Gender enrolment status in higher education courses : a situation assessment and analysis of a South Eastern Federal University
For two decades now, there has been a heightened interest on gender equity in educational access. This interest is stimulated by the realization that one of the most effective strategies for promoting economic and social development in developing countries is education for all. In recognition of the positive impact of girl-child education, various organizations (UNICEF, UNESCO, CEDAW, CIDA, FAWEN) have mounted many intervention programs and campaigns aimed at closing the wide gender gap in access to and achievement in education in Africa. A situation assessment and analysis on gender enrolment status in different countries by UNICEF in 2003 indicated that significant gender disparities still exist in many African countries. Though Nigeria made meaningful progress in ensuring gender equity in this area at the primary education level with a gender gap ratio of only 5 percent, however, being a highly patriarchal society, home and societal roles are still gender stereotyped. This is reflected in the admissions into different higher education courses in the universities. This paper assesses the gender status in enrolment into different faculties in a south eastern university in Nigeria. Enrolment status by male and female students into arts and science based courses offered in this university from 2008 to 2011 was assessed. Four research questions guided the study. Results indicated that in spite of the profuse efforts made so far to bridge the gender gap in education access in Nigeria, many higher education courses are still being construed as either masculine or feminine. Evidence of this gender gap, it is hoped, will sensitize the government, educational institutions and the general public on the current gender situation in human capital empowerment for necessary interventions.
Mathematics Education in Nigeria: Gender and Spatial Dimensions of Enrolment
KEYWORDS Gender and Spatial Patterns. Geo-political Zones. Counseling. Tertiary level of Education ABSTRACT Mathematics is an essential course for scientific and technological development of any country . Literature indicates low enrolment of students in Mathematics Education when compared with other courses in Social Sciences and Arts, especially at the tertiary level of Education. This development is viewed with grave concern for teaching and learning of Mathematics in schools. In view of this, the study examines the spatial and gender patterns of students' enrolment for Mathematics Education in Nigerian Universities. This is with a view to identifying areas of deficiencies in order to adopt appropriate strategies in teaching and learning of Mathematics and improve the enrolment for Mathematics Education in Nigerian Universities. The study obtained data from six Universities randomly selected from each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. The data collected were analyzed using both the descriptive and inferential statistics. The results show significant gender and spatial dif ferences in the enrolment for Mathematics Education in Nigerian Universities. Based on these findings, the study recommends some strategies for bridging the gap in students' enrolment for Mathematics Education. These include provision of incentives and counseling services to students at both secondary and tertiary levels of Education.
The National PKI of Peru: a new certification hierarchy
In order to guarantee secure transactions through the Internet and to generate strong evidence that could be used in case of future legal disputes, several countries around the world have promoted and regulated the use of digital signatures based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). However, despite the high expectations, its implementation has achieved neither the desired results nor its globalization. Many of the reasons were discovered years ago, but they are still open problems for the scientific community nowadays. In order to consider the case of the national PKI of the Peruvian state as empirical evidence for studies that address the open problems, this article describes the details about a new certification hierarchy which is expected to overcome some of its predecessors’ limitations. It is also expected that the information disclosed in this article could be useful to other countries for making a preliminary assessment for possible cross-border recognition of Peruvian digital signatures.