong University, Financial Times , Qantas Airways, Inland Revenue, ITN News, British Army, IBM, Main on Sunday, University of Macau, Oxford University Press, JWT, International Red Cross, Bloomsbury Publishing, International College of Music, Heinemann, Bank of America and United States Navy.
The two certificates available
The school basically awards two certificates; Postgraduate Diploma and Diploma. The postgraduate diploma is mostly attendance based and more expensive (about 3000 sterling) while the Diploma is through distance learning and cheaper (300 sterling). But besides the priviledge of meeting the tutors one on one by the attendance students, the contents of the two programmes are the same.
Distance learning diploma courses
Cartooning, English for Business, Enjoying English Literature, Freelance and Feature Writing, Freelance and Music and the Arts, Freelance and Sports Writing, Improve your English, Internet Journalism (complete), Internet Journalism(short) Journalism and Newswriting, Media Law, Novel Writing, Poetry, Short Story writing, Subediting and Design, Thrillers (Writing a best seller), Understanding English History and Writing for Children.
How much does it cost?
The average amount a student pays is 300 pounds sterling (N75,000). There's also the option of paying in installments. But paying in full attracts a discount of about 15 pounds sterling. For example, you pay 285 Sterling to study Subediting if you're paying in full but 300 Sterling if you're to pay three times. The foregoing is for distance learning by email.
There's an option of studying by post which expectedly costs more; about 370 Sterling . I have also noticed that two of the Diploma courses are more expensive than others. These are Journalism and Newswriting and Novel Writing. And these can also be got for a song; about 400 Sterling.
Thus, if a northern state like Niger is interested in sponsoring a hundred students to study Journalism and Newswriting, it will cost the state only 40,000 Sterling. That's 10 million naira that'll educate and empower 100 Nigerlites. But instead of Niger state government thinking in this direction, it's busy importing elephants to celebrate Sallah with. One wonders how an elephant will improve the well being or standard of living of the people.
Do graduates get jobs?
The graduates of London School Journalism didn't find it difficult to get employment with the following organizations:
BBC Children's website, Channel 4 News, Channel 4 Dispatches, ITV, Discovery Channel, Reuters, Gibralter Broadcasting, BBC World Service, The Times, China Daily, Arabian Travel News Dubai, Apollo, Practical Motorhome Psychologies, TV Plus, Broadcast Magazine, Human Rights Watch, UEFA.com, etc.
For more information on who has graduated from the school and where they work, visit: http://www.home-study.com/jobs.html.
Who are the teachers?
The tutors include award winning journalists like Ken Ashton who was one of the journalists that covered the 1966 World Cup Final where England defeated Germany. It was the daughter of Ken Ashton, Rachael who was made the editor of a UK based newspaper at the age of 26.
David Banks whose work is syndicated world-wide is another teacher. His work has been published in The Times, The Telegragh, The Spectator, New Scientist, Sunday Times and The Dandy amongst others.
Other teachers are Nick Barlay, Ross Biddiscombe,Peter Carty, Angela Catto, Chris Dukes, Gavin Evans, Paul Gogarty, Dominic Hyland, Margaret Knight, Ian Mackean, Terry McMahon, Julia Moffat, Sue Moorcroft, Paul Nathanson, Tony Padman, Colin Parkes, Nick Roberts-Alatti and Kenneth Morgan OBE who has been a journalist for over 50 years.
For more information, your Excellencies should visit: lsj.org or home-study.com/
Victimization of university students
Over the years our universities and other higher institutions have been torture centres instead of learning centres as our students suffer both deserved and undeserved punishments. The lecturers ask them to exchange sex for good grades, block their attainment of First Class or higher academic achievement, schedule and unschedule lectures at will, organize examinations for students when they are not ready or ask them to answer questions on the topics that were not taught.
All this while, the students have nobody to report to. That's beginning to change. Now students can post cases of victimization on the internet for the world to see. Please visit idooba.googlepages.com or email idooba@gmail.com. Please do not forget to mention the names of the oppressors!
Tony Maddox, Managing Editor CNN Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
London school of Journalism is a world-renowned journalism training institution. Established in 1920, the school has close to 90 years journalism teaching experience. They have full time and part time postgraduate courses. The courses can be taken both as on campus attendance and online. They also have distance learning diploma programme on several journalism and writing related courses. These distance learning diploma courses are going to be our focus today.
Because of the ease of the courses, the dexterity of the teachers and the structure and flexibility of the distance learning programme, I think this is the shortest and the fastest route for northern governments to produce journalist from junior reporters level to world class status.
I'll also say it's the cheapest. With an average of 300 pounds sterling, a student will have the best diploma in Journalism, Media Law or Children Writing possible.
