e-gloing

Friday, February 26, 2016

APPRAISAL OF THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATION OF ELECTRONIC BANKING IN NIGERIA BANKS (A CASE STUDY OF DIAMOND BANK): CALL FOR FULL MATERIAL ON 08032849308

APPRAISAL OF THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATION OF ELECTRONIC BANKING IN NIGERIA BANKS (A CASE STUDY OF DIAMOND BANK) CALL FOR FULL MATERIAL ON 08032849308 CHAPTER ONE 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Before the emergence of modern banking system, banking operation was manually done which lead to a slow down in settlement of transactions. This manual system involves posting transactions from one ledger to another which human handles. Figures or counting of money which should be done through computers or electronic machine were computed and counted manually which were not 100% accurate thereby resulting to human errors. Most bank then use only one computer in carrying out transactions which ameliorate the sluggish nature of banking transaction. Nigeria do not embrace electronic banking early compared to developed countries. Nigeria adopted electronic banking system in the early 2000s. During the introduction of electronic banking system, the use of raw cash was said to have bred corruption through the “cash and carry syndrome” usually linked with the swift movement of Ghana-must go” bags by some politicians. Such bags as some analyst say, are a major source of corrupt practices as dubious persons seeks to bribe their way to avoid been checked in some sensitive areas or places in a corrupt society. Since electronic banking started in all Nigeria banks, it has been a woe for civil servants; checks show that some staff in establishments such as the national boundary commission for instance, are yet to receive their salaries for the previous months as efforts to electrically transfer salaries into their account have failed according to Ibrahim, D. (2009). “One bank will tell you it has transferred your salaries but the supposed recipient bank will tell you it has not received anything leaving you even more confused”, says John, I. (2009). Olekah, J. (2009) while acknowledging the initial hiccups that dogged the system, advises stakeholders against being discouraged as such “teething problems” are normal. James, A. (2009) a banker reported to vanguard annual report that “we should not destroy electronic-banking by looking at the negative aspects, we must strive towards perfecting it”. James, A. (2009) also says that the volume of data generated by the Government ministry Agencies is much making it a bit difficult for banks to cope, Mathew S. (2009) a worker says in his report to vanguard annual report on banks and cards that government should have done its home work “very well” before introducing the system, “they plugged us into a system they were not prepared for and the result is untold hardship visited on innocent people”. At this juncture, is good to know what e-banking is all about. According to Anyawaokoro, M. (1999). Electronic banking is defined as the application of computer technology to banking especially the payment (deposit transfer) aspects of banking. He also defined electronic banking as a system of banking with an electronic communication network which permits on-line processing of the same day credit and debit transfers of funds between member institutions of a clearing system. According to Clive, W. (2007) in his Academic dictionary of banking, electronic banking is defined as a form of banking in which funds are transferred through an exchange of electronic signals between financial institutions, rather than an exchange of cash, cheques or other negotiable instruments. According to Omotayo, G. (2007) defines electronic banking as a system in which funds are moved between different accounts using computerized on line/real time systems without the use of written cheques. According to Edit, O. (2008) in international Journal of investment and finance, electronic banking is defined as a system by which transactions are settled electronically with the use of electronic gadgets such as ATMs, POS terminals, GSM phones, and V-cards e.t.c. handled by e-holders, bank customers, and stake holders.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

