Which are the best Universities in Africa ?

1) University of  Cape Town
2) Cairo University
3)University of Pretoria
4)Universiteit selleinbosch
5)University of Witwatersrand
6)University of KwazuluNatal
7)University of South-Africa
8)The American University in Cairo
9)Mansoura University
10)University of The Western Cape

which are the best universities in Nigeria ?

1)University of Ibadan
2)University Of  illorin
3) University of Benin
4)Obafemi Awolo University
5) Ahmedu Bello University
6)University of Jos
7)University of Lagos
8)University of Agriculture Abeokuta
9) University of Port-Harcourt
10)Lagos State University

Harnessing the power of your Brain

They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but when it comes to the brain, scientists have discovered that this old adage simply isn’t true. The human brain has an astonishing ability to adapt and change—even into old age. This ability is known as neuroplasticity. With the right stimulation, your brain can form new neural pathways, alter existing connections, and adapt and react in ever-changing ways.
The brain’s incredible ability to reshape itself holds true when it comes to learning and memory. You can harness the natural power of neuroplasticity to increase your cognitive abilities, enhance your ability to learn new information, and improve your memory.

Memory tip 1: Don’t skimp on exercise or sleep

Just as an athlete relies on sleep and a nutrition-packed diet to perform his or her best, your ability to remember increases when you nurture your brain with a good diet and other healthy habits.

When you exercise the body, you exercise the brain

Treating your body well can enhance your ability to process and recall information. Physical exercise increases oxygen to your brain and reduces the risk for disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.Exercise may also enhance the effects of helpful brain chemicals and protect brain cells.

WHY STUDENTS FAIL EXAMS (3)

From the previous write-ups , you got to know that it is not just about reading but reading with direction.  

STUDY THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY :

2^nd EXAMPLE :

I just passed a written aptitude test and interview conducted by a graduate-trainee outfit . The exams were VERY TOUGH. And I guess you want to know if I passed . Okay ,I have an option to keep you waiting but i’ll just tell you straight-I PASSED . I passed with a B+.  You want to know why ? I did not think I was going to pass with this grade level .

I got  into the exam hall and once we were served the questions , I discovered we had just been given thirty minutes to solve about fifty questions. Now . you know  , I do not exaggerate. SO , I mean fifty ‘solid’ questions. I concentrated  on the questions I could easily give answers to and immediately did justice to them. I knew I did not have time on my hands , so I decided to make sure all the questions I answered were correct . I did a lot of thinking before ticking an option and although I could not finish all the  questions , I still made a good grade.

This is an area where many students ‘blow it’. After studying carefully  and expecting to have all the best  grades , some students go in and do not  take the  time to  go through the questions before putting down answers . The result is students who write O.P- Off Point. If you have written off point and you are wondering why even after writing all you did , you did not make your desired grades.

LOOK THROUGH YOUR ANSWER SHEET

Now if you are not familiar with the use of past  questions , you are doing some serious harm to yourself. You should try to  use past questions because they help you familiarize with the lecturers mindset and what he expects from you when you are writing his papers. You should endeavor to me save enough time to look then your answer booklet. Correct your mistakes . Cross your T’s and dot your  I’s.  The reason many students overlook  this is either due to over-confidence or carelessness .If  you miss this , you would pay dearly.

3^RD EXAMPLE :

A lecturer once told us to box’ our answers after solving the exam problems. He did not want to look at the steps taken-Just the answer in a box. I did solve the problems , but I did not ‘box’ my answers. I also did not  ‘save’ enough time to go through my work and it cost me a  lot.

To be continued

WHY STUDENTS FAIL EXAMINATIONS (2)

Now to major issues at  hand. In the last piece , we talked about some of  the unfavorable experiences some students have had to go through because they do not have knowledge of ‘what  to do. This would soon be a thing of the past once you are done reading this piece and subsequent ones.