Our governors can enroll our northern students in this programme without the fear of quality tuition because almost all the known and unknown media organizations have currently or in the past employed graduates of London School of Journalism or entrusted their staff to them for in-house workshops.
Who goes to London School of Journalism?
The following governmental, non governmental and media organizations are some of those who have benefited from the courses of London school of Journalism.
American Express(Europe), BBC, BBC Worldwide, Sabah Times, British Airways, The college of Law, Cap Gemini Ernst Young, European Central Bank, the British Council, Office of the Deputy P.M., World Bank, Hoffmann-La Roche, London Underground, Lehman Bros, Oxfam, HSBC Bank, Hong Kong University, Financial Times , Qantas Airways, Inland Revenue, ITN News, British Army, IBM, Main on Sunday, University of Macau, Oxford University Press, JWT, International Red Cross, Bloomsbury Publishing, International College of Music, Heinemann, Bank of America and United States Navy.
The two certificates available
The school basically awards two certificates; Postgraduate Diploma and Diploma. The postgraduate diploma is mostly attendance based and more expensive (about 3000 sterling) while the Diploma is through distance learning and cheaper (300 sterling). But besides the priviledge of meeting the tutors one on one by the attendance students, the contents of the two programmes are the same.
Distance learning diploma courses
Cartooning, English for Business, Enjoying English Literature, Freelance and Feature Writing, Freelance and Music and the Arts, Freelance and Sports Writing, Improve your English, Internet Journalism (complete), Internet Journalism(short) Journalism and Newswriting, Media Law, Novel Writing, Poetry, Short Story writing, Subediting and Design, Thrillers (Writing a best seller), Understanding English History and Writing for Children.
How much does it cost?
The average amount a student pays is 300 pounds sterling (N75,000). There's also the option of paying in installments. But paying in full attracts a discount of about 15 pounds sterling. For example, you pay 285 Sterling to study Subediting if you're paying in full but 300 Sterling if you're to pay three times. The foregoing is for distance learning by email.
There's an option of studying by post which expectedly costs more; about 370 Sterling . I have also noticed that two of the Diploma courses are more expensive than others. These are Journalism and Newswriting and Novel Writing. And these can also be got for a song; about 400 Sterling.
Thus, if a northern state like Niger is interested in sponsoring a hundred students to study Journalism and Newswriting, it will cost the state only 40,000 Sterling. That's 10 million naira that'll educate and empower 100 Nigerlites. But instead of Niger state government thinking in this direction, it's busy importing elephants to celebrate Sallah with. One wonders how an elephant will improve the well being or standard of living of the people.
Do graduates get jobs?
The graduates of London School Journalism didn't find it difficult to get employment with the following organizations:
BBC Children's website, Channel 4 News, Channel 4 Dispatches, ITV, Discovery Channel, Reuters, Gibralter Broadcasting, BBC World Service, The Times, China Daily, Arabian Travel News Dubai, Apollo, Practical Motorhome Psychologies, TV Plus, Broadcast Magazine, Human Rights Watch, UEFA.com, etc.
For more information on who has graduated from the school and where they work, visit: http://www.home-study.com/jobs.html.
Who are the teachers?
The tutors include award winning journalists like Ken Ashton who was one of the journalists that covered the 1966 World Cup Final where England defeated Germany. It was the daughter of Ken Ashton, Rachael who was made the editor of a UK based newspaper at the age of 26.
David Banks whose work is syndicated world-wide is another teacher. His work has been published in The Times, The Telegragh, The Spectator, New Scientist, Sunday Times and The Dandy amongst others.
Other teachers are Nick Barlay, Ross Biddiscombe,Peter Carty, Angela Catto, Chris Dukes, Gavin Evans, Paul Gogarty, Dominic Hyland, Margaret Knight, Ian Mackean, Terry McMahon, Julia Moffat, Sue Moorcroft, Paul Nathanson, Tony Padman, Colin Parkes, Nick Roberts-Alatti and Kenneth Morgan OBE who has been a journalist for over 50 years.
For more information, your Excellencies should visit: lsj.org or home-study.com/
Victimization of university students
Over the years our universities and other higher institutions have been torture centres instead of learning centres as our students suffer both deserved and undeserved punishments. The lecturers ask them to exchange sex for good grades, block their attainment of First Class or higher academic achievement, schedule and unschedule lectures at will, organize examinations for students when they are not ready or ask them to answer questions on the topics that were not taught.
All this while, the students have nobody to report to. That's beginning to change. Now students can post cases of victimization on the internet for the world to see. Please visit idooba.googlepages.com or email idooba@gmail.com. Please do not forget to mention the names of the oppressors!