NIGERIAN MANY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

NIGERIAN MANY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC PROBLEMS NIGERIAN MANY PROBLEMS Corruption Crime and terrorism, specifically Boko Haram insurgency Unemployment Education and university systems The environment Infrastructure Gender Road accident It would be impossible to thoroughly examine all of these issues in just one article, so think of this as an introduction. By Darwinek (Own work), licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 By Darwinek (Own work), licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 Nigeria’s Biggest Problem Is Corruption; Very Sad Corruption is at the root of many of Nigeria’s problems in totality. Corruption takes many forms and infiltrates all political institutions and economic sectors. The current ruling government is not performing its functions as promised, and officials are too busy enriching their pockets to govern effectively. In 2013, Transparency International deemed Nigeria one of the most corrupt nations in the world, ranking as 144th in Corruption Perception Index out of the 177 countries measured. Mathematically, it shows that Nigeria was the 33rd most corrupt country in 2013. In the year 2012, a Gallup poll found that 94% of Nigerians thought corruption was widespread in their government. The spoils of political corruption—billions of US dollars—are stashed in foreign bank accounts. The Abacha administration in the 1990s notoriously looted upwards of $3 billion. Since then, government institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the former President Goodluck Jonathan have vowed to eradicate corruption. Even so, as recently as 2013, the Central Bank of Nigeria reported the 76% of the country’s crude oil revenue intended for the Bank was unaccounted for. The most currently released result on the level of corruption in Nigeria has improved when compared to that of 2013 and other years. In the 2014 result on corruption ranking, Nigeria is ranked 136 out 174 surveyed countries. This implies that Nigeria is the 38th most corrupt nation in 2014. The result was published by Transparency international on Wednesday, 3rd December, 2014. The result shows that former President Goodluck Jonathan administration was making impact to bring down the corruption level in Nigeria. The current president, President Mohammed Buhari, is putting his own efforts to bring corruption in the country to the minimal level. This made few who looted in the past regime to bring back some of the money they embezzled. Election-rigging is not unheard of in Nigeria. The citizens of Nigeria are tired of coming out to cast their votes on election day only to feel their votes haven’t been counted. A Foreign Affairs investigation of the 2007 elections counted around 700 election-related violent acts in the year leading up to the elections, including two assassinations. International observers in 2007 reported rampant theft of ballot boxes, and while in 2011 the situation improved, ballot-rigging was still rampant. During elections, Nigerians and international watchdog groups tell stories of thugs hired by candidates to hijack the ballot boxes and intimidate voters. Many of these thugs are disaffected and unemployed youth. Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) on 2nd October, 2014, reported that European Union (EU) Committed 15 Million Euros (€15,000,000) in the country’s 2015 election. How will the money be utilized? Will the money be solely used for what it is meant for? Only God knows what those who are ruling the election body will use it for what it is made for or embezzle it as corruption in the country is experienced more in public sector. Corruption doesn’t only exist in government, but is pervasive in society. For example, what happens in some companies with a male CEOs when a woman applies for a job? Unless they already know them, some of the CEOs demands special and sexual favors from young women seeking employment and at times do not hire them in the end. Those at the top adopt an attitude of “if I do no not already know you, I’m not going to hire you,” and exploit their power—this is just one illustration. Those who do not have connections to top officials or executives remain jobless, even if they’re university graduates with top marks. Gender and education will be discussed later, but this is a concrete example of how systemic corruption perpetuates a host of problems in Nigeria. The press is hamstrung in its efforts to report corruption and election-rigging. Some have been paid off by the governments they report on, a practice which produces weak news and must be stopped. In 2013 the Committee to Protect Journalists, an American NGO which evaluates press freedom around the world, added Nigeria to their impunity list, a list of of countries where journalists are routinely harassed and murdered with little to no recourse. Though President Muhamed Buhari administration is working hard to see that election-rigging in Nigeria is eliminated, much more needs to be done. Seminars should be organised for Nigerian youths to be taught the dangers of working as thugs for politicians. This is where importance of youth empowerment comes to play. Television channels in the country should be used to educate the nation about corruption and how to stop it. Political candidates found guilty of election-rigging should be punished more frequently and harshly. If convicting corrupt politicians becomes normal others will learn, and with time, election-rigging in Nigeria can be made a thing of the past. It is true that Nigeria is blessed with crude oil (petroleum) but the question is on how correct is the volumes that are exported out of the country. For instance a head in one oil servicing company in the country may export about one thousand barrels of crude oil from the country and went back and gave a report to the government that he exported five hundred barrels. What happens to the remaining five hundred? The money goes into his personal account-corruption in the higher order. Corruption is also rampant among Nigerian businessmen and woman. How many have bought any electronic product with a particular capacity and the product gives him or her result of what is written on it? In Nigeria, many populations of those who deal in electronic products buy products of particular lower capacity and use their own manufactured stickers to high the capacity on the products. For instance, a businessman may buy a Tiger generator of 4.5h.p (horsepower) and change the capacity to 6.5h.p to sell at higher price. In other business sectors, some sell inferior products to costumers to make high profits. There had been lots of cases of misunderstanding in the country’s market places between sellers and buyers because of inferior products sold to the buyers. Boko Haram and Terrorism in Nigeria "Logo of Boko Haram" by ArnoldPlaton - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. "Logo of Boko Haram" by ArnoldPlaton - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. Terrorist attacks are on the rise in Nigeria, which is the increased activities of Boko Haram over the past year. Bombings, kidnappings, and other violent activities of Boko Haram prevent many Nigerians from feeling safe. Boko Haram is a well-known agent of destruction in Nigeria. Even a casual observer who doesn’t live in Nigeria has likely heard of Boko Haram’s recent 2014 kidnappings of hundreds of children—mostly girls—from schools and villages in northern Nigeria. On the night of 14-15 April 2014, about 276 Chibok school girls were kidnapped by the Boko Haram. These girls were between 17 to 18 years according to a source. They were secondary school students at Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria. Only God knows the nature of what is in-between the legs of the female students at the moment. In the northern part of the country, students cannot complete their studies because of the looming threat of kidnapping and murder. The news report from Channels Television of Nigeria (The best television station of the year) on June 18, 2014, had it that Boko Haram killed 15 students from bomb blast in a school at Kano state of the country. What is Boko Haram? It is a militant Islamist movement with ties to Al-Qaeda whose name translates into "Western education is forbidden." Their ideology is based on a fundamentalist Sunni Islam, and their intent is to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria and cleanse the country of any and all Western influence. Boko Haram’s campaign of bombing, shootings, and kidnapping was launched in July 2009, but has recently intensified. On 1 May 2014, International Workers’ Day, a car bomb blast in Abuja killed at least 19 people at a bus station. The summer of 2014 has been especially violent, with bombings, massacres, and mass shootings being committed on a near-weekly basis. In July 2014, Human Rights Watch estimated 2,053 people had been killed in 95 separate Boko Haram-linked attacks in the first half of 2014 alone, and the number is likely much higher by now. Thousands more have been displaced by the violence. There was bomb explosion at the Bauchi Central Market on December 22, 2014 at about 17:30hrs. As a result of the blast, the market was in flames. At the early hours of the bast, 19 persons died in the incidence and 25 injured. Boko Haram in the most recent time has adopted new method of terrorizing Nigeria. These wicked souls now use children for carrying out their evil motives of suicide bombing. When they enter any community, they make sure that they gather enough little children to work for them. According to a Nigerian newspaper report, on Sunday 22 February 2014, a girl of not more than eight years indulged in suicide bombing in Potiskum market which killed about five and injured many. Crime and Problems of Public Safety in Nigeria The Nigerian crime problem gives many citizens in this country sleepless nights. In many places, people feel they can no longer walk around their own neighborhoods unharmed. Public safety is the most fundamental responsibility of any state, and Nigeria has failed in this regard. Please bear with a personal anecdote on the subject. I have a friend by the name of Sampson C. On 13 June 2013, Sampson was heading to a night vigil at Onitsha in Anambra when a group of young men stopped him. They took everything he had on him. He pleaded with them saying, “Collect everything you want, but give me my wallet back because I have some important documents in it.” The young men refused, and took the documents which were of no use to them. This situtation is pitiable and is a typical example of rampant petty crime in Nigeria. As of 2004, Nigeria has a high murder rate: 17.7 homicides per every 100,000 people. Mugging and piracy are endemic. An overall increase in crime against foreigners in particular led the US State Department to consider the situation in Nigeria as “critical” in 2013. People around the world cannot even browse the Internet without fear of being scammed by Nigerians looking to make money overnight. One cause of Nigerian crime is the drug trade, in which organized criminal groups in Nigeria are heavily involved. According to the American FBI, ethnic Nigerians in India, Pakistan, and Thailand provide Nigerian gangs with easy access to 90% of the world's heroin supply. People engage in illegal and bad activities when they are frustrated with legitimate options. Lack of opportunity makes them indulge in criminal acts, and their actions make the whole nation look bad. Instead of allowing persistent unemployment to continue, the government should increase security in the country and hire youth as security agents. Kidnapping activity in Nigeria is growing fast like grasses in the river side that have water in abundance. This has come to the extent of kidnapping the country’s kids to be released on ransom. The Lawanson Road, Itire abode of the Orekoyas, whose three children were kidnapped by a housemaid last Wednesday, 24 hours after she was employed, became a Mecca of sorts of yesterday, following news of their discovery (Vanguard News, April 16 2015). This is a kidnapping incident that took place in Lagos state of Nigeria, whereby a housemaid kidnapped 3 children and demanded fifteen million naira as ransom (N15 million), and after payment of the ransom the children released in an uncompleted building in the state. Unemployment in Nigeria Unemployment is a hot issue in Nigeria, and many people are frustrated with widespread joblessness. Unemployment in Nigeria is like a disease that the cure is not yet discovered. According to official statistics, 24% of Nigerians are unemployed. These numbers are worse for young people. Official Nigerian statistics say 38% of those under 24 are unemployed, but the World Bank estimates this number to be closer to 80%. In March 2014, 16 people were killed in stampedes when 500,000 desperate job-seekers rushed to apply for under 5,000 vacancies at the Nigeria Immigration Service. Students at tertiary educational institutions often graduate into joblessness and low morale. There is a great challenge in Nigeria education. Many Nigerian graduates did not learn good skills during their studies. They were busy reading only textbooks without knowing the applications of what they read. They apply for jobs for which they aren't hired because they lack skills. Graduates often must stay in their parents’ homes for a long time, with mounting frustration and pessimism. This negativity is one of the major root causes of crime among young people in Nigeria, as they turn to unscrupulous activities because there is nothing else to occupy their time or generate income. Each year, 200,000 students graduate from universities, but many fail to find a job, and some will seek out less-than-honorable means of supporting themselves. Encouraging acquisition of skills will go a long way in solving Nigerians unemployment challenge. Both the government and the individuals should work hand in hand to reduce unemployment. Another alternative to solving unemployment issue in Nigeria is through self-discovery. Embracing the opportunities offered by the internet is a welcomed idea in solving Nigerians unemployment challenge. Among them include application design and online publication. Online publication helps in discovering how to write. Nigerians can write on Hubpages which is where this article is published. People who are interested can signup and the site management will train them on how to use the platform and make money through advertisement placed by merchants. This forum does not require any money to start-up and the management directs the writers on how to get paid. Nigerian primary school enrollment by state. By ClosingTime (Own work), licensed by CC-BY-SA-3.0 Nigerian primary school enrollment by state. By ClosingTime (Own work), licensed by CC-BY-SA-3.0 Problems in Nigeria's Educational System and Universities There is also a lot of corruption in the Nigerian educational system, particularly universities. Lecturers are known to collect money from students in exchange for good grades. Some say they have to bribe university administrators in order to have their exam results compiled and submitted to the (required) National Youth Service Corps. In August 2014, Nigeria’s own Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) reported that corruption was endemic to Nigerian universities, due to continual failure to make violators accountable for their actions. The Chairman of the ICPC’s University System Study Review, Professor Olu Aina, said there was a lack “political will” to deal with corruption violations, few internal checks and balances in universities to prevent corruption, and little external oversight of corrupt practices. Beyond political corruption, the Nigerian education system suffers in other ways. It compares poorly not only to those of developed Western nations, but also to other African countries like Ghana and South Africa. In 1997 and 2000, federal government expenditure on education was below 10% of the overall budget. The money appropriated to the education sector in the 2013 budget was ₦426.53 billion which amounts to only 8.67% of the total budget (₦4.92 trillion). The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommends that the education sector accounts for 26% of national budgets in order to impact national development. What proportion of Nigerian students quite from school? According to Channels Television Station report on 9th September 2014, over 10.5 million Nigerian children are out of school. This shows the literacy level of the country. According to the guest on Channels Television who gave the statistics, he stated that the problem of Boko Haram in Nigeria today is because they were not in schools when they were young. He went further to say that they were fed with wrong information and because of that lacked knowledge, and when they lacked knowledge they lacked wisdom. So, they are a problem to the country because they lacked knowledge which they would have gained if they went to school (Boko Haram). Inadequate Infrastructure in Nigeria Infrastructure may seem a trivial issue following other problems like Boko Haram, but how can a country progress without a reliable power supply? The power sector is corrupt and mismanaged, and many workers in the electricity sector are not equipped with the proper skills or training. Domestic production suffers in these conditions, but many foreign companies also find it difficult to conduct business in Nigeria because of frequent power failures. This problem keeps Nigeria a Third World country from year to year. Also, what do we have to say on the state of Nigerian road networks? Business suffers without a dependable road system. Corruption and the embezzlement of public funds keep roadways in disrepair. In 2011, the World Bank reported that only 67% of paved roads and 33% of unpaved roads were in good or fair condition. Between 2001 and 2006, only $50 million of the needed $240 million were allocated for road maintenance. Similar issues of inadequacy and corruption can be seen in the water resources and railways. Nigeria needs to tackle the challenge its infrastructure problems by providing the proper funding and cracking down on the embezzlement of public funds earmarked for infrastructure. Any engineer or contractor that fails to do his work well should be taken to task. Nigeria needs more power and better roads. The workers in these sectors should be paid well, and those with good skills and strong ethics should be rewarded. Citizens should carry out a peaceful movement, telling the government how important the power supply is to the country. Environmental and Public Health Issues in Nigeria The environmental and health standards of Nigeria are in a bad state. In 2013, Amnesty International reported that Nigeria experiences hundreds of oil spills per year in the Niger Delta, largely due to pipe erosion, sabotage, and neglect by oil companies. Oil spills weaken the micro-organisms and the soil nutrients, and this weakening harms communities who fish and farm the Delta as well as the overall economy. Littered waste is scattered all over the roads and streets in Nigeria. Improperly disposed garbage contributes to the spread of disease. The health system in Nigeria does not adequately serve the population. The average Nigerian life expectancy is 38.3, according to the World Health Report, one of the lower life expectancies in sub-Saharan Africa. Infant mortality has been on the rise side the 1990s, and the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in the world. The Nigerian health system is poorly funded, and this lack of resources creates a “brain drain”: talented doctors and nurses find jobs in developed countries, leaving Nigerian hospitals in the hands of their less-talented colleagues. Within Nigeria, good doctors are disproportionally concentrated in cities, leaving rural areas underserved. In the recent time, there is a health challenge in the country resulted by Ebola virus. This disease entered the country through an official from Liberia, Patrick Sawya. The doctors in the country are doing the much they could to bridge the spread of the disease. At the initial stage when the disease was contacted by few Nigerians, there came a rumour that the disease can be cured by table salt. Many citizens of the country dissolved salt in water and drank and some took bath with it and this led to the death of about eighteen while many others hospitalized, which is more than what have been killed by the virus. The statistics of people who have been killed by the virus as of on 17th September 2014 is seven and fifteen infected recorded in Lagos state of Nigeria. African Development Bank (ADB) issued one million dollars to Nigeria in September 2014 to assist in fight against Ebola virus. The government needs to play a bigger role in providing proper waste disposal systems and better healthcare, particularly in neglected rural areas. Environmentally sustainable disposal practices, like recycling, should be adopted. Those who vandalize oil pipelines should be pursued more aggressively and punished for causing oil spills. Bush burning must be limited so that the micro-organisms that promote crops output can thrive. Hospitals need better funding. The state must take steps to keep qualified young doctors in the country, perhaps by giving them more important roles in public health administration. A classroom of midwives at the Jigawa State School of Midwifery in northern Nigeria. In 2012, the British Government launched Women for Health to support female health workers in Nigeria. A classroom of midwives at the Jigawa State School of Midwifery in northern Nigeria. In 2012, the British Government launched Women for Health to support female health workers in Nigeria. Nigerian Women's Issues Many people in Nigeria still believe that only men should be in positions of power. There are many causes of gender inequality in Nigeria. Some archaic traditions and customs do not permit women to occupy top professions or political offices. As a result, women in Nigeria face discrimination and violence. Unemployment in Nigeria affects the women most when compared with that of men. This is due to the fact that some women are neglected due to their sex and weaknesses. Because of such, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience Jonathan, and other women in the country came up to empower Nigeria women to the best of their capacities. As of 2011 there are only 32 women (out of 469) in the national parliament. Women’s status in Nigeria is improving in some ways, though. In 2011, President Jonathan appointed a cabinet made of 33% women, something unheard of previously. With women’s participation in politics and elections slowly increasing, we may see more female candidates for office in the future. The old customs and beliefs about women’s roles need to be updated. Civic Pride and Patriotism in Nigeria Nigeria suffers from a deficit of civic pride and collective responsibility. Wealthy Nigerians do little to use what they have to help the masses. Instead, they transfer their money to foreign banks rather than making it useful for the nation. When these wealthy men want to go on holiday, they travel to United States or Canada, and many immigrate to the developed world rather than spend their money here. Citizens should cherish the goods manufactured in Nigeria, and wealthy Nigerians should invest their money in local industry to encourage development. With this, more jobs will be created for the masses. Economic freedom should be encouraged in the country for better business growth. This lack of civic engagement has real economic consequences. The masses do not purchase the goods manufactured in Nigeria because they believe they are inferior. Instead they spend money on goods created in Europe, which doesn’t benefit businesses or ordinary workers in Nigeria. When local industry is discouraged, the Nigerian government spends more on imported goods. Even as an exporter of crude oil, Nigeria imports its refined oil from other countries. Road Accident: Trending Problem in Nigeria Road accident is another trending challenge in Nigeria. Many citizens of Nigeria have lost their lives in road accidents. Before, it was air accidents by flights that were being experienced in the country until the government of the federation looked into it and had the problem tackled. So many have their future shattered and others have lost focus because of careless accidents by road in the country. At around 3p.m on Sunday 31st May, 2015, break failure on a tanker carrying petroleum product killed not less than 80 people at Upper Iweka, Onitsha Anambra state of Nigeria. There was death of over 20 university undergraduates from University of Nigeria Nsukka on road accidents. The accident occurred on Tuesday, 2nd of June 2015. These students were the hope of their parents whom have been training them for years in the university. The instances given are just few among many road accidents that take place in the country. High statistics of lives are being lost in Nigeria on road accidents every year. The government of Nigeria should implement and enforce law that will be guiding drivers who drive on the roads. This should include monitoring every transportation company to make sure that they have qualified automobile engineers that check their cars before they embark on any transportation. Also, the time through which the vehicles run on the highways should as well be taken care of. Nigeria has lost a lot of lives through tankers transporting highly inflammable liquids and we do not want more of that tragic experience any longer. Cars which travel by roads should be “healthy” enough to prevent lost of lives. The Way Forward: the Youth Can Transform Nigeria The only way Nigeria can solve its many problems is by giving the youth more opportunities to participate in the government, economy, and society. Young people are the prime beneficiaries of school improvement, and the percentage of youth in higher learning institutions is currently very high. If young people were in charge, the educational system in Nigeria would not be in its current state, and unemployment would be reduced. At the same time, young people shouldn’t wait for good things to come to them, but need to take individual initiative. Youth empowerment and initiative will improve life for all Nigerians. Nigerian government officials and other elites need to share power with the country’s youth and listen to young peoples’ ideas for how to better the country. The young men and women of Nigeria are tomorrow’s elders and, if included, could transform Nigeria. Without the energy of youth, society will decay and perish. In addition to minimizing of corruption in the country, Nigerians should cultivate the habit of being patient. Why many indulge in corrupt practices is because they are impatient and want to make quick money. In developed countries of the world like the United States, many Nigerians are locked up in the prisons and some have been killed because of the corrupt practices they practiced. Conclusion Discussed are the major challenges that Nigeria is facing for some time now. These challenges are many though not all of them were properly detailed out. On the other hand, the piece is backed-up with the possible solutions to arrest the challenges. It is believed that the situation of the country will get better if these solutions are put into action by both the government and citizens of Nigeria. Nigeria is our country and we can build it with combined effort. SOLUTIONS TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC PROBLEMS Over one month now, President Buhari is yet to unveil his economic plan and policy direction in spite of growing concerns by investors and the business community. President Buhari need to be offered some solutions to the current economic crisis that threatens to ground the country. ‎I will attempt to make a contribution because I share the sentiment that President Buhari’s refusal to announce his economic plan and policy direction as soon as he was inaugurated on May 29, 2015 spell doom for the Nigerian economy which is beginning to have a toll on businesses, investment and the people of Nigeria. President Buhari needs to reduce the cost of governance by 50 per cent. Though he and some state governors have announced a cut in their salaries and allowances, this is a step in the right direction. However, he has to take it a step further and explore every legal means to get the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission to effect the reduction of the emolument, salaries and allowances of all members of the National Assembly as well as those of past public office holders. It is important to state that Nigerians have to assist the President by mounting pressure on members of the National Assembly and every public office holders. The monies that accrue as a result of saving 50 per cent will assist the president in meeting up with his campaign promises ‎some of which include tackling insecurity and unemployment, improving governance, and ensuring transparency and accountability among others. And while that is going on, government agencies that are critical to revenue generation such as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria Custom Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Nigerian Ports Authority etcetera must be audited, regulated, revamped and have improved oversight. This will ensure that corruption which pervades these agencies is curbed and every Kobo that is generated is adequately accounted for. President Buhari’s economic plan needs to be robust and aimed at effectively tackling the problems that have bedeviled the Nigeria economy for a long time.‎ He needs to go beyond his economic policy as stated in his party manifesto and as presented to members of the business community during the election campaign. The National Economic Council was recently inaugurated by President Buhari as prescribed by the constitution‎. Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and three others were commissioned to probe the last administration with respect to revenue disbursements, allocation and appropriation. This has led to claims and counterclaim between Governor Oshiomhole and the immediate past minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, this is not the right approach considering the precarious economic situation that Nigeria find herself after the Jonathan administration. This approach is against the spirit of President Buhari’s speech at the inauguration of the National Economic Council in which he said that his administration is fully committed to embarking on sustainable visionary initiatives and programmes that will restructure and transform the nation’s economy‎. The NEC has a mandate to advise the President concerning the economic affairs of the Federation, and in particular on measures necessary for the co-ordination of the economic planning and programmes of the various Governments of the Federation‎. Suffice it to say, President Buhari cannot rely on the advice of members of the NEC most of whom are State Governors who currently have to address the economic problems in their states where their financial expertise and economic initiatives are being awaited by vast majority of their citizens. Over four years after the inauguration of NEC under the Jonathan administration, we have seen what the NEC is capable of doing to the national economy.‎ President Buhari however need to constitute an economic team that will work towards improving all the economic measures and indices of the country. Inflation rate should be single digit, unemployment rate should be reduced to less than 10 per cent. The rate of poverty should also be brought down from 70 per cent to at least 30 per cent. Our budget deficit should have a turnaround to surplus. This is actually achievable provided the President has the right economic team who will come up with interventions and initiatives with the ultimate goal of improving our economic indices and by extension provide a new lease of life for the Nigerian people. Past administrations have paid a lip service to reducing the rate of unemployment.‎ President Buhari should leverage on the successes recorded in the agricultural sector under the watch of the immediate past minister of agriculture and president-elect of African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina by expanding this sector and creating jobs under an agricultural youth empowerment program for the teeming unemployed youths in the country who are willing to be engaged and earn a income. Expansion of the mining sector and investment in public works/infrastructural development is capable of generating the needed employment that will help change the current rate of unemployment. These are some of the initiatives expected in the President’s economic plan. President Buhari also need to focus on the capital market with a view to lowering the exchange rate which currently stands at N230 to $1.‎ Reducing our deficit and ensuring a balanced budget is also capable of promoting investment in education and healthcare of Nigerians. All of these investments in educational initiatives, science and technology research as well as the expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme have to be made for the long term in order to achieve the expected outcome. The President in his economic plan have to have a short term, medium term and long term initiatives in his bid to ‎fulfilling his campaign promises. One of the reasons why Nigeria remains underdeveloped is due to its agrarian economy, President Buhari must encourage the export of Nigerian products and strengthen the manufacturing sector. Though the initiation of a power sector reform is critical to the expansion of the manufacturing sector and it’s amazing what would happen to the Nigerian economy if power is improved to support the manufacturing sector. The Buhari administration would by adopting these solutions and through the development of both private sector and small businesses initiatives create the condition for economic growth. President Buhari need not be deceived as to the right solutions to nigeria’s economic recession. ‎Though the President’s economic plan is yet to be unveiled as earlier stated; I believe these solutions would be valuable in shaping his economic direction. We can recover from the current economic crisis if President Buhari diversifies the economy and repair the refineries so that the impact of the drop in crude oil prices which is presently having a toll on the economy will be cushioned. It is up to the President to act and respond appropriately. The President’s economic plan should also improve housing and home ownership for Nigerians.‎ This is quite important because many poor Nigerians have to go for many years without a mortgage plan and this is hurting the economy. ‎Finally, President Buhari must cut income tax, raise the minimum wage and develop transportation initiatives across the country. Exploring a light rail system across the country with the help of industrialized nations will go a long way in addressing nigeria’s economic challenges

