All appears set for the conduct of this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) as the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday directed candidates to check for their examination centres with effect from tomorrow on its website.

Head of Media and Information of the board, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, who disclosed this in a telephone interview ahead of the board examination billed to commence on Saturday, May 13 assured that necessary machinery has been put in place to ensure a hitch free exercise.

“We are good to go, every machinery has been put in motion, we enjoined parents and candidates to give us their support and on our part, we are assuring of a level playing filed for everyone.”

Benjamin disclosed that the board had so far registered more than 1.7 million candidates for the 2017 UTME across the country.

The board concluded the sale of 2017 UTME application document in a grand style recording over 1.7 million candidates at the close of the site by 12 midnight on Friday, May 5, 2017.

According to JAMB’s spokesman who described the figure as unprecedented however assured that adequate facilities had been put in place to accommodate the upsurge in the number of candidates.

He said, “In 2016, about 1.2 million candidates wrote the examination. It was the same in 2015 and that was why we projected for 1.5milion candidates this year. Although registration period was reduced from six weeks to one month, despite this, we have recorded 1.7million candidates. This shows the effectiveness of our processes. It also shows that whenever you have a setback you should not give up.

“We have put everything in place to ensure the success of the examination. We have the capacity to accommodate 1.7million candidates. In 2016, we used 510 computer-based centres, including six foreign centres for 1.2million candidates. This year, we are making use of 633 centres. There is an increase of more than 100 centres to take care of the additional candidates.’’

HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD RESEARCH TOPIC

Choosing a good research topic is important to any researcher. Every researcher must look around his environment and beyond to pick out problems which individuals. Organizations and society are having.  A research topic reflects a particular problem facing an individual, organization or society.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A RESEARCH TOPIC

A good research topic should address the issue which the researcher intends to tackle. A good research topic must be of interest to the researcher. It should be sufficiently original and be significant. Research topic must make contributions to learning and should allow for feasible research.

CHOOSING A RESEARCH TOPIC

1. Pick a topic that has been of special interest to you.
2. Look through a list of research works previously carried out by individuals or institutions.
3. Focus attention to a different time span, or
4. Choosing a geographical area, or sample,

• Adopting a different design for the study.

3. Read through the sections of a few research reports under the heading, “suggestions for further research”
4. Consult a staff member, especially your academic adviser and discuss the issue of identifying a problem with him.
5. Select a topic from a list drawn up your department or have a topic assigned to you by the department from their list.

EXAMPLES OF A RESEARCH TOPIC

Suppose a company like ZENOX Nigeria Ltd, is sustaining losses instead of making profit, then based on this problem, we will frame the topic: ‘internal Control in an Organization. A study of ZENOX Nigeria Ltd

HOW TO WRITE A PROJECT PROPOSAL AND PROPOSAL WRITING FORMAT

Again let us take the second example of a real problem which occurred in Nigerian Bottling Company. The Nigerian Bottling Company Plc introduced a new soft drink called Fanta Chapman in the Nigerian market. The product attracted much attention at the time due to the television and other medium advertising used to promote it. Many consumers were stimulated and they wanted to try the new product. People desires on the product were not satisfied, and this turned the expectation of the company. The product failed in the market. Based on the manifesting phenomenon, the researcher can frame a research topic to reflect the problem. The research topic can run thus; “Product performance in the Nigerian Market, A study of Fanta Chapman”. The research topic can be stated as “Causes of Product Failure in the Market, A study of Fanta Chapman”.

You may also like : WHAT IS REASEARCH AND STEPS IN CONDUCTING A RESEARCH PROJECT

NIGER DELTA Crisis: Why BUHARI PRESIDENCY ORDERS OPENING OF MARITIME UNIVERSITY IN DELTA STATE

• ACCELERATES ACTIONS TOWARDS LASTING PEACE, STABILITY IN REGION
• LICENSES FOR MODULAR REFINERIES TO REPLACE ILLEGAL ONES IN THE OFFING
• GOVERNOR IN ASO ROCK, COMMENDS FG EFFORTS

In a clear effort to further the Niger Delta New Vision policy of the Buhari administration, the Presidency has directed the resumption of activities towards the eventual opening of the Nigerian Maritime University before the end of the year, in line with the demands championed by major stakeholders in the region.

Coming as one of the several follow-up actions to the recent Presidential level interactive engagements with the Niger Delta oil producing communities, the prompt implementation of directive on the re-opening of the Maritime University to the Ministry of Education is to be coordinated by a 5-man inter-agency Committee headed by the Minister of Education.

Other members of the Committee will come from:
i)    The Ministry of Petroleum Resources,
ii)   National Universities Commission (NUC)
iii)  Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) &
iv)  Office of the Deputy Governor of Delta State

The Committee is to finalize the ongoing processes towards the opening of the Nigeria Maritime University in the 2017/2018 Academic Session. The Committee will work collaboratively with the current Principal Officers and the Governing Council of the institution.

Besides this, and in further demonstrating its unalloyed commitment to a new vision for the Niger Delta, the Buhari Presidency has been working assiduously to evolve a number of robust strategies for key multi-sectoral outcomes and deliverables for the people of the oil-producing communities.

Some of those include:
a)  General guidelines issued by the Federal Government, reaffirming its commitment and outlining its objectives towards the establishment of Modular Refineries in the Niger Delta.
*This includes, the development of the technical criteria for issuing operating licenses that is now in final stages of drafting and would be released soon.

b) A roadmap for addressing regional development challenges is being developed by an inter-agency working group comprising of Ministry of Niger Delta, Niger Delta Development Commission, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. This group is working in partnership with experts seconded by Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and key resource persons financed by a bi-lateral international development partner.
*The roadmap will be based on the framework of the 16-point agenda developed by PANDEF.

c) A strategy for community-based participation in pipeline protection and policing is underway and will be validated with series of engagement processes, collaboratively with PANDEF, oil communities and other communities in the region that play host to the vast network of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta.

*Meanwhile, there are plans by the Presidency to conclude the fact-finding tours to the Niger Delta with visits by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to Cross River and Ondo States.

It would be recalled that under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Vice President undertook visits to oil producing States in the Niger Delta. During the visits, series of townhall meetings and consultations were held with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in a confidence building effort.

Meanwhile earlier today the Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa commended the Buhari administration for its commitment to addressing the concerns of the Niger Delta people.

He asserted the restoration of peace in Delta State and noted that the State Government is actively working with the FG on several of the plans, including the opening of the Maritime University. The Governor who said he was in the Presidential Villa to show gratitude to the FG, spoke with reporters after a brief call on the Vice President.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
05 May, 2017