Association of Business Executives
"When given the option to choose between two things, I prefer the easy task to the difficult one"
Muhammad (SAW)
The Association of Business Executives qualifications are the easiest of all the ones I have written about so far. And I don't mean that their syllabus is lean or their examinations are too simple.
On the contrary, the syllabus is quite rich and comprehensive. But in terms of the value that ABE provides, it should be the preferred choice of business students. They offer more options than others. They are more recognized internationally. Universities in UK, US, Canada, Australia, Middle East and even Africa accept ABE qualifications for further studies. It is not rigid or too restrictive.
There is no limit to the number of examinations you can sit for, provided the subjects are not clashing on the time table. ABE is also cheaper; with N100, 000 a student can finish Human Resource Management from certificate level to Advanced Diploma level (a degree equivalent).
They have excellent tuition resources to guide and aid teachers and their students in preparing for the examinations. All these combined to give flexible, affordable and respected qualifications.
Options
ABE qualifications cover a broad area in business. There is business management for business management students and professionals. They also offer a qualification in Human Resource Management, which its demand is greater than supply in the business world now.
Computer students are also accommodated as they can study Business Information Systems. Students who are numbers savvy can take Financial Management. Travel and tourism, which is a trendy sector in the business world also has its set of subjects under Travel, Tourism and Hospitality. These five qualification are enough options for the business student to choose where they want to major in.
Subjects
The qualifications above have three levels: Certificate, Diploma I (and Diploma II) and Advanced Diploma. Unlike British Computer Society, which has a few modules per level, ABE has more modules - ABE calls them subjects - especially at Diploma level.
Business Management alone has 21 subjects a student needs to cover from certificate level to Advanced Diploma level. Business Information Systems has 25, Marketing 14, Human Resource Management 19 and Travel, Tourism and Hospitality 24. These many subjects prove that by the time a student finishes a chosen qualification, he will be very knowledgeable in that field.
ABE is another BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free)
Many universities around the world will admit ABE qualifications holders on to different stages of their BA, MA, MBA or MSc. Some will consider ABE Advanced Diploma and as first degree and welcome a student into their Master programmes. This makes ABE Advanced Diploma equivalent to a BA.
For example Anglia Ruskin University in UK will give ABE Diploma holders 120 credits and 240 credits to Advance Diploma holders. University of Bolton also in UK admits students with ABE Advanced Diploma into their final year in Business Studies. Students with Advanced Diploma and significant amount of relevant work experience are admitted into MSc or MBA Management. University of Central Oklahoma, USA, gives three semester hours credit for every completed unit of ABE.
Charles Sturt University, Australia awards nine exemptions to ABE Diploma holders in Bachelor of Business Studies.
Other universities like Athabasca University in Canada, Banasthali Vidvapith in India, University of East London in UK, Institute of Technology of Australia, Kenya Methodist University and Limkokwing University College in Malaysia give exemptions or credits to ABE advanced Diploma and Advanced Diploma holders giving them the advantage to study in the university closest to them or the one that's most affordable.
Examinations
Examinations are held twice a year in June and December. Although ABE recommends not registering for more than five subjects at a time, there's no limit to how many subjects a student can register for. If a student wishes they can finish a particular qualification in its entirety (certificate level to Advanced Diploma stage) in a year!
Tuition resources
ABE online portal has wonderful resources that are indispensable to the success of the students in examinations. But a better news is that all these resources are free of charge, except a student needs the resources in hard copy, which they have to pay for. But that's really unnecessary.
Some of the resources you'll find on ABE site are: lecture guides, past questions and answers, specimen materials, syllabus, study manual and report on previous examinations. I like the last one (report on previous examinations) better. In this report observations on general students' performance are made by examiners followed by specific comment on each question.
The examiners discuss the weaknesses of students, the questions that were answered well, the ones that were not and how they should have answered them. With a report like this, I don't think it's possible for any student to fail these exams. But from what I've seen so far, not all the ABE students take advantage of these priceless resources.
Fees
For new students, there's a one time registration fee of 35 pounds for certificate, 50 pounds for Diploma and 150 pounds for Advanced Diploma. Subsequently, each examination a student registers for at Certificate level is 20 pounds, at Diploma level 25 pounds and at Advanced Diploma level 30 pounds.
On average, a student will spend N100,000 (one hundred thousand naira) to complete a chosen qualification from Certificate level to Advanced Diploma (degree equivalent) level. So with just N10 million, any northern state can support 100 students through this qualifications.
And these students are not going to be half baked as obtains in Nigeria but good, educated potential entrepreneurs. So ABE is one of the ways to go if the Northern governments are really serious about quality higher education for northerners. But are they? Are they not more concern about marrying other politicians' daughters?
For more information visit: www.abeuk.com
Muhammad (SAW)
The Association of Business Executives qualifications are the easiest of all the ones I have written about so far. And I don't mean that their syllabus is lean or their examinations are too simple.