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Carla D. Hayden as Librarian of Congress.

President Obama Announces His Intent to Nominate Carla D. Hayden as Librarian of Congress WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Carla D. Hayden as Librarian of Congress. President Obama said, “Michelle and I have known Dr. Carla Hayden for a long time, since her days working at the Chicago Public Library, and I am proud to nominate her to lead our nation’s oldest federal institution as our 14th Librarian of Congress. Dr. Hayden has devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today's digital culture. She has the proven experience, dedication, and deep knowledge of our nation’s libraries to serve our country well and that’s why I look forward to working with her in the months ahead. If confirmed, Dr. Hayden would be the first woman and the first African American to hold the position – both of which are long overdue.” Carla D. Hayden, Nominee for Librarian of Congress, Library of Congress: Dr. Carla D. Hayden is CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, a position she has held since 1993. Dr. Hayden was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was confirmed by the Senate in June 2010. Prior to joining the Pratt Library, Dr. Hayden was Deputy Commissioner and Chief Librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993. She was an Assistant Professor for Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Dr. Hayden was Library Services Coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library as the Young Adult Services Coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as a Library Associate and Children’s Librarian from 1973 to 1979. Dr. Hayden was President of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an afterschool center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling. Dr. Hayden received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.

White House 'passive' in combating possible ObamaCare fraud, watchdog says Published February 24, 2016 Associated Press

White House 'passive' in combating possible ObamaCare fraud, watchdog says Published February 24, 2016 Associated Press WASHINGTON – With billions in taxpayer dollars at stake, the Obama administration has taken a "passive" approach to identifying potential fraud involving the president's health care law, nonpartisan congressional investigators say in a report due out Wednesday. While the Government Accountability Office stops short of alleging widespread cheating in President Barack Obama's signature program, investigators found that the administration has struggled to resolve eligibility questions affecting millions of initial applications and hundreds of thousands of consumers who were actually approved for benefits. The agency administering the health law -- the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services -- "has assumed a passive approach to identifying and preventing fraud," the GAO report said. In a formal written response, the administration agreed with eight GAO recommendations while maintaining that it applies "best practices" to fraud control. The report is being released by Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee in connection with a hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services budget. A copy was provided to The Associated Press. GAO "raises many red flags," said committee chairman Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich. "Perhaps the most unsettling is that while HHS agrees there are many vulnerabilities, the agency has no urgency or plan to fix these critical errors." The health care law provides subsidized private insurance to people who don't have access to job-based coverage, provided that they are citizens or legal immigrants, and fall within a certain income range. The GAO report raised numerous questions about the government's system for verifying eligibility for those benefits. Advocates for low-income people say the problem isn't fraud, but a convoluted documentation system that leaves out hundreds of thousands of consumers legally entitled to benefits because their personal information may not exactly match what's in government files. About 12.7 million have signed up for coverage this year. When people apply for coverage through HealthCare.gov and state insurance exchanges, a behind-the-scenes electronic system called the "data services hub" pings federal agencies such as Social Security, IRS, and Homeland Security to verify their personal details. In a key finding, the GAO said that the administration does not aggregate, track and analyze the results of data hub inquiries -- instead just using the responses to process individual applications. By not tracking, the administration "foregoes information that could suggest potential program issues or potential vulnerabilities to fraud," GAO said. Its investigators approached the individual agencies assigned to verify personal information and found large numbers of inquiries in which the data hub could not confirm details. For example, for the 2014 coverage year Social Security could not verify citizenship for about 8.2 million inquiries in which the applicants claimed they were citizens, the report said. (For 2015, that number was down by more than half, to 3.6 million.) At IRS, income and family size information -- critical for health insurance subsidies -- was not available for inquiries representing 30.7 million people in 2014. GAO said the number hadn't changed much for 2015. It was down to 29.2 million. All those inquiries don't result in final applications, much less ones that get approved. And HealthCare.gov is legally permitted to approve applications with unresolved documentation issues. Consumers then get about three months to straighten out paperwork issues. However, GAO concluded that the process for resolving documentation issues does not appear to be highly reliable. The investigators' analysis determined that 431,000 applications from 2014 still had unresolved paperwork issues in April of 2015, months after the coverage year had ended. Those applications involved $1.7 billion in taxpayer subsidies. In addition, there were 35,000 applications with unresolved questions involving matching Social Security numbers, which represented $154 million in subsidies for insurance premiums. Finally, there were about 22,000 applications where it wasn't clear if the beneficiary was serving a prison sentence. Those accounted for $68 million in subsidies. (Prisoners are not eligible for coverage under the health care law.) It would be a clear waste of taxpayer dollars if "Obamacare" subsidies are going to prisoners, Upton said. HealthCare.gov "is at risk of granting eligibility to, and making subsidy payments on behalf of, individuals who are ineligible to enroll," said the report.

Okonjo Iweala: I Can Help Buhari Achieve Lasting Economic Development.