If you must pass all your exams in school and a good number of those you would write after school , then you must :

DO DIRECTIONAL READING FOR EACH EXAM

You may wonder why I am using the term ‘directional reading’. Well , the reason is not far-fetched . I have been close to quit a number of people . Some who made very good grades in and out  school and those who are  not so proud of their results.  The difference is in ‘How they read’.

You may have noticed that some of those students who read a lot do not  make all the good grades. I’ll give you some examples to buttress these points and I hope you pay close attention.

1^ST EXAMPLE  :

A young man just came  into school .It was his first year and he had done his registration late. Hostels had been allocated to students already and it was fast  approaching the time for  the semester exams. He was a student of mechanical engineering.

To ensure he did not have any carry-overs , he decided to meet senior colleague in his discipline. He was fortunate to have met  a young genius called ‘Lord’ Obigal. This young man was seen as a genius and had been christened ‘LORD’ by his colleagues. Obigal led this young man through the most important aspects of the courses he was to write . He did not have much time. He just ‘concentrated’ on the most important areas he had been shown and read up all the notes ,text-books and past questions ONLY  on the areas he had been shown.

He passed that first semester with a G.P.A of 4.50. It was a big supprise to him but not to his mentor who had become a pro in exam-related issues.

When I set out  to know why  this ‘Lord’ had become so good at coaching students on how to pass exams , I discovered he had gained the knowledge after very bitter experience in the past. He had failed his JAMB (Joint Admissions And Matriculation Board ) exams thrice , He failed IJMB (Interim Joint Matriculation Board ) and had failed SAT. So , he had learnt from his failures. In case you do not want to learn from the university of hard knocks , then your should get your chairs closer and listen up.

WHY STUDENTS FAIL EXAMINATION (1)

Examinations are set by various institutions of learning to determine the level of understanding students have on available subject materials. The level of expectancy is non-uniform. Some students are expected to give more than others.

The sad thing is ; many students have not taken the time to know how to pass exams. This accounts for the mass failure of students at different levels irrespective of the I.Q level of the individual. It is known that some very bright students fail exams while the not-so-bright ones do well sometimes. This is not a rule , so I do not expect you to ask of exceptions. In this piece , we shall be looking at some of the reasons why failure in examination has become quite ‘rampant’.

Take a look at this . It is an experience I had in school .I remember , we were to write a  paper. The course was Engineering Thermodynamics II. Those who are familiar with this subject know that it is a challenging  subject  for all those studying for a degree in Mechanical Engineering in any university around the world. Well , good grades don’t come easy. Now listen closely , the lecturer taught us using CLOSED FEED HEATERS. When we were to write the exams , we were given OPEN FEED HEATERS.  This change in the question automatically changed the method and approach to  solving the problem.  Well , your guess is as good as mine ; many students failed the subject and had to do a re-sit.

Another case study  , this time, we had just come into school and  as Engineering students ( Please forgive me for using Engineering-related disciplines , It is my area of specialization). This time , we had to write a course called HISTOR OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. It  required a lot o cramming and  a lot of reading. You had to be familiar with names and dates. Many students failed this courses and those who did not fail , had bad grades.

Examinations are set by various institutions of learning to determine the level of understanding students have on available subject materials. The level of expectancy is non-uniform. Some students are expected to give more than others.

The sad thing is ; many students have not taken the time to know how to pass exams. This accounts for the mass failure of students at different levels irrespective of the I.Q level of the individual. It is known that some very bright students fail exams while the not-so-bright ones do well sometimes. This is not a rule , so I do not expect you to ask of exceptions. In this piece , we shall be looking at some of the reasons why failure in examination has become quite ‘rampant’.

Take a look at this . It is an experience I had in school .I remember , we were to write a  paper. The course was Engineering Thermodynamics II. Those who are familiar with this subject know that it is a challenging  subject  for all those studying for a degree in Mechanical Engineering in any university around the world. Well , good grades don’t come easy. Now listen closely , the lecturer taught us using CLOSED FEED HEATERS. When we were to write the exams , we were given OPEN FEED HEATERS.  This change in the question automatically changed the method and approach to  solving the problem.  Well , your guess is as good as mine ; many students failed the subject and had to do a re-sit.