On the contrary, the syllabus is quite rich and comprehensive. But in terms of the value that ABE provides, it should be the preferred choice of business students. They offer more options than others. They are more recognized internationally. Universities in UK, US, Canada, Australia, Middle East and even Africa accept ABE qualifications for further studies. It is not rigid or too restrictive.
There is no limit to the number of examinations you can sit for, provided the subjects are not clashing on the time table. ABE is also cheaper; with N100, 000 a student can finish Human Resource Management from certificate level to Advanced Diploma level (a degree equivalent).
They have excellent tuition resources to guide and aid teachers and their students in preparing for the examinations. All these combined to give flexible, affordable and respected qualifications.
Options
ABE qualifications cover a broad area in business. There is business management for business management students and professionals. They also offer a qualification in Human Resource Management, which its demand is greater than supply in the business world now.
Computer students are also accommodated as they can study Business Information Systems. Students who are numbers savvy can take Financial Management. Travel and tourism, which is a trendy sector in the business world also has its set of subjects under Travel, Tourism and Hospitality. These five qualification are enough options for the business student to choose where they want to major in.
Subjects
The qualifications above have three levels: Certificate, Diploma I (and Diploma II) and Advanced Diploma. Unlike British Computer Society, which has a few modules per level, ABE has more modules - ABE calls them subjects - especially at Diploma level.
Business Management alone has 21 subjects a student needs to cover from certificate level to Advanced Diploma level. Business Information Systems has 25, Marketing 14, Human Resource Management 19 and Travel, Tourism and Hospitality 24. These many subjects prove that by the time a student finishes a chosen qualification, he will be very knowledgeable in that field.
ABE is another BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free)
Many universities around the world will admit ABE qualifications holders on to different stages of their BA, MA, MBA or MSc. Some will consider ABE Advanced Diploma and as first degree and welcome a student into their Master programmes. This makes ABE Advanced Diploma equivalent to a BA.
For example Anglia Ruskin University in UK will give ABE Diploma holders 120 credits and 240 credits to Advance Diploma holders. University of Bolton also in UK admits students with ABE Advanced Diploma into their final year in Business Studies. Students with Advanced Diploma and significant amount of relevant work experience are admitted into MSc or MBA Management. University of Central Oklahoma, USA, gives three semester hours credit for every completed unit of ABE.
Charles Sturt University, Australia awards nine exemptions to ABE Diploma holders in Bachelor of Business Studies.
Other universities like Athabasca University in Canada, Banasthali Vidvapith in India, University of East London in UK, Institute of Technology of Australia, Kenya Methodist University and Limkokwing University College in Malaysia give exemptions or credits to ABE advanced Diploma and Advanced Diploma holders giving them the advantage to study in the university closest to them or the one that's most affordable.
Examinations
Examinations are held twice a year in June and December. Although ABE recommends not registering for more than five subjects at a time, there's no limit to how many subjects a student can register for. If a student wishes they can finish a particular qualification in its entirety (certificate level to Advanced Diploma stage) in a year!
Tuition resources
ABE online portal has wonderful resources that are indispensable to the success of the students in examinations. But a better news is that all these resources are free of charge, except a student needs the resources in hard copy, which they have to pay for. But that's really unnecessary.
Some of the resources you'll find on ABE site are: lecture guides, past questions and answers, specimen materials, syllabus, study manual and report on previous examinations. I like the last one (report on previous examinations) better. In this report observations on general students' performance are made by examiners followed by specific comment on each question.
The examiners discuss the weaknesses of students, the questions that were answered well, the ones that were not and how they should have answered them. With a report like this, I don't think it's possible for any student to fail these exams. But from what I've seen so far, not all the ABE students take advantage of these priceless resources.
Fees
For new students, there's a one time registration fee of 35 pounds for certificate, 50 pounds for Diploma and 150 pounds for Advanced Diploma. Subsequently, each examination a student registers for at Certificate level is 20 pounds, at Diploma level 25 pounds and at Advanced Diploma level 30 pounds.
On average, a student will spend N100,000 (one hundred thousand naira) to complete a chosen qualification from Certificate level to Advanced Diploma (degree equivalent) level. So with just N10 million, any northern state can support 100 students through this qualifications.
And these students are not going to be half baked as obtains in Nigeria but good, educated potential entrepreneurs. So ABE is one of the ways to go if the Northern governments are really serious about quality higher education for northerners. But are they? Are they not more concern about marrying other politicians' daughters?