Okonjo Iweala: I Can Help Buhari Achieve Lasting Economic Development. Nigeria’s Former Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has enumerated how the government of a developing country can attain sustained development. Speaking in a recent interview, the ex Finance Minister identified structural reforms, institution building and the need to achieve macro-stability as the requirements to achieve sustainable development in any nation. She stressed that any policy maker that wants to sustain development, and leave a lasting impact, really needs to put in systems, processes, and institutions that would drive development going forward. Responding to a question on how the immediate past government she worked under was able to drive growth, she said they looked at “the missing pieces,” and resolved that in order to drive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “you need to diversify your economy away from one resource, you need to strengthen your revenue management framework, you need to present leakages.” “We put into place financial management systems with biometrics that really began to build a framework that would take us away from cash management with the problems of corruption and leakages to electronic management systems for finance. “The second thing we tried to do or beginning to do was some of the structural reforms that would be necessary for the economy. We tried to look at what were the biggest sources of fiscal drain, we looked at enterprises, and we looked at those places in the economy where we needed to tackle issues that could unleash private sector investment.” ALSO She explained that the Development Bank of Nigeria was established to support operators of small and medium scale enterprise (SMEs) so that they would be able to grow. “This is another trend that is critically important: how do you foster growth within an economy, how do you help informal enterprises to grow and create more jobs, because often it’s not the huge businesses that create the most jobs. So, building an institution that can begin to plug the gap and be sustainable – the same as many countries have done: the German’s have KfW, the American’s have the Small Business Administration. “We don’t have these kind of things in our countries, and because we’re missing these institutions that means we continue to struggle. So the second lesson that I’d say we learned that is important for development is to really look for what is missing institutionally from your economic landscape, and try to put them in, because without those institutions built, you will not be able to develop. And then undertake the right structural reforms in those regulatory reforms, freeing up space for business that will enable your private investment to take place, because the government create the jobs needed,.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

SEMINAR ON RHIZOFILTRATION; A MECHANIZE IN PHYTOREMEDIATION OF POLLUTED SOIL

RHIZOFILTRATION; A MECHANIZE IN PHYTOREMEDIATION OF POLLUTED SOIL BY EDOM JOY CHISOM 10E/0848/ST A RESEARCH SEMINAR PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY (CHEMISTRY OPTION), SCIENCE OF INDUSTRIAL AND APPLIED SCIENCE, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF NATIONAL DIPLOMA (ND) SEPTEMBER, 2012 DEDICATION This seminar is dedicated to Almighty God who made it possible for me to write this seminar and also my family who financial support me in different ways. ACKNOWLEDGMENT My warmth appreciation goes to Almighty God who made it possible for me in this Seminar, I will not forget my siblings, for their encouragements, and to all my lecturers and well wishers. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page i Dedication ii Acknowledgement iii Table of Contents iv CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Meaning of Rhizofiltration 4 CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Literature Review 7 2.1 Process of phytoremediation 8 2.2 Application of Rhizofiltration 9 2.3 Cost 11 CHAPTER THREE 3.0 Effect of Rhizofiltration 13 3.1 Advantages of Rhizofiltration 16 3.2 Disadvantages of Rhizofiltration 17 CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 Conclusion 19 4.1 Recommendations 19 References 21 CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION RHIZOFILTRATION Rhizofiltration refers to the use of plant roof to absorb, concentrate and precipitate toxic metals form contaminated ground water initially suitable plants with stable root systems are supplied with contaminated water acclimate the plants. These plants are then transferred to the contaminated site to collect the contaminants and once the root are saturated, they are harvested. Rhizofiltration allow in site treatment, minimizing disturbance to the environment. According to Boyd, (1998:181-201) Hyper accumulate Heavy metals (1) Heavy metal pollution of aqueous streams is a major environmental problem facing the modern world. Several methods of removing heavy metals form water based on ion exchange or chemical and microbiological precipitation have been developed and used with some success. (2) These technologies have different efficiencies for different metals and may be very costly if large volumes, low metal concentrations, and high cleanup standards are involved. Recently, there has been some research into the use of living and nonliving bacteria and algae for the bioremediation and recovery of heavy metals form aqueous streams. (3) In addition, live or dead cultured cells of Datura innoxia, a higher plant, can be used to remove Ba2+ from solution. FOR FULL MATERIAL CALL 08032849308 MR CHINEDU

SEMINAR ON BACTERIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ZOBO DRINK SOLD IN OWERRI AND AROUND FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE AND WITHIN OWERRI METROPOLIS

BACTERIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ZOBO DRINK SOLD IN OWERRI AND AROUND FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE AND WITHIN OWERRI METROPOLIS BY NLEMCHUKWU IFEOMA PRISCA 12/ 0027/ ST OBAJI EMMANUELLA U. 12/ 0028/ ST EZEAKUNNE KELECHI VIRGINIA 12/ 0029/ ST AGWULONU PRISCA CHIDIMMA 12/ 0030/ ST A PROJECT WORK SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY, SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE, OWERRI - IMO STATE. IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF NATIONAL DIPLOMA (ND) IN SCIENCE LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY DECEMBER, 2014. CERTIFICATION This project had been accepted and approved by the Department of Science Laboratory Technology of the School of Industrial and Applied Sciences of Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri in partial fulfillment of the requirements, for Award of the National Diploma Certificate in Science Laboratory Technology. ……………………………… ………………………… Dr. (Mrs.) Ibe I.J. Date (Project Supervisor) ……………………………… ………………………… Mr. Nwanze P.I. Date (Head of Department) ……………………………… ………………………… External Examiner Date DEDICATION This project is dedicated to the Most High God for His unspeakable grace, mercy, guidance, protection and divine supply throughout the course of this work. We also dedicate this project to all Nigerian Students.   ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We are grateful to the Most High God for His unimaginative assistance throughout our stay in this school. Our profound thanks go to our parents, sponsors, guardians for their support and assistance both financially and otherwise. This work will be incomplete if we fail to acknowledge our supervisor, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibe I.J, whose ideas and suggestions made this work a success. We extend our gratitude to our beloved siblings, friends, course-mates, well-wishers and to all Nigerian students for their prayers, care, love, encouragement and assistance throughout the course of this work. We also appreciate the authors of various books whose write-ups contributed immensely to the success of this project. God bless you all. ABSTRACT The Bacteriological Quality Of ‘Zobo’ Drink Sold In Owerri Metropolis was analyzed using standard microbiological methods. The organisms isolated were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus species and Escherichia coli. The total viable count of the samples ranged from 0.3 x 109cfu/ml to 4.1 x 1011cfu/ml, while the samples bought from Nekede market had colonies that were too numerous to count. These micro-organisms isolated could be as a result of poor water quality, unhygienic handling and packaging. Care should be taken to address these factors to promote public health and reduce cases of food poisoning.   TABLE OF CONTENTS The Page - - - - - - - - - i Certification- - - - - - - - - ii Dedication - - - - - - - - - iii Acknowledgement - - - - - - - iv Abstract - - - - - - - - - v Table of Contents - - - - - - - vi CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction - - - - - - - 1 Chapter Two 2.0 Literature Review - - - - - - - 4 Chapter Three 3.0 Materials and Methods - - - - - - 9 3.1 Sample Collection - - - - - - - 9 3.2 Sample Processing and Culture - - - - 9 3.3 Identification of Bacterial Isolates - - - - 10 Chapter Four 4.0 Results and Discussion 4.1 Results - - - - - - - - 12 4.2 Discussions - - - - - - - 15 Chapter Five 5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations 5.1 Conclusion- - - - - - - - 17 5.1 Recommendations - - - - - - 17 References - - - - - - - 18   FOR FULL MATERIAL CALL 08032849308 CHINEDU

CO OPERATIVE BUSINESS ORGANIZATION AS A VIABLE TOOL FOR MICRO AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF ANAMBRA STATE CO-OPERATIVE FEDERATION)

