Developing Quality Assurance Culture for Sustainable University Education in Nigeria

The relevance of any university education depends on quality parameters that should be specified, adhered to and sustained. The development of quality assurance culture in Nigerian university education is imperative, considering the fact that globalization, mobility of labour, competition and the quest for best practices have subjected universities to international comparison. This article, therefore, examines the various key parameters bothering on developing and sustaining quality assurance culture in Nigerian universities, and explores strategies aimed at improving and sustaining a quality culture at the university level. Furthermore, it proposes a quality assurance model for Nigerian universities, and concludes that institutional paradigm shift towards a quality culture is imperative for sustainable university education in Nigeria. Key Words: Quality Assurance, Sustainable, Development, Culture, University, Education.

Managing Cross-Border Tertiary Education in an Era of Economic Recession in Nigeria

Cross- border tertiary education can be described as the movement of people, knowledge, programmes, providers, curricula, projects, research and services in higher education across national or regional jurisdictional borders.  Cross border higher education is a step in aligning education to international standards and being responsive to the impact of globalisation. The mobility of students, academic exchange programmes, knowledge and even values has been part of tertiary education for centuries, but it has recently grown at an unprecedented level .Given the limited resources occasioned by the current economic recession in Nigeria, it is imperative that cross border tertiary institutions appreciate the potential for establishing regional networks to compete with other regions of the world.  This paper, therefore, discusses cross border tertiary education in the Nigerian context and the impact of economic recession on tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It also proffers some management initiatives aimed at providing effective response to the impact of economic recession on cross border tertiary education in Nigeria, and concludes that tertiary institutions can take advantage of these management initiatives to foster intellectual advancement that could contribute to the realisation of the broader goals of cross- border tertiary education in a recessed Nigerian economy. Keywords: Managing; Cross border; Education; Recession; Economy

An Empirical Review of English Language Teaching in Congo

This contribution examines the pro and cons on the English language teaching practice in a non-English speaking country, Congo. It appears that English language is solely taught for examination purposes what is best summarized in terms of eye to read, think to write when the mouth remains shut. Oral communication is in a poor relation in language teaching and learning in Congo. One of the reasons is the inefficiency of the course of English phonetics and phonology at the Teachers Training College coupled with the lack of English linguistic background to prospective teachers

Lumbar puncture must it be preceded by the ocular fundus? Misconceptions and bad practices at the University Hospital of Brazzaville

Background: The ocular fundus is the basis for the diagnosis of eye posterior segment lesions. Increasing the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the optic nerve, whatever the cause, can lead to papilledema which signing intra cranial hypertension. The ophthalmology department of the University Hospital of Brazzaville (UHB) performs about twenty ocular fundus a week. It is not uncommon to read the ocular fundus to exclude intra cranial hypertension and then perform a lumbar puncture.Objective: To remember that the intra-cranial hypertension does not mean that there is a risk of cerebral engagement.Design: Transversal and analytical study.Subjects: Hospitalised patients’.Results: A total of 35 applications form were read. All (100%) had as indication of ocular fundus to exclude intra-cranial hypertension for achieving a lumbar puncture.Conclusion: Confusion between intra-cranial hypertension and the risk of cerebral engagement is still common at the UHB. This has the effect of delaying or not realising the lumbar puncture which is the basis for the diagnosis of meningitis, increasing the morality associated with this serious disease. Do not make a lumbar puncture pending ocular fundus is a medical error that can be fatal for the patient

Eales’ Disease: Case report

Eales’ disease is a retinal vasculopathy of unknown origin. Ischaemic step associated retinal perivasculitis. Neovascularisation step after the previous one, characterised by vitreous haemorrhage in relation with retinal neo vessels. This observation presents the first reported case of this pathology in Brazzaville. A man of 32 was followed for more than five episodes of vitreous haemorrhage over three years. These episodes had an average duration of two months, inter-spersed with complete clinical silence period of variable duration. During crises, visual acuity was under 2/10, and then it went back up to 10/10 spontaneously. Successive tests were normal: blood count, serologies (syphilis, HIV, Lyme), blood tests (converting enzyme, angiotensin II, calcium), tuberculin skin test, fluorescein angiography (FA), chest x-ray. The last episode was unusual, by the depth of visual impairment (light perception), by the existence of retinal neovascularisation (sea fan aspect). The outcome was favorable after retinal photocoagulation and corticotherapy

Risk Factors for Nosocomial Infection in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit by the Japanese Nosocomial Infection Surveillance (JANIS)

We evaluated the infection risks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) using data of NICU infection surveillance data. The subjects were 871 NICU babies, consisting of 465 boys and 406 girls, who were cared for between June 2002 and January 2003 in 7 medical institutions that employed NICU infection surveillance. Infections were defined according to the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance (NNIS) System. Of the 58 babies with nosocomial infections, 15 had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the odds ratio for nosocomial infections was significantly related to gender, birth weight and the insertion of a central venous catheter (CVC). When the birth weight group of more than 1, 500g was regarded as the reference, the odds ratio was 2.35 in the birth weight group of 1,000-1,499g and 8.82 in the birth weight group of less than 1,000g. The odds ratio of the CVC () for nosocomial infection was 2.27. However, other devices including artificial ventilation, umbilical artery catheter, umbilical venous catheter, and urinary catheter were not significant risk factors. The incidence of MRSA infection rapidly increased from 0.3% in the birth weight group of more than 1,500g to 2.1% in the birth weight group of 1,000-1,499g, and to 11.1% in the birth weight group of less than 1,000g. When the birth weight group of more than 1,500g was regarded as the reference, multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the odds ratio was 7.25 in the birth weight group of 1,000-1,499g and 42.88 in the birth weight group of less than 1,000g. These odds ratios were significantly higher than that in the reference group. However, the application of devices did not cause any significant differences in the odds ratio for MRSA infection.</p

Conjunctival cancers in HIV patients at the university hospital of Brazzaville

Background: Conjunctival cancers are masses raised or flat, located in or directly under the conjunctival mucous membrane covering the anterior sclera, tarsus and conjunctival dead-end. These tumours usually occur in the elderly or in cases of HIV/AIDS.Objective: To list the different types of conjunctival cancer in cases of HIV/AIDS at the University Hospital of Brazzaville.Design: It was a descriptive and transversal study, conducted between January 2008 and December 2012.Setting: The University Hospital of Brazzaville.Subjects: HIV patients under anti-retroviral treatment or not seen for conjunctival cancer histologically proven were selected.Results: Twenty-eight patients (28) were selected including a woman at 30 weeks of gestation. Two types of cancers were diagnosed, Carcinoma in situ (28.57%) and Squamous Cell Carcinoma (71.43%), no secondary tumour. There were anti-retroviral treatment failure in 89.29% of the cases.Conclusion: Squamous Cell Carcinoma was the most common conjunctival cancer. Better compliance of anti-retroviral treatment can reduce the prevalence of these tumours