For more information visit: www.abeuk.com
Professional Graduate Diploma in IT: British Computer Society
We started this proposal last week in the hope that the northern governors will seize the opportunities offered by some good schools which are not well known by an average Nigerian but which offer affordable and quality education for post secondary school students. We hope the northern states will take advantage of this fastest route to bridge the educational gap between the north and the south.
As stated here before, most of the courses in this proposal are either degrees or degree equivalents and most of them can be completed within two years. Most importantly, the courses will cost the states next to nothing. Today we are going to discuss the professional examinations of British Computer Society.
Overview
British Computer Society was formed in 1957, the professional examinations were instituted in 1969 and the Society was incorporated by a Royal Charter in 1984. Being the essential qualification for career in IT and computing, BSC has over 60,000 members in over 100 countries.
BOGOF: Buy one get one free
BCS examinations are in three stages; each stage is equivalent to an academic year in UK universities. Thus, at end of the three stages, the student has a certification as a computer professional and an equivalent of Bsc (Honors) in Computer Science.
Levels
There are three stages of BCS professional examinations:
· Certificate in IT
· Diploma in IT and
· Professional Graduate Diploma (PGD) in IT
All the levels are recognized and accredited by Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), UK.
Level I: Certificate in IT
This is the most elementary level of BCS Professional Examinations. Even those who do not know the difference between a computer mouse and a rat can start here. This foundation level is equivalent to year 1 of a UK university honours degree and is recognized by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority as level 4.
The certificate in IT concentrates on three compulsory modules.
· Information systems
· Software Development
· Computer & Network Technology
If a student is studying on his own, BCS recommends minimum of 200 hours study per module. That's 600 hours altogether. This track terminates in a 2 hour written examination focusing on all the 3 core modules.
The completion of the Certificate in IT level means that a student is eligible to apply for BCS Associate Membership (AMBCS). This means a student can put AMBCS in front of his name. See? I'm sure it's beginning to look interesting to Nigerians.
Level II: Diploma in IT
Before beginning Diploma in IT, a student must have completed Certificate in IT or have been exempted from it. The Diploma in IT level of BCS Professional Examinations is the academic equivalent to year 2 of a UK university honours degree and is recognized by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority as level 6.
The Diploma in IT focuses on the compulsory Professional Issues in Information Systems Practice and any 3 from the following:
Computer Networks, Database Systems, IT Project Management, Object Oriented Programming, Systems Analysis, Principles of Internet Technologies, IT Service Management, Software Engineering 1, Systems Design, Principles of User Interface Design, The Internet and World Wide Web and Computer Architecture.
The track terminates in 2 hour written examination with the spotlight on the core module and another 2 hour written examination focusing on three optional modules of the student's choice.
If you're counting the examinations as I am, we have 6 hour examination so far; a single 2 hour examination in Certificate in IT and two 2 hour examination in Diploma in IT. Together with PGD 3 hour examination, the student is expected to sit for 9 hour examination all in all.
Project
There's also a project at this level, which BCS recommends 200 hours study time for. But if the student is proceeding to the Level III: Professional Graduate Diploma in IT, there's no need for project at this stage. The project will be done after level III examinations.
The successful completion of the examination and project makes a student eligible to apply for the full BCS Membership if he has 2 years experience in IT. This means the student can start using MBCS after his name.
Level III: Professional Graduate Diploma (PGD) in IT
Before starting Level III, the student must have completed Certificate in IT and Diploma in IT or have been exempted from them.
The professional Graduate Diploma in IT together with PGD project is the academic equivalent to a completed UK university honours degree and is recognized by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) as level 6.
There's no core module at this level. The student can choose any four of the following modules: Advanced Database Management Systems, Management Information Systems, Software Engineering 2, Computer Services Management, Distributed and Parallel Systems, Knowledge Based Systems, Network Information Systems, Programming Paradigms, Realising the User Interface, System Design Methods, Web Engineering, User Interface Design and World Wide Web – Beyond the Basics.
The course culminates in a 3 hour written examination focusing on four modules of your choice. Successful completion of the level 3 examination and project enables you to apply for selected postgraduate courses (Msc) with UK universities.
Out of the 48 universities that'll accept you at master level, I'll list 5: University of West London, University of Leeds, University of Aberdeen, University of Kent and University of Birmingham.
How much?
When I calculated the entire examinations cost plus the registration and course fee, I arrived at N253,000. That's if the student takes the self study route.
Benefits of BCS certification to northern states
BSC qualification is a guarantee of excellence. Unlike some students who will finish computer science without knowing where to click the pointing device, the states can be confident that graduates from Society know not only what they are doing but why.
The course outline directly mirrors the requisites of classic IT occupations and puts greater emphasis on business and management issues. This will ensure that the state will be populated with confident entrepreneurs and competent professionals.