CO OPERATIVE BUSINESS ORGANIZATION AS A VIABLE TOOL FOR MICRO AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF ANAMBRA STATE CO-OPERATIVE FEDERATION) BY ADIKAIBE RACHAEL UDOKA 10H/0517/CEM A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CO-OPERATIVE ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY, FERDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE OWERRI IMO STATE INPARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA (HND) IN CO-OPERATIVE ECONOMIC AND MANGEMENT, SCHOOL OF BUSINES MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE OWERRI IMO STATE AUGUST, 2012 APPROVAL PAGE This project is written by Adikaibe Rachael Udoka has been read and approved, having met the partial requirements necessary for the award of Higher National Diploma (HND) in the department of Co-operative Economic and Management, school of Business Management and Technology, Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri, Imo State. ……………………………………… ……………………………… MR. DICKSON .I.O. OZUITEM DATE ……………………………………… ……………………………… MR. DICKSON .I.O. OZUITEM DATE ……………………………………… ……………………………… EXTERNAL EXAMINER DATE DEDICATION With great joy in my heart, this project is dedicated to the God Almighty who gave me wisdom and knowledge to achieve this aim. I also dedicate this work to my lovely mother Caroline Adikaibe for her caring and moral support throughout my years of study. It is equally dedicated to my sweat husband Chinonso Aribemma whose love his and financial support has been the source of my strength. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I give the greatest thanks and praises to Almighty God for His love, life, mercy, guidance and blessing towards me especially whenever I am travelling. I greatly express my thanks and gratitude to my mummy project supervisor as well as my Head of Department (HOD)Mr. D.I.O. Ozuitem for his contribution throughout the period of my academic programme, the entire staff and management of co-operative economics and management, school of Business Management and Technology, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri. I will extend my gratitude to the management of Udoji Housing Cooperative Ltd the in Awka South L.G.A, Enugu multi-purpose co-operative society Ltd, Ifunanya Credit and Thrift Co-operative society for the assistance during my research work. My special thanks to my beloved husband Chinonso Aribemma and my sweet mother Mrs. Caroline Adikaibe for their caring, financial and moral support, thank you all and be blessed. ABSTRACT The role of co-operative movement in the micro and small business development of any society cannot be over emphasized. Co-operative movement plays an important role in the business development of any state. In Nigeria, C-operative movement has not much impact in the development of the economy. This contributed the need for the research study cooperative business organization as a viable tool for business development of Anambra State. In this research study, the major aim is to identify the contribution future prospects and problems. This research work will make the reader understand the important of producers (Agricultural) Society in the development of a developing country. This work will also help to analyze the importance of cooperative in the micro and small business development of Anambra State and at the end of this research work, there will be need to improve the effectiveness of cooperative organization. Some relevant literatures about cooperative organizations to the research study were reviewed. Data were the collected from the three selected cooperative organization in different local government areas in Anambra State, through questionnaires and interviews. The data collected mode was that the contributions of cooperative are the micro and small business development of Anambra State has not been so effective. The major recommendations are that cooperative business, proper education for the management and members and adequate government assistance. With these recommendations cooperatives organizations can stand a better chance to play a major role in micro and small business development of Anambra State. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page i Certification page ii Dedication iii Acknowledgement iv Abstract v Table of contents vi CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction - - - - - - - - 1 1.1 Background of study - - - - - - 2 1.2 Statement of problem - - - - - - 8 1.3 Objective of the study - - - - - - 10 1.4 Scope of the study - - - - - - - 10 1.5 Statement of hypothesis - - - - - - 11 1.6 Significance of the study - - - - - - 12 1.7 Limitation of the study - - - - - - 13 1.8 Definition of term - - - - - - - 14 CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Literature review - - - - - - - 16 2.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - 16 2.2 Definition and meaning of cooperative - - - 17 2.3 History of cooperative movement - - - - 20 2.4 Forms of cooperative societies - - - - - 26 2.5 Organization of the cooperative movement - - 30 2.6 Economic and social viabilities of cooperative organization in societies - - - - - - - - 31 2.7 The relevant of cooperative in developing agriculture and employment opportunities - - - - - 35 2.8 The problems of cooperative society in Nigeria - 2.9 The achievements of the cooperative movements in 40 Nigeria - - - - - - - - - CHAPTER THREE 3.0 Research Methodology - - - - - - 42 3.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - 42 3.2 Research design - - - - - - - 42 3.3 Sampling design - - - - - - - 43 3.4 Method of data collected - - - - - - 43 3.5 Procedure for processing of data chi-square - - 35 CHAPTER FOUR 4.1 Presentation analysis and interpretation - - - 45 4.2 Test of hypothesis - - - - - - - 63 CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 Summary of findings, conclusion and recommendation 66 5.1 Summary of findings - - - - - - 66 5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - - 69 5.3 Recommendation - - - - - - - 71 Bibliography - - - - - - - - 73 Appendix A - - - - - - - - 76 Appendix B - - - - - - - - 77 CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION This research work is to tell the reader (s) how a co-operative society has been use as a tool by the government in achieving some micro and small business development, the problem which cooperative societies is having in its operation and recommendation solution, educate the reader about the important of cooperative society. At the end of this work both the researcher and the reader(s) should be able to give definition of cooperative society, how it come about, forms of cooperative societies, the organization of cooperative society, economic and social viabilities of cooperative in developing agriculture and employment opportunities the achievement of cooperative movement in Nigeria. 1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY Co-operative organization are autonomous bodies formed by people with similar economic and social interest, they exist in most advanced and developing countries of the world where they operate in the urban areas as well as in rural areas. These co-operatives have been able to make a very significant impact in most of the countries of the world where they exist, their useful activities have led to the economic growth of such state and this is why the government of these state play active role in the encouragement and development of co-operative movement in their inspective countries. However, in the opinion of Ijere, the insult from cooperative activities has not been enough to match the massive efforts in human and material recognizes by government to sustain cooperative. In recognition of the usefulness of cooperative in Nigeria the Shehu Shagaris led administration in 1980 established the Federal department of agricultural cooperative as one major step taken towards boasting food production in the country for the development plan period 1981-1785. The government policy on agriculture’s during the plan period included fostering the development to which could be used as an system in Nigeria which could be used as an effective tool for social economic development not only at the grassroots but throughout the other levels in the Federation. The primary aim of cooperative societies is to improve the welfare of the member that could result into an improved general welfare of the masses through the society’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and the spread effect of their derived benefits. This is an increased in nations real gross domestic product implies economic growth and since cooperative societies can bring about such increase through their operations. Therefore, cooperative movement needs to be given a solid foundation and proper nourishment to enhance economic development. The agricultural cooperative is a good example of how cooperatives can lead to economic development of a state. The productive of farmer cooperative are usually higher than that of individuals farming, when farmer cooperatives are able to achieve the level of food production necessary to satisfy the increasing population of a developing state. The tendency will be the occurrence of a shift from the primary agricultural section and this course is a mark of economic development. The high production leads to agricultural surplus and raises the purchasing power which tends to raise the demand for manufactured goods and extend the size the market, leading further to the expansion for the industrial or manufacturing sector. Moreover, the demand for such imputs as fertilizers tractors, national facilities in the agricultural sector leads to greater expansion of the industrial sector. The agricultural surpluses resulting from farmers cooperative function in the rural areas also tends to increase rural incomes and improve rural welfare. Peasants start consuming more food especially of higher nutritional value, building better house and also receive direct satisfaction from such services as school, health centres and banks. All these improve the rural people’s standard of living which is a measure for economic development of a nation. Anambra state government and local government have a great need for cooperative development particularly at this period of economic emergency when such element as unemployment, high rate of inflation are increasing population and the need for mechanized agricultural development within the state. A proper development of cooperative government particularly in Anambra state as in any order form of business Endeavour, cooperative business determines the degree of economic and social development of Anambra state and it is one of the greatest activities which government can render effective support for effective development of state economy. In the most of the third world countries, Cooperative societies are given adequate official recognition as a tool of socio-economic development. According to Ijere (1986) co-operative societies are remarkable instruments in development of developing states. According to Helen, (1986) she said that economic and sociological factors are the factors that were responsible for the development of cooperative. The economic factor was formed by the desire of the cooperative members to improve as their economic status and to gain a considerable economic benefit. The sociological factor was as a result of peoples need for security leadership self actualization and solidarity provided by the cooperative society. Cooperative first started in Great Britain by a social reformer called Dr. William King and Sir, Robert Owen. Co-operative was first established among people whose economic positions livelihood and living standard were jeopardized by evils of capitalist system such as exploitation. The introduction of cooperative in Nigeria standard after the treatment of the cooperative ordnance in 11955, which market a turning point in the development of the cooperative movement in Nigeria a legal status and governmental recognition, but also conceptualized it as development. In 1986, the cooperative regulations were passed and the cooperative department established. The first cooperative producer marketing society registered in 1937. In 1939, the first plan was to registered in the Western Nigeria on the Ibadan co-operative producer marketing society, plan ltd. In 1940, the Western Nigeria cooperative association Federation was development cooperation in collaboration with the government of Northern Nigeria launched the Mokwa settlement scheme. In 1943, an independent cooperative department was established but in 1050, due to the tremendous growth in the number of societies in the country, the problem of Administration became visible and decentralization became necessary. Hence in 1951, separations of cooperative department were set up to the West and East and Nigerian cooperative. Federation was replaced by the cooperative Union in these regions. In 1952, the co-operatives plan of Eastern Nigerian was launched in Aba in 1954, separation of cooperative department were set-up in Northern Nigeria and Western Cameroon. FOR FULL MATERIAL PLS CALL 08032849308 CHINEDU J