Another case study  , this time, we had just come into school and  as Engineering students ( Please forgive me for using Engineering-related disciplines , It is my area of specialization). This time , we had to write a course called HISTOR OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. It  required a lot o cramming and  a lot of reading. You had to be familiar with names and dates. Many students failed this courses and those who did not fail , had bad grades.

As I proceed , I shall reveal some more examples from past experiences. From the stories I have told , I hope you have been able to see some reasons why students fail their exams. You may think I am blushing , but in case you have not heard, about 90% of those who wrote the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Commission) job aptitude test failed. Needless to say , Nigeria has experienced an astronomical rise in the level of failures at all levels of professional and external exams written in  the recent past.

Why has failure become a recurring decimal ? Is it possible to overcome failure whenever you write exams ? How else am  I suppose to study for my exams to help  me recall what I have read to enable me pass my exams ?

As I proceed , I shall reveal some more examples from past experiences. From the stories I have told , I hope you have been able to see some reasons why students fail their exams. You may think I am blushing , but in case you have not heard, about 90% of those who wrote the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Commission) job aptitude test failed. Needless to say , Nigeria has experienced an astronomical rise in the level of failures at all levels of professional and external exams written in  the recent past.

Why has failure become a recurring decimal ? Is it possible to overcome failure whenever you write exams ? How else am  I suppose to study for my exams to help  me recall what I have read to enable me pass my exams ?

OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS "KICKED THE BUCKET"

Osama Bin Laden - the erstwhile leader of the al qaeda force is dead ! Where it not that this statement was  made by president Barrack Obama himself , it would have been one of the jokes told on all fools day. But that is the truth ;  plain and simple . His death has thrown up a lot of issues around the world. Mixed reactions trail the death of this warlord. His death is a  proof of the superiority of the good over evil. At least, the world has gotten rid of one terrorist.
The question , however , is this "Would the death of Osama Bin Laden lead to  the extinction of the al-qaeda network ?" This is a question that must be answered so  we know if it is time to sleep with our two eyes open ! Various world leaders , peasants , Americans and Africans alike are already responding to the death of Osama Bin Laden.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed "the tenacity of the United States" in its 10-year hunt for the al-Qaida leader while Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi called his death a "great result in the fight against evil."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was "a resounding victory for justice, for freedom and for the shared values of all democratic countries that fight shoulder to shoulder against terror."
"the killing of bin Laden came nearly 13 years after the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks blamed on al-Qaida that killed 225 people"- Kenyan President -Mwai Kibaki

A BRIEF HISTORY ON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF OSAMA BIN LADEN
Al Qaeda was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden to consolidate the international network which he supposedly established during the Afghan war. Its goals were the advancement of Islamic revolutions in the Muslim world and fighting agains all forms of  foreign intervention in the Middle East.Osama bin Laden
Al Qaeda was founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden to consolidate the international network he established during the Afghan war. Its goals were the advancement of Islamic revolutions throughout the Muslim world and repelling foreign intervention in the Middle East.

Bin Laden was the  son of a billionaire Saudi businessman, became involved in the fight against the Soviet Union’s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. Following the first Gulf War, Al Qaeda shifted its focus to fighting the growing U.S. presence in the Middle East, especialy , in Saudi Arabia which is known to be the ancestral home to Islam’s greatest prophets and ideologies. Al Qaeda always opposed the stationing of U.S. troops on "the holiest of Islamic lands " and waged an extended campaign of terrorist attacks against US troops  and embassies  . All this are now over and the US can now breathe a sigh of relief.

AFTER HIS DEATH WHAT NEXT ?
 The death of one dictator or evil despot does not necessarily mean the extinction of evil. Did the US do the right thing in the out right assassination of Osama Bin Laden ? Do you think his death can spark of a litany of reprisals against all American loyalists ? The war agains terrorism is a global war for all  . Every man has the right to express his opinions so long as he does not harm another in the process. A battle has just been won , but the war is not over !