Benefits to students
Computer Weekly/SSL salary survey 2007 said an average wage for an IT professional in the UK is 32,965 pounds sterling that's equivalent to N8,241250.
Examinations are internationally recognized giving you highest possible standard of education and employability in the market. I learnt they're employers who have preference for members of British Computer Society.
Please parents and independent student should know that this is proposal for the state government as well as for them. The North is in this sorry state because of the preoccupation of our governors with the projects of their First Ladies and their own pockets rather than the collective development of the North. There's reason to believe that these new ones are different.
For more information please visit www.bcs.org/exams
As stated here before, most of the courses in this proposal are either degrees or degree equivalents and most of them can be completed within two years. Most importantly, the courses will cost the states next to nothing. Today we are going to discuss the professional examinations of British Computer Society.
Overview
British Computer Society was formed in 1957, the professional examinations were instituted in 1969 and the Society was incorporated by a Royal Charter in 1984. Being the essential qualification for career in IT and computing, BSC has over 60,000 members in over 100 countries.
BOGOF: Buy one get one free
BCS examinations are in three stages; each stage is equivalent to an academic year in UK universities. Thus, at end of the three stages, the student has a certification as a computer professional and an equivalent of Bsc (Honors) in Computer Science.
Levels
There are three stages of BCS professional examinations:
· Certificate in IT
· Diploma in IT and
· Professional Graduate Diploma (PGD) in IT
All the levels are recognized and accredited by Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), UK.
Level I: Certificate in IT
This is the most elementary level of BCS Professional Examinations. Even those who do not know the difference between a computer mouse and a rat can start here. This foundation level is equivalent to year 1 of a UK university honours degree and is recognized by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority as level 4.
The certificate in IT concentrates on three compulsory modules.
· Information systems
· Software Development
· Computer & Network Technology
If a student is studying on his own, BCS recommends minimum of 200 hours study per module. That's 600 hours altogether. This track terminates in a 2 hour written examination focusing on all the 3 core modules.
The completion of the Certificate in IT level means that a student is eligible to apply for BCS Associate Membership (AMBCS). This means a student can put AMBCS in front of his name. See? I'm sure it's beginning to look interesting to Nigerians.
Level II: Diploma in IT
Before beginning Diploma in IT, a student must have completed Certificate in IT or have been exempted from it. The Diploma in IT level of BCS Professional Examinations is the academic equivalent to year 2 of a UK university honours degree and is recognized by the Qualification and Curriculum Authority as level 6.
The Diploma in IT focuses on the compulsory Professional Issues in Information Systems Practice and any 3 from the following:
Computer Networks, Database Systems, IT Project Management, Object Oriented Programming, Systems Analysis, Principles of Internet Technologies, IT Service Management, Software Engineering 1, Systems Design, Principles of User Interface Design, The Internet and World Wide Web and Computer Architecture.
The track terminates in 2 hour written examination with the spotlight on the core module and another 2 hour written examination focusing on three optional modules of the student's choice.
If you're counting the examinations as I am, we have 6 hour examination so far; a single 2 hour examination in Certificate in IT and two 2 hour examination in Diploma in IT. Together with PGD 3 hour examination, the student is expected to sit for 9 hour examination all in all.
Project
There's also a project at this level, which BCS recommends 200 hours study time for. But if the student is proceeding to the Level III: Professional Graduate Diploma in IT, there's no need for project at this stage. The project will be done after level III examinations.
The successful completion of the examination and project makes a student eligible to apply for the full BCS Membership if he has 2 years experience in IT. This means the student can start using MBCS after his name.
Level III: Professional Graduate Diploma (PGD) in IT
Before starting Level III, the student must have completed Certificate in IT and Diploma in IT or have been exempted from them.
The professional Graduate Diploma in IT together with PGD project is the academic equivalent to a completed UK university honours degree and is recognized by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) as level 6.
There's no core module at this level. The student can choose any four of the following modules: Advanced Database Management Systems, Management Information Systems, Software Engineering 2, Computer Services Management, Distributed and Parallel Systems, Knowledge Based Systems, Network Information Systems, Programming Paradigms, Realising the User Interface, System Design Methods, Web Engineering, User Interface Design and World Wide Web – Beyond the Basics.
The course culminates in a 3 hour written examination focusing on four modules of your choice. Successful completion of the level 3 examination and project enables you to apply for selected postgraduate courses (Msc) with UK universities.
Out of the 48 universities that'll accept you at master level, I'll list 5: University of West London, University of Leeds, University of Aberdeen, University of Kent and University of Birmingham.
How much?
When I calculated the entire examinations cost plus the registration and course fee, I arrived at N253,000. That's if the student takes the self study route.
Benefits of BCS certification to northern states
BSC qualification is a guarantee of excellence. Unlike some students who will finish computer science without knowing where to click the pointing device, the states can be confident that graduates from Society know not only what they are doing but why.