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL (A CASE STUDY OF NEKEDE STAFF PRIMARY SCHOOL) BY

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL (A CASE STUDY OF NEKEDE STAFF PRIMARY SCHOOL) BY KALU CHIOMA PRECIOUS 13E/0258/CS AND OKEREKE ONYEBUCHI 13E/374/CS A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE OWERRI. IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF NATIONAL DIPLOMA (ND) IN COMPUTER SCIENCE OCTOBER, 2014. CERTIFICATION This is to certify that Kalu Chioma Precious 13e/374/CS with the registration number and Okereke Onyebuchi with the registration number, 13e/0258/CS has satisfactorily completed the requirement for the award of National Diploma (ND) in Computer Science of Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri. …………………………….. ………………….. MR. OMENKA Date (Project Supervisor) ……………………………… ………………….. MRS. OYEDEPO VICTORIA Date (H.O.D computer science) …………………….. ……… ……………….. External Supervisor Date DEDICATION We are dedicating this project to the Almighty God whom has been so good to us through the journeyof this project. To the families of Mr. and Mrs. KALU and Mr. and Mrs. OKEREKE For their support; God bless.   ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It is incredible to accomplish an immediate task of this kind without incurring some intellectual debts. In recognition of this fact therefore, I humbly wish to express my sincere gratitude to God Almighty for his benevolence and protection throughout our stay in Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri. Secondly, I am indebted to my H.O.D for his academic fastidiousness. I am also indebted to my project supervisor, Mr. MR. OMENKA, who through his academic assistance and valuable advice I was able to accomplish this project work. Finally, I am indebted to our lovely parents and a host of other relations for their moral and financial support. ABSTRACT This project work identified the challenges facing nekede staff primary school, and created a website to help the academic management unit of the school overcome most of these challenges. It addressed many of the problems encountered in the day to day operation of the school which include: slow processing of students assessment report, manual filling of registration form by parents or pupils which is error prone, improper evaluation criteria for checking pupils to know the suitable class for the child, poor communication medium between the parents and the teachers of the school. As a sufficiently fast and accurate method of carrying out research, structured system analysis and design methodology was adopted. The website was developed with html, php and javascript. The developed website performed well and produced expected results on completion. With it, it was possible solve the entire problem discovered in the analysis phase. TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE i APPROVAL PAGE ii DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv ABSTRACT v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi-ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Background of the study 2 1.3 Statement of the problem 4 1.4 Aims and Objectives 4 1.5 Scope of the study 5 1.6 Significance of the study 6 1.7 Limitation of the study 6 1.8 Definition of terms 6 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES 2.1 Introduction 8 CHAPTER THREE: SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN 3.1 Introduction 23 3.2 System Analysis 23 3.3 Method of data collection 28 3.4 Problem of existing system 28 3.5 User Preparation 31 3.6 Objective of the new Design 31 3.7 Program Structure 32 3.7.1 System flowchart 34 3.7.2 Program flowchart 35 3.8 File maintenance module 36 3.9 Main menu specification 37 3.9.1 Output Specification 37 3.9.2 Input Specification 38 3.10 Overview of the proposed system flowchart 39 CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION 4.1 Introduction 41 4.2 Justification of the programming language 41 4.3 System Control 42 4.4.1 System Requirement 42 4.4.2 Software Requirement 42 4.5 Implementation Details 44 4.5.1 Coding 44 4.5.2 System Testing 44 4.5.3 Training and Re-training of staff 44 4.5.4 File Conservation 45 4.5.5 Changeover Procedure 45 4.5.6 User Manuals 47 CHAPTER FIVE:SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary 48 5.2 Recommendations 48 5.3 Conclusion 49 REFERENCES Appendix I Appendix CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION A Website is a collection of web pages, images, videos and other digital asserts hosted on one or more web servers. It enables information to be disseminated to every user on the network. Website is usually accessible through internet that is bringing changes in most of our daily activities. This change is in all aspects of man’s life today like change in business transaction and environment, education, production and manufacturing of products etc. To cope with these changes most organizations like academic institutions develop website with which to carry out most of their activities. These activities in the case of a primary school include : registering newly admitted pupil, recording their examination score and processing the result per term, placing them in appropriate classes (usually from primary one, except when a person presents details that proves that he/she has finished a given level), keeping classroom information (what is happening in primary one to six), posting information to the pupil’s parents , parents post response and complaints to the school, keeping records of Staff details as well as track of the meeting minutes of the parents/teachers council. These activities are tedious when carried out manually leading to inaccuracy in the expected output; slow operation and reduction in the overall achievement of the school that still adopt manual process. With the fast growth and accessibility to internet, schools have to develop their website to meet the wide information 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Staff Primary School Nekede was established in 2004. It was developed by the staff unit of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede. It was established with the aim of making sure that children within the environs of the polytechnic can have access to quality education. It has a management structure that began from the headmaster to the pupil. The school started with just few pupils (not up to 50) but with time .we have numerous pupil ranging from primary 1 to 6. This problem generated many other academic and administrative problems. The Manpower can no longer carry the insurgence of pupils in the school. Also prospective parents, who have been hearing about this school are not reached unless they do the normal enquiry from the school. This can serve as a source of discouragement for parents sending their wards to school. Presently pupil’s result Compilation is done manually, this cause a late release in the result of pupils. Also important information about the activities in school are passed orally and flyers in some cases. This has caused many challenges in terms of information dissemination. Parents complain that information don’t get to them at all, some said it got to them late. This is as the result of the carefulness of children when going home. Some drop it on the way while going and some misplace not knowing how it important it, some throw away their results because of their bad performance. It is a very clear fact that the school doesn’t have an up-to date record of all pupils in the school which will cause a problem in future. In this new system all problems associated with the old system will be solved. Solutions of the new system: • Registration of new pupils • Payment of tuition fees • Updates of Events in school • Classroom information System • Staff information and data • Parents Teachers Forum etc. All this problems will be implemented in this system. 1.2. STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS Design and implementation of an online website system. This system allows candidates to register and take information in the system. The teachers of this system are allowed to login for contributing and viewing profile of candidates. Administrators will be able to access the system to sign up to a new information, accounts and view profile of the candidates.  I will borrow a host for implementation our system. Our group will keep the existing website catalog database by using Microsoft access to access database.  At the first, guest must register an account to become a candidate by fill all required information such as name, birthday…. Once the registration process is completed for a guest, the registration system sends information to the billing system so the guest can be logged in the system.  After that, the system will allow candidate to login and select a class  Every time, the candidates will be able to view their profile.  The teacher must be able to access the online system to contribute.  They also can view the profile of candidates.  The administrator manages operation of the system such as managing accounts and questions, viewing profile of candidates. FEATURES  Exams and other relevant information can be timed or untimed set the date and time when the specific site has to be available. Can include pictures, graphics and flash (.swf) files in the online website.  The Student and section details are stored in the database.  The Online system has a password based authentication system for students as well as System Administrator.  Poor website  Late and improper release of information due to low service  Poor site display. 1.3. OBJECTIVE OF STUDY The objective of this computer software based online clearance system for the graduating student includes the following:  To effectively and efficiently process of Online registration of Pupils.  To provide a reliable and transparent system devoid of personal inclination and interest.  To provide borderless access.  To ensure prompt Efficient result compilation system..  To alleviate the problems and stress of travelling and queuing up of student to source for in for mention and other online issues.  Corporate between the data stored in the server of the Institution and our on line system. To deal with On-line System in an easy way and an efficient mannered. (Connection process)  Create strong and secrete data base that allow for any connection in a secret way, to prevent any outside or inside attacks or question leakage. 1.4. SCOPE OF STUDY The project work covers the analysis, researches and oral interviews made at the Staff Primary School Nekede. The School can use the website to carry out academic and administrative activities of the school. This can also be an advertisement of goods and services rendered by the school. The website can be a case study to other primary school websites. 1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The project was undertaken to ensure that the old system has a total improvement and also the school has a better management structure compared to what they had before. In the course of the project, through interviews and research works I got to develop myself. The society is the major beneficiary of the software, the education system will be some step closer to actualizing its visions. 1.6. LIMITATION OF STUDY The project was faced with a number of restricting factors which made the work not to exceed the scope defined for it. The most pressing factor was: i. Lack of finance. ii. Fluctuating power supply. iii. Inadequate supply of data. iv. Limited time given for the projectwork to be completed. 1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS AUTOMATION: This is the theory, art and technique of converting a mechanical process to maximize automate operation especially by that of electronics control mechanisms and electronic computers for rapid organizing and processing of data. WEBSITE: It is a collection of webpages, images, data files and program files that is managed by an individuals or an organization. It is information in multimedia formation and are disseminated over the internet through the World Wide Web. SOFTWARE: These are set of logically related instruction given to the computer to perform some specific task. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 IMPORTANCE OF WEBSITE (Charles Jackson) These days, almost any small business should have a website. With costs being extremely low at the entry level, it's becoming difficult to imagine a reason for any company of any size not to have a website. Many user-friendly, free and open-source content-management systems are available to assist with Web design, so it is even possible to build a basic small business website without a professional Web designer. 2.2.1 Low-Cost Advertising The Web has a far wider reach than any other form of advertising. While it takes time to build up enough traffic to your website to make a worthwhile impact on your company's marketing campaign, it costs next to nothing to do so. Your website will be the center of your company's online presence; through it, you advertise your business around the Web on social networking sites, forums and through pay-per-click advertising programs. 2.2.2 Visibility Increasing visibility is one major factor that makes having a website important. Even if people have heard about your company, they may want to carry out research online first, before leaving the house. Provide a map and directions to your company's shops or offices on your website so that visitors are less likely to have trouble finding the place. 2.2.3 Accessibility A website is online and accessible 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Because of this, your customers and potential customers can visit your site for support or information about new and upcoming products and services whenever it is convenient for them. Your website will act as an invaluable and always-available resource for information which would otherwise only be accessible during your company's business hours. 2.2.4 Sales Your website can sell products at any time. Potential customers are not restricted to business hours. Instead, they can go online and purchase products whenever they want. A website with an online shop can provide a dramatic boost in sales. 2.2.5 Two-Way Communicative Marketing Customers can quickly and easily give feedback on your product and/or marketing approach. 2.2.6 Growth Opportunity A website serves as a great place to refer potential investors to, to show them what your company is about, what it has achieved and what it can achieve in future. 2.2.7 Cheap Market Research You can use features on your website such as visitor polls, online surveys and your website statistics to find out what your customers like more and how they feel about certain aspects of your business to determine how you can improve your product and the way you do business. 2.3 THE NEED FOR WEBSITE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL Special education or special needs education is the practice of educating students with special needs in a way that addresses their individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and their community, than may be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education. Common special needs include learning disabilities, communication disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disabilities.Students with these kinds of special needs are likely to benefit from additional educational services such as different approaches to teaching, the use of technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, or a resource room. Intellectual giftedness is a difference in learning and can also benefit from specialized teaching techniques or different educational programs, but the term "special education" is generally used to specifically indicate instruction of students with disabilities. Gifted education is handled separately. Whereas special education is designed specifically for students with special needs, remedial education can be designed for any students, with or without special needs; the defining trait is simply that they have reached a point of under preparedness, regardless of why. For example, even people of high intelligence can be underprepared if their education was disrupted, for example, by internal displacement during civil disorder or a war. In most developed countries, educators modify teaching methods and environments so that the maximum numbers of students are served in general education environments. Therefore, special education in developed countries is often regarded as a service rather than a place.Integration can reduce social stigmas and improve academic achievement for many students. The opposite of special education is general education. General education is the standard curriculum presented without special teaching methods or supports. 2.3.1 Identifying students or learners with special needs Some children are easily identified as candidates for special needs due to their medical history. They may have been diagnosed with a genetic condition that is associated with intellectual disability, may have various forms of brain damage, may have a developmental disorder, may have visual or hearing disabilities, or other disabilities. For students with less obvious disabilities, such as those who have learning difficulties, two primary methods have been used for identifying them: the discrepancy model and the response to intervention model. The discrepancy model depends on the teacher noticing that the students' achievements are noticeably below what is expected. The response to intervention model advocates earlier intervention. In the discrepancy model, a student receives special education services for a specific learning difficulty (SLD) if the student has at least normal intelligence and the student's academic achievement is below what is expected of a student with his or her IQ. Although the discrepancy model has dominated the school system for many years, there has been substantial criticism of this approach (e.g., Aaron, 1995, Flanagan and Mascolo, 2005) among researchers. One reason for criticism is that diagnosing SLDs on the basis of the discrepancy between achievement and IQ does not predict the effectiveness of treatment. Low academic achievers who also have low IQ appear to benefit from treatment just as much as low academic achievers who have normal or high intelligence. The alternative approach, response to intervention, identifies children who are having difficulties in school in their first or second year after starting school. They then receive additional assistance such as participating in a reading remediation program. The response of the children to this intervention then determines whether they are designated as having a learning disability. Those few who still have trouble may then receive designation and further assistance. Sternberg (1999) has argued that early remediation can greatly reduce the number of children meeting diagnostic criteria for learning disabilities. He has also suggested that the focus on learning disabilities and the provision of accommodations in school fails to acknowledge that people have a range of strengths and weaknesses and places undue emphasis on academics by insisting that students should be supported in this arena and not in music or sports. 