The course outline directly mirrors the requisites of classic IT occupations and puts greater emphasis on business and management issues. This will ensure that the state will be populated with confident entrepreneurs and competent professionals.
Benefits to students
Computer Weekly/SSL salary survey 2007 said an average wage for an IT professional in the UK is 32,965 pounds sterling that's equivalent to N8,241250.
Examinations are internationally recognized giving you highest possible standard of education and employability in the market. I learnt they're employers who have preference for members of British Computer Society.
Please parents and independent student should know that this is proposal for the state government as well as for them. The North is in this sorry state because of the preoccupation of our governors with the projects of their First Ladies and their own pockets rather than the collective development of the North. There's reason to believe that these new ones are different.
For more information please visit www.bcs.org/exams
An educational proposal to northern governors
idooba@gmail.com
The inspiration to write this proposal came from the obvious; the North's almost zilch presence in all the professions in the country. This is because the South has more children enrolled in schools. It has more undergraduate students in the universities and colleges. The South also has more graduates who are in the market for jobs and more professionals who are already working.
While the foregoing might be the inspiration for writing this, the push to write came while I was going through the list of undergraduate scholarship award of Mobil Producing Nigeria, and earlier in Okene while I was presenting a paper at National Higher Institutions Conference of Muslim Students (NIHCOMS) on the 1 st of September, 2007.
Out of the 500 students announced by Mobil in Daily Trust of Tuesday 25th September, 2007 to have been awarded scholarship for the year 2006/2007 only 53 students or 1.6 per cent are northerners. It will interest your Excellencies and the Grand Chief Servants that the north alone has 19 states leaving the South with the remaining 17 states. But Akwa Ibom state alone had more students on that list than all the northern states put together.
Besides the concessions given to candidates from oil producing states, the award of scholarship by oil companies is entirely based on merit. This shows that the northern candidates didn't do well or only a few of them sat for the aptitude test. This is one reason that impelled me to write this proposal.
I was also goaded by what I felt at the conference mentioned earlier, while presenting my paper Higher education: the alternatives. There, I felt both happy and helpless.
I was happy because the northern student has gone beyond not-interested-in-school-attitude. They are not only interested in school, but are also interested in the best education possible. And this was where the helplessness crept in. While all of the students were interested in the cheaper and better alternatives enumerated, most of them didn't have the money to go for more degrees or professional qualifications and were still struggling in their current programmes in Nigerian universities.
That's where your powers and states' funds come in. I'm going to present here how with minimal resources the northern states can churn out thousands of professionals in different fields in the fastest time possible.
Courses covered
The following are the degrees, diplomas, professional qualifications we are going to discuss:
Law
Accounting
Computing
Journalism
Psychology
Political Science
Schools Covered
We shall consider only schools that are recognized by government, universities that are regionally accredited and colleges that are known and respected all over the world. Examples of these schools are: University of Portsmouth (UK), Charter Oak College (US), University of Tempere (Finland), Excelsior College (US), British Computer Society (UK), Thomas Edison University (US), International Research Association (US), ACCA (UK), London School of Journalism (UK), Free University of Germany, African International University of Sudan, etc.
How much does it cost?
Unlike the expensive degrees in America and Europe, most of these degrees and professional certifications are very affordable. That's I considered them in the first place. Most of them cost under N300, 000 (three hundred thousand naira).
So if Kaduna State for instance wants to support a hundred students through the British Computer Society professional certification in IT, which is equivalent to a university degree in the UK, it will cost Kaduna State only N30,000,000 (thirty million naira) or N60,000,000 (sixty million naira) for two hundred students. This is a ten million short of what the state budgeted for a certain sport festival. Another important fact to consider is that Kaduna State will have these computer professionals for many years and they will be enlightened enough to open their own businesses thereby speeding up the economic development of the state.
We also have to consider the discount the states will get as sponsoring governments of a developing economy.
Location
Some of the universities like Free University of Germany and University of Tempere are regular schools which conduct their tuitions on campus. Others are regular schools too with their campuses but offer cheaper distance learning and online instruction based courses. The professional courses are examination based. These examinations can be taken at British Council.
So the states can save cost further if they don't want to spend so much in air travel and accommodation by enrolling their students in the online and distance learning courses.
Duration
With a few exceptions all the courses we researched can be completed in two years.
How acceptable are the certificates
I often receive emails from readers asking how acceptable the certificates of the alternative degrees I talk so much about are. This underscores the preference or the importance Nigerians and our governments placed on certificates over quality tuition.