2.3.2Individual needs A special education program should be customized to address each individual student's unique needs. Special educators provide a continuum of services, in which students with special needs receives varying degrees of support based on their individual needs. Special education programs need to be individualized so that they address the unique combination of needs in a given student. In the United States, Canada, and the UK, educational professionals use the initialism IEP when referring to a student’s individualized education plan. For children who are not yet 3, an IFSP. (Individual Family Service Plan)It contains 1. Information on the child’s present level of development in all areas; 2. outcomes for the child and family; and 3. Services the child and family will receive to help them achieve the outcomes. Students with special needs are assessed to determine their specific strengths and weaknesses.Placement, resources, and goals are determined on the basis of the student's needs. Accommodations and Modifications to the regular program may include changes in the curriculum, supplementary aides or equipment, and the provision of specialized physical adaptations that allow students to participate in the educational environment as much as possible. Students may need this help to access subject matter, physically gain access to the school, or meet their emotional needs. For example, if the assessment determines that the student cannot write by hand because of a physical disability, then the school might provide a computer for typing assignments, or allow the student to answer questions verbally instead. If the school determines that the student is severely distracted by the normal activities in a large, busy classroom, then the student might be placed in a smaller classroom such as a resource room. 2.3.3 Methods of provision Schools use different approaches to providing special education services to students. These approaches can be broadly grouped into four categories, according to how much contact the student with special needs has with non-disabled students (using North American terminology): • Inclusion: In this approach, students with special needs spend all, or most of the school day with students who do not have special needs. Because inclusion can require substantial modification of the general curriculum, most schools use it only for selected students with mild to moderate special needs, which is accepted as a best practice. Specialized services may be provided inside or outside the regular classroom, depending on the type of service. Students may occasionally leave the regular classroom to attend smaller, more intensive instructional sessions in a resource room, or to receive other related services that might require specialized equipment or might be disruptive to the rest of the class, such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation counseling. They might also leave the regular classroom for services that require privacy, such as counseling sessions with a social worker. • Mainstreaming refers to the practice of educating students with special needs in classes with non-disabled students during specific time periods based on their skills. Students with special needs are segregated in separate classes exclusively for students with special needs for the rest of the school day. • Segregation in a separate classroom or special school for students with special needs: In this model, students with special needs do not attend classes with non-disabled students. Segregated students may attend the same school where regular classes are provided, but spend all instructional time exclusively in a separate classroom for students with special needs. If their special class is located in an ordinary school, they may be provided opportunities for social integration outside the classroom, such as by eating meals with non-disabled students.Alternatively, these students may attend a special school. • Exclusion: A student who does not receive instruction in any school is excluded from school. In the past, most students with special needs have been excluded from school.Such exclusion still affects about 23 million disabled children worldwide, particularly in poor, rural areas of developing countries.It may also occur when a student is in hospital, housebound, or detained by the criminal justice system. These students may receive one-on-one instruction or group instruction. Students who have been suspended or expelled are not considered excluded in this sense. 2.3.4 Effective Instruction for students with disabilities • Goal Directed: Each child must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that distinguishes his/her particular needs. The child must get the services that are designed for him/her. These services will allow him/her to reach his/her annual goals which will be assessed at the end of each term along with short term goals that will be assessed every few months. • Research-Based Methods- There has been a lot of research done about students with disabilities and the best way to teach them. Testing, IQs, interviews, the discrepancy model, etc. should all be used to determine where to place the child. Once that is determined, the next step is the best way for the child to learn. There are plenty of different programs such as the Wilson Reading Program and Direct Instruction • Guided by student performance- While the IEP goals may be assessed every few months to a year, constant informal assessments must take place. These assessments will guide instruction for the teacher. The teacher will be able to determine if the material is too difficult or to easy. 2.4 FUNCTIONS PROVIDED IN PRIMARY SCHOOL (Bell, J. 2010 "Teachers and the Web: An educational revolution that's real.). A school website is any website built, designed, and maintained by or for a school. Many school websites share certain characteristics, and some educators have developed guidelines to help schools create the best and most useful websites they can. Possible functions in a primary school website include: • Providing information on homework and current class assignments • Directing visitors to other resources on the web • Providing a forum for teachers, administrators, students, and parents to exchange information such as news and calendars of events • Introducing people who don't know much about the school (such as parent or students who are considering moving into the district, community members who don't have children, and teachers seeking employment) to its current events and general culture • Showing that a school is excellent with regard to sciences and new media in comparison to competitive schools • Providing a platform for internal school learning activities • Displaying school curriculum and courses • Providing staff and students with an entrance and front-end to documents and resources hosted locally • Creating and showing in public a 'corporate identity'. (http://community.tes.co.uk/tes_marketplace/f/24/t/542622.aspx(Schoolulike)) A school website is one of the best tools to communicate to parents and all users of school information. Below are what we believe to be the most important functions of a school website; 1. A school website should be a means by which the school can communicate to parents, the local community and other users of school information. 2. School websites should provide a function to educate pupils and parents and be especially fun to use. 3. The website should be used as a medium to inform parents about the basics of their children's education and information about the school - Disclosure should be made in a simple understandable manner, in Basic English so parents don't need to become educationalists to understand the fundamentals of education in the UK. 4. Information disclosure on the website should be informative enough to be used by potential new teachers and pupils - The school strengths can be disclosed on the website. 5. It is a means by which the school can embrace and celebrate its past, present and future. 6. The school can disclose on the website the direction in which it has come from, it currently stands and the aims for its future. 7. The school website is an information disclosure vehicle to create closer links to the local community and beyond. 2.5 EXPECTED FEATURES OF A GOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL WEBSITE As the school is looking at replacing/revamping the school website I was wondering what people thought were the features of a good primary school website. This isn't to preclude discussing the topic more broadly (bad features, what your website is like, the importance of it), but I was wondering what people would want in a school website. 2.5.1 CONSTANTLY UPDATED: I think the most important thing is that it is constantly updated. Unfortunately many school websites are woefully out of date. Staffs need to be shown how to add to their class areas otherwise the whole site dies a death. 2.5.2 Communication: (Carr, N. 2006 "New rubric offers first functional standards for school web sites" eSchool News) A school website is a communication tool between the school and community; however, its reach can extend beyond county, state lines. A school website may be used by many demographic groups such as staff/administration, parents, students, community, and potential, as well as, former students and alumni. Even across state lines a school website can connect groups of its demographics such as the alumni now living cross country looking for information on the next reunion. 2.5.3 Registration (Robert E. Burke)Registration, in electoral systems, method usually used to identify voters who are qualified to participate in an election. The act of registration is not, in a strict legal sense, a qualification for voting in the way that age, residence, race, literacy, and religion have sometimes been. It is, rather, a technique for determining that prospective voters are properly qualified according to law. Voters commonly register by submitting proof to authorized officials that they have met the prescribed qualifications. The 15th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States provides that “the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” CHAPTER THREE SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN 3.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter deals with system analysis of the old system and design of the new system. System analysis is a structured process of breakdown a system into components with an aim of collecting and analyzing facts in respect to the existing operating procedures in order to obtain a full appreciation of the situation prevailing. It is important to carry out system analysis ensure that an effective computerized system can be designed and implemented when proved feasible. According to E.C and Chapman R.J. “System analysis is defined as the method of determining how best to use computer with other resources to perform tasks to meet the information needs of an establishment or an organization. Before moving into the major building blocks design of the proposed system the existing system needs to be analyzed in order to identify their weaknesses. 3.2 SYSTEM ANALYSIS As stated earlier, system analysis is a structured process of breaking down a system into components. This section intends to break the existing system into components. The existing system involves filling of registration form by pupils or parents, providing students assessment report, and evaluating a pupil’s performance through an IQ test of Staff School Nekede. Although there may be other components activities of a Primary School System but these projects work looks into the above listed components with a view of computerizing their operations. This analysis is divided into three phases according to the main components of a system: INPUT ANALYSIS The input to the existing system is derived from the Manual Pupil Registration form and Manual result generation form. When a pupil’s being admitted into the school, he/she fills some forms after which some important details are issued to him/her such as registration slip. This forms the input to the existing system. The information required for entry into the forms includes: Pupil Registration Form input 1. First Name 2. Middle Name 3. Last Name 4. Sex 4. Parent/Guardian phone number 5. Address 6. Class 7. Date of Birth 8. State of origin 9. LGA 10. Passport PROCESS ANALYSIS The processes involved in the existing system include: 1. Verifying the details submitted by the pupils to ensure they tally with the ones in their credentials. 2. Issuing the pupil a unique Registration Number ensuring no two persons have the same matriculation number. 3. Including the pupil’s Name in the class and school register. OUTPUT ANALYSIS The output derived from the processing carried out on the input data in the existing are presented inform of reports. They are listed below: 1. Pupil registration slip 2. Pupil Result Slip 3. Other deliverables such as list of subjects offered per term, teachers and the classes that are assigned to each of them as well as list of venues for practical. 3.2.1 DETAILED DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM From my findings, educational activities such as registrations and assigning of registration number to pupils are still being carried out manually in Nekede Staff Primary School. The problem here is that the objectives of the school– which is to admit a pupil (which involves collecting and storing the pupil’s record), assigning a registration number to the pupil, processing a pupil’s result and promoting a pupil to a new class- may be completely defeated. This is because manual activities are characterized with much inefficiency and error prone due to human limitations. These limitations are seen as slow operation. In the manual system, pupils wait endlessly for the processing of their assessment report. After writing exams it takes a long time for the school to process and publish pupil result. Moreover pasting time tables (class and exam table) and results on notice boards is not a good solution because most pupils would not have access to them. This is because the school doesn’t have enough space to paste the class and exam time table, results and lesson plan. Even if they do have it won’t last long because most pupils in the course of searching for their subjects, lesson plan or time tables tear up the sheets up. Moreover, the volume of work for the Nekede Primary School staff is much. Pupils outnumber the personnel –teachers, academic and non-academic officials. In this regard, to attend to student needs is not an easy task in the manual system. All these are the problems identified from the analysis of the existing system and forms the objective of the new system intended to be design in this project. 3.2.2 FEASIBILITY STUDY In the analysis of this project work, feasibility study was conducted to make sure the proposed solution to the problems identified can be designed and implemented. In this feasibility study, economic and operational feasibility were highly considered. Economic analysis is one of the most used techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of a proposed system. More commonly known as cost/benefit analysis, the procedure was to determine the benefits and savings that are expected from a proposed system and compare them with costs. If benefit outweighed costs, decision is taken to design and implement the system otherwise; further justification or alternative in the proposed system will have to be made. This is an ongoing effort that improves in accuracy at each phase of the system life cycle. Operational analysiswas also conducted to ascertain the usability of the proposed solution (software package). This includes a measure of how user friendly the interface is. How easy it is to train the staff of Nekede Primary School to use the package. The aim of this feasibility factor is to ensure that the user will not reject the new system. If the clients in this case staff and pupils of Nekede Primary School are willing to use the system then the system is operationally feasible. 3.3 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION 3.3.1 ORAL INTERVIEW This was done between the researcher and the teachers in the primary school, and the headmistress/headmaster was interviewed. Reliable facts were got based on the questions posed to the staff by the researcher. 3.3.2 Study of Manuals Manuals and report based used by school teachers were studied and a lot of information concerning the system in question was obtained. 3.3.3 Evaluation of Forms Some forms that are necessary and available were assessed. These include admission form, lab form, test result, previous assessment result Etc. These forms help in the design of the new system. 3.4 Problems of the existing system Most of the problems encountered in the existing system are due to its characteristic use of manual system in carrying out operations. Manual activities are characterized with much inefficiency and error prone due to human limitations and constitute problems to the existing system. The following are the problems of the existing system. 1. Slow Operation: In the manual system, pupils wait endlesslyto be registered by admission officers. They also have to wait for their results to be processed and written in the result sheet. 2. Lack of Accuracy: This is a very big issue in education system especially in the area of processing and publishing student’ result. Manual systems are prone to different kinds of error due to human limitation. It occurs when either results processing or record officer makes mistakes and is usually difficult to rectify. 3. Loss of Pupil Record: The operation of the existing system involves movement of files from one location to another and may lead to loss of important files and pupils records. 4. Tedious and time consuming to Operate: In the existing system, the volume of work for Nekede Primary School staff is much. Pupils outnumber the personnel – teachers, academic and non-academic officials. In this regard, to attend to pupils needs is not an easy task in the manual system. 5. Costly to operate:It is costly to implement as it requires a lot of man labor and money to prepare and publish lesson plans, class time table and pupil results. The cost of buying papers, printing and pasting using gum add to the cost. It also requires extra security to stop pupils from tearing the publications up. 1. Data Preparation Data preparation is the most ‘mechanical’ of the stages of a research project. Data preparation is about constructing a dataset from one or more data sources to be used for exploration and modeling. It is a solid practice to start with an initial dataset to get familiar with the data, to discover first insights into the data and have a good understanding of any possible data quality issues. Data preparation is often a time consuming process and heavily prone to errors. The old saying “garbage-in-garbage-out” is particularly applicable to those data mining projects where data gathered with many invalid, out-of-range and missing values. Analyzing data that has not been carefully screened for such problems can produce highly misleading results. Then, the success of data mining projects heavily depends on the quality of the prepared data. As it was mentioned, different datasets for different entities were used in this project in which each of the datasets had their own quality and structure. Data to be supplied in any database must be appraised in terms of quality. Quality comprises components, namely, accuracy, logical consistency, resolution, completeness, time, lineage, and so on. Various tests had been carried out by the researcher on the selected data sets to examine the quality parameters. For example, the pupil registration form and pupil registration records are two important characteristics that had been accessed by the System. 3.5 USER PREPARATION Every software project must provide a way to incorporate the targeted users of the software during the development process to ensure its usability. This calls for the creation of a simple and instructive user interface. User interface is a means by which the user and a computer system interact, in particular the use of input devices and software. The user interface of the new system was designed to be self-explanatory and contains components that prepare the user for the operation of the system. To ensure a proper user preparation, a user manual was also prepared. 