For the avoidance of doubt, all the schools we are going to discuss in this proposal are properly accredited. We didn't consider hundreds of degree mills we have on the Internet. A little research on the internet will confirm to your Excellencies that most of the institutions enumerated above are state funded. The schools are not really alternatives per se. It's just that a lot of Nigerians are ignorant of the fact that good affordable degrees exist.
We are going to take the schools their courses and certifications one after the other; starting from British Computer Society's Professional Graduate Diploma in IT.
The inspiration to write this proposal came from the obvious; the North's almost zilch presence in all the professions in the country. This is because the South has more children enrolled in schools. It has more undergraduate students in the universities and colleges. The South also has more graduates who are in the market for jobs and more professionals who are already working.
While the foregoing might be the inspiration for writing this, the push to write came while I was going through the list of undergraduate scholarship award of Mobil Producing Nigeria, and earlier in Okene while I was presenting a paper at National Higher Institutions Conference of Muslim Students (NIHCOMS) on the 1 st of September, 2007.
Out of the 500 students announced by Mobil in Daily Trust of Tuesday 25th September, 2007 to have been awarded scholarship for the year 2006/2007 only 53 students or 1.6 per cent are northerners. It will interest your Excellencies and the Grand Chief Servants that the north alone has 19 states leaving the South with the remaining 17 states. But Akwa Ibom state alone had more students on that list than all the northern states put together.
Besides the concessions given to candidates from oil producing states, the award of scholarship by oil companies is entirely based on merit. This shows that the northern candidates didn't do well or only a few of them sat for the aptitude test. This is one reason that impelled me to write this proposal.
I was also goaded by what I felt at the conference mentioned earlier, while presenting my paper Higher education: the alternatives. There, I felt both happy and helpless.
I was happy because the northern student has gone beyond not-interested-in-school-attitude. They are not only interested in school, but are also interested in the best education possible. And this was where the helplessness crept in. While all of the students were interested in the cheaper and better alternatives enumerated, most of them didn't have the money to go for more degrees or professional qualifications and were still struggling in their current programmes in Nigerian universities.
That's where your powers and states' funds come in. I'm going to present here how with minimal resources the northern states can churn out thousands of professionals in different fields in the fastest time possible.
Courses covered
The following are the degrees, diplomas, professional qualifications we are going to discuss:
Law
Accounting
Computing
Journalism
Psychology
Political Science
Schools Covered
We shall consider only schools that are recognized by government, universities that are regionally accredited and colleges that are known and respected all over the world. Examples of these schools are: University of Portsmouth (UK), Charter Oak College (US), University of Tempere (Finland), Excelsior College (US), British Computer Society (UK), Thomas Edison University (US), International Research Association (US), ACCA (UK), London School of Journalism (UK), Free University of Germany, African International University of Sudan, etc.
How much does it cost?
Unlike the expensive degrees in America and Europe, most of these degrees and professional certifications are very affordable. That's I considered them in the first place. Most of them cost under N300, 000 (three hundred thousand naira).
So if Kaduna State for instance wants to support a hundred students through the British Computer Society professional certification in IT, which is equivalent to a university degree in the UK, it will cost Kaduna State only N30,000,000 (thirty million naira) or N60,000,000 (sixty million naira) for two hundred students. This is a ten million short of what the state budgeted for a certain sport festival. Another important fact to consider is that Kaduna State will have these computer professionals for many years and they will be enlightened enough to open their own businesses thereby speeding up the economic development of the state.
We also have to consider the discount the states will get as sponsoring governments of a developing economy.
Location
Some of the universities like Free University of Germany and University of Tempere are regular schools which conduct their tuitions on campus. Others are regular schools too with their campuses but offer cheaper distance learning and online instruction based courses. The professional courses are examination based. These examinations can be taken at British Council.
So the states can save cost further if they don't want to spend so much in air travel and accommodation by enrolling their students in the online and distance learning courses.
Duration
With a few exceptions all the courses we researched can be completed in two years.
How acceptable are the certificates
I often receive emails from readers asking how acceptable the certificates of the alternative degrees I talk so much about are. This underscores the preference or the importance Nigerians and our governments placed on certificates over quality tuition.
For the avoidance of doubt, all the schools we are going to discuss in this proposal are properly accredited. We didn't consider hundreds of degree mills we have on the Internet. A little research on the internet will confirm to your Excellencies that most of the institutions enumerated above are state funded. The schools are not really alternatives per se. It's just that a lot of Nigerians are ignorant of the fact that good affordable degrees exist.
We are going to take the schools their courses and certifications one after the other; starting from British Computer Society's Professional Graduate Diploma in IT.
Introduction
This site is for Nigerians especially the people from the northern (arewa) part of Nigeria. But since the schools and the professional bodies discussed in the articles are international institutions, anybody from anywhere in the world will benefit from the articles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)