3.6 OBJECTIVE OF THE NEW DESIGN Primary School System features and functions will help in improving standard of education to eliminate inadequacies like examination malpractice. The aims and objectives of developing a new system, i.e. a web based Primary School system for Nekede Staff Primary Schoolis to: 1. Provide an easy and cost effective method of running a schoolIt provides an online form to register pupils, generate a registration number for each of the pupils. 2. Reduce work load on the management of Nekede Staff Primary School as it provides a mechanism for pupils to be registered and provide access to the material they (students) need for a given semester. 3. Accuracy is maintained, as the computer information will yield an accurate result. 4. Provide an automated system for compilation and dissemination of pupils result. The Computer Exams and Record department need not worry again about compilation of pupils. 5. Elimination of errors in result compilation and generation of reference list 6. The speed of operation of the education system is high when compared to manual method. 7. Enable the pupil touse a modern way of checking results. 3.7 PROGRAMME STRUCTURE Program structure also known as program design structure is the design of the program to be implemented in a given software project. Two design structure considered in this project are: Modularity and Top-Down Design. 3.7.1 Modularity Modularity is the degree to which a system’s components may be separated and recombined. The meaning of the word, however, can vary somewhat by context. In software design, modularity refers to a logical partitioning of the “software design” that allows complex software to be manageable for the purpose of implementation and maintenance. The logic of partitioning may be based on related functions, implementation considerations, data links, or other criteria. Modular approach to software development was adopted in the design of the software required to take over some of the manual operation in this new system. The modules in this software are grouped by their functions are: 1. Pupil Registration module 2. Result Generation Module 3. Report Generation Module 4. Help module 5. File maintenance module 3.7.2 Top-Down Program design Top down Program design is the development of an algorithm to solve a problem. Algorithms are, as you know, a set of steps to solve a problem in a finite amount of time. By definition, an algorithm is independent of any particular programming language, so a program design must, by implication, avoid relying on the features of a given computer language. The algorithm for the solution provided in this is research project is as shown below: 1. Start 2. Display Home Page 3. Register as a pupil (to obtain a Registration No) 4. Login with the Registration No and password (To view pupil related processing :step 4-5) or with Admin ID and password (to view admin Activities : step 6-) 5. Choose an option from pupil activities 6. Print the transaction slip for the activity you select goto step 8 7. Choose an option from administrator activities 8. Update pupil’s data goto 9 9. Return to home 3.7.3 System flow chart Figure 3.1 the Primary School Website System Flowchart 3.7.4 Program Flowchart 3.8 FILE MAINTENANCE MODULE Primary School Websitemodules are the different parts of the program. Programs are composed of one or more independently developed modules that are not compiled until the program is linked. Typical Primary School website for a school or department should consist of multiple modules since it has so many functions. Each module is focused on one area of the business processes such as pupil registration, provision of classroom information, result checking. Aside from the user/functional requirement, one other important require aspect considered in the new system design is system requirement. The Primary School Website also needs a File maintenance module. File maintenance module is a very important module in a system development project that creates and stores files in the system.The file maintenance functions begin once the system is fully implemented. They are used mainly for making modifications after the software has been delivered. In the software for this project, there are two file maintenance modules – Enhancement maintenance module and Corrective maintenance module. Enhancement maintenance has to do with modification of the software due to change in ever dynamic environment and corrective maintenance as the name implies is carried out as a result of error discovered in the system after delivery. 3.10 MAIN MENU SPECIFICATION The new system is built to correct lapses and error in the existing system(which is the manual process of the transactions) and as such create new ways of organizing its data or files. In the new system, there will be data independence and there will be a decentralized data file sharable between different available allocation systems. With these we will be able to solve the problem encountered with the unproductive maintenance of the old system, it will be eliminated and also the problem encountered in batch mode of processing data will be addressed. Thus, the following make up the main menu specification: (i) Pupil Registration (ii) Pupil Login (iii) Admin Login (iv) Result Checking 3.10.1 Output Specification In designing any system, the first requirement is what the output would look like before deciding how to go about producing it. Here the outputs are expected to be generated for this system includes 1. Pupil Registration slip 2. Pupil Inbox after login in (Education Material assigned to them according department and level) 3. Pupil Result slip after checking result 3.10.2 Input specification The input specifications of a system are known from the output. After modeling the output the developer can deduce what is needed to be input to obtain the expected output. The necessity for quick response from the system determines the need for an online type of input; considerations are given to; (1) Registration form (2) Require field to search and retrieve a pupil’s result (3) Login details such as (Registration Number and Password for pupil) and Administrator Id and password for Admin. In the design of this work, Registration Number and password are used to give pupils access to their Personal contents. The Registration number which is issued to the pupil during registration together with the password he/she chooses serves as input during login. The password is designated in such a way that it allows a minimum of 6 and maximum of sixteen characters and it is encrypted to avoid unauthorized access. In login in, one can log in either as a Pupil or as an administrator. As an administrator you will be able to view all registered pupils, process and store pupil’s result and update information. The student can only have access to his or her own profile. 3.10.3 File Design The database management system used as the data repository in this design is MySQL server-side DBMS. It consists of the following tables 1. Register 2. Coursematerials 3. Lessonplans 4. Results 3.11 Overview of the proposed system flowchart The system has two main users and they have different views of the site. The diagram below illustrates the sequence of operation carried out by the different users in the System. The User View ENTER Figure 3.3The user view of the Education Portal system The Administrator View Fig 3.3 Admin View Educational Portal System for computer science Department CHAPTER FOUR SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION 4.0 INTRODUCTION This chapter deals with system implementation of the project. At the implementation stage of a project certain tools referred to as Development tools are needed. The development tools are defined as the basic required devices that are used during the implementation of Primary School Website to enable the programmer design effective and efficient software. From the design of this system there are some basic components that are needed to be added in the system when the development of the system was yet at an initial stage. These components can be referred to as the software development tool. 4.1JUSTIFICATION OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE The new system was implemented using Pre hyper processor (PHP) script, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), MYSQL Database, WAMP (Window Apache MysqlPHP ) server, fireworks and adobe Photoshop for graphic design, Swissmax for animation. PHP was used because the programming language has the advantage of easy development, flexibility, supports web application and data manipulation and it has the ability of providing the developer/programmer with possible hints and it produces a graphical user interface. Also PHP supports modular programming and hence the research finds it suitable for the design of this software. 4.2 SYSTEM CONTROL System control is the element that guides the system.It is the decision-making sub-system that controls the pattern of activities governing input, processing and output. It also keeps the system within the boundary set. For example, control in a ‘computer system’ is maintained by the control unit that controls various units by means of passing different signal through wires. In this Primary School Website the Navigational Menu controls other sub units of this website. 4.3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS A Computer system is made up of units that are put together to the work as one in other to achieve a common goal. There are two parts of the computer system, namely and they form the requirement of this system. 4.3.1 Software Requirement Software is a program used by computers to facilitate their operations and utilization. It gives the computer the capability of doing whatever the user wants. A computer without software is like an empty box. Software can be of two types; namely I. System software II. Application software The system software is a program written by manufacturer to create an interface for the user. It creates a communication session between the hardware and the user, this software has no limited requirement since it is platform independent. It can run on any vendor’s operating system. The application also known as a user programs is developed to help provide a particular solution to a problem. For the software requirement for the database warehouse to run properly, Java run time be installed. The software required for this system to run successfully on an environment are: General requirement 1. Operating System 2. Web browser 3. A web Server Apache (On the server Side) 4. A Server side Database Management System (MYSQL) 4.3.2 Hard Ware Requirement The Following Processor -512MHz minimum but 500mhz recommended 5. Hard disk- not ratified 6. RAM-250Mb minimum but 512 recommended 7. Display -5VGA 4.4 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS In implementation stage, the System is built following the design documents exactly. It involves writing actual codes in accordance with the design document, testing the software, installation of the software, file conversion and other implementation details. 4.4.1 CODING Coding is of paramount importance in the development of any computer based information system. This involves writing various different codes or instructions to enable the computer perform the task. The Primary School Website is composed of Pupil registration module,result generation Module, report generation Module and result compilation and publishing module etc. These modules are packaged based on the activities and transactions performed by Nekede Staff Primary SchoolOwerri. 4.4.2 SYSTEM TESTING The entire system was as well tested (test run) in general along side with the old system in other to identify areas of further enhancement and development. 4.4.3 TRAINING AND RE-TRAINING OF STAFF After the installation of the new system, the ICT directors (admin), the students (users) and other departmental personnel involved in the use of the website were trained. Some with little knowledge of computing were re-trained to master this particular website. The procedure for the training is as followed: 1. How to boot a computer system 2. How to host a website (i.e get the website ready for browsing) 3. How to register a how browse a website from a remote Server 4. How to register a student in the Portal 5. Viewing reports of a given patients medical history 6. How to view all the registered students 7. Upload Materials for registered courses 4.4.4 FILE CONVERSION This involves the conversion of manual data (the old system) to electronic data. The converted data can be used as desired by user(s). The file or data conversion is done without loss of accuracy. 4.4.5 CHANGEOVER PROCEDURE When the new system has been thoroughly tested and proven to be reliable and satisfactory, a changeover will be made discarding the old system and introducing the new system. In considering a suitable method of changeover, different factors have to be put into considerations. One of such factor is cost effectiveness of the implementation. Since the system design is costly, care should be taken when choosing the changeover procedure during the implementation to avoid system collapse. There is different change over method that can be used in changing over to the new system which are as followed: 1. Parallel conversion: This is a situation where both old and new system is sued simultaneously until it is ascertained that the new system performs correctly, hence the organization switch over the new system completely. This method serves a dual purpose; Testing system and also making provision for a standby incase the new system failed. 2. Direct Cut Over: This has to do with discarding the old system and immediately using the new system. This method is suitable in cases where there is no similarity between the old and the new system or where the organization cannot cope with the cost of running the two systems together. 3. Phase Conversion: This is a situation where a portion of the new system is used until it is ascertained that it works correctly and them the remaining portion is converted. 4. Pilot conversion: This entails having a small group people using the system and if it works correctly, the remaining groups are converted. 4.4.6 COMMISSIONING Primary School Website is commissioned to The Nekede Staff Primary School Owerri for managing pupils’ records and processing and checking result for pupils. 4.4.7 USER MANUAL The user manual for this system contains lectures on the following packages. 1. Hosting a website (i.e get the website ready for browsing) 2. Registering and browsing a website from a remote Server 3. Registering a pupil in the Portal 4. Viewing reports of an all registered pupils and their respective subjects. 5. Upload academic Material required for all registered subjects. CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION 5.1 SUMMARY With the recent development of information technology, it is obvious that computer is an indispensable tool in almost all aspects of men’s daily activity. The introduction of computer in the organization precisely in an academic institution’s has without doubt made the running of institutions more effective and less tedious. The information requirement of the management and that of the extended world of the organization is now easily reached when compared with paper file system. Therefore, the implementation of a Primary School Website is one of the most important systems that have gone a long way in improving the overall performance of pupils’ of a primary school. 5.2 RECOMMENDATION The following recommendations based on the research finding are been made to perhaps guide Nekede Staff Primary School in implementation of the online registration of pupils, result processing and Checking System. Installation of all the components of this system on the school network is recommended, proceeded by handing it over to an ICT professional for effective management. There should be a genuine and functional need for the project and not a proposed need for it. If the executive board has endorsed the feasibility study and report, then it been recommended that a certified computer/information technology professional, analyst /programmers should be employed to take over the management of the affairs of IT department of the school, so that any hitch could be effectively handled to ensure a smooth run. A comprehensive program and refresher course should be organized by the computer expects on operations in a network environment. In the development of this project, which involves detail processing of pupil results, emphases were on subsystem- Pupil Registration, result compilation and dissemination. Nekede Primary School was used here as the case study but with the little amendments these subsystems can equally been used for other schools in Owerri. Each of these subsystems will require detailed analysis before their design in other to optimize the indispensable use of an automated Polytechnic recording system. 5.3 CONCLUSION Every project usually has it objectives, which it works toward to, and usually some means may be used to achieve an end. The research study has adopted several activities and all other associated means by which a primary school registration and result checking is done. It achieved it objectives which is to convert the manual processes associated with pupil registration, result compilation and result publishing in Nekede Primary School to automated process. The project work followed a systematic approach through careful studies, analysis and design to code and implement a web portal system for registering pupils, processing and checking their results and keeping track of all the records needed to improve the academic performance of Nekede Primary School Pupils. Though it was designed solely for Nekede Staff Primary School, Owerri, but with little amendment it can serve in other Schools. REFERENCES Turner, M & Rack, J (2004).The study of dyslexia. Birkhäuser, ISBN 978-0-306-48531-2 Dustmann, C & Fitzenberger, B (2008). The economics of education and training.Springer,ISBN 978-3-7908-2021-8 Stephens, T (2013-11-28). Primary school report.ChildCareIntro.com. Retrieved 2013-12-09. Samuel, L (1846), Female biography: containing notices of distinguished women Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle. p. 230 New Lanark Kids: Robert Owen Education in Robert Owen's New Society: the New Lanark Institute andschools Socialist - Courier: Robert Owen and New Lanark. Socialist-courier.blogspot.co.uk.Retrieved 2013-11-27. Wilderspin, S (1823). The Importance of Educating the Infant Poor. London. Budapest Lexikon, 1993 Public Primary school Education In Hungary: A Historical Survey, 1980 Watertownhistory.org Retrieved 2013-11-09 Olsen, M (1955). The development of play schools and primary schools and ananalysis of a sampling of these institutions in Alberta. APPENDIX I SOURCE CODE Nekede Staff Primary School .::Administrator's Login Page 0){ displayMessage("This PIN has been used"); exit; } $result = mysql_query("insert into payment values('','$pin','$reg_no')"); if(!$result){ displayMessage("Could not execute the insert query"); exit; } displayMessage("New PIN successfully Inserted"); ?> 0){ displayMessage("Invalid Parent/Guardian Login
Consult the Administrator for rectification"); exit; } $result = mysql_fetch_array($result); ?> .:<?php echo $result['onames'] ?> 's Login Page ; APPENDIX II GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE Home Page Admin Login Portal Admin View Registration Pin Portal Process Result Portal Pupils Result Processing Portal