Senate suspends amendment of JAMB Act

Despite its earlier proposal to amend the Act establishing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Senate has suspended the idea to allow for adequate consultation with experts.
A statement issued in Abuja yesterday by JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said the Chairman, Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Aliyu Wamakko, represented by Senator Ajayi Boroffice, made the announcement at an oversight visit to its Headquarters.
The suspension was to avoid impeding on the progress being made by JAMB in the conduct of examinations in Nigeria.
He said: “Your JAMB result is only valid for one year and we thought it would be better for it to be valid for at least three years. That would reduce the burden on the parents, students and even the institution that is conducting the test. I think it is good for all of us and would not be rejected

Gombe State to establish five new tertiary institutions

Gombe State government is to establish five tertiary institutions, in an effort to increase access to tertiary education in the state.
The gesture is also aimed at providing science and technical education to youths of the state, as well as, producing agricultural extension workers, who would contribute their quota to boosting agriculture in the state.
Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, stated this while speaking during the inauguration of five committees for the establishment of the institutions in on Tuesday.
Dankwambo recalled that at the inception of his administration, a high-powered committee on education was appointed to produce a blueprint that would facilitate development of education in the state.
“It is therefore gratifying to note that we have implemented recommendations of the committee, which resulted in the improvement of basic education, remodeling and expansion of secondary schools among others,” he said.

Senate asks FG to include pan-Africanism in schools’ curriculum

The Senate on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the Federal Government to include pan-Africanism in secondary schools curriculum.
It also advised that history and civic education should feature prominently nation’s secondary schools to further inculcate the spirit of pan Africanism in youths.
Furthermore, it urged the African Union (AU) to set aside a day for the celebration of former Nigerian president, Dr. Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, and other pan-Africanists.
The lawmakers at a resumed session, noted that the struggle for African unity, as championed by the founding fathers of the continent was fast being forgotten by Nigerian youths.
The resolution followed a motion on floor of the Upper Chamber, by Senator Shehu Sani, who

ASUU warns of looming crisis in Adekunle Ajasin varsity

Shortly after it suspended a three-month industrial action, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), has warned of an imminent strike action over alleged illegal appointment of some principal officers.
ASUU, in a statement made available to journalists in Akure recently and endorsed by the chairman, Dr. Sola Fayose, accused the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, of reckless abuse of office, giving him a one-week ultimatum to reverse the action.
Fresh from the recent strike over non payment of outstanding salaries and deductions, the union accused Igbekele of “brazen violation of rules and regulations,” which it said was capable of precipitating another round of instability in the institution, based on appointment of acting deans of faculties, and heads of department, while the last strike action was on.
Fayose disclosed that at the point of suspending the strike, ASUU called the attention of the vice chancellor to the infraction through a resolution of congress, which also demanded that the

Survival tips for private universities during recession

Since the law establishing private university was enacted in 2004-2005, educational investors and educational administrators in Nigeria have taken up the challenges to help the nation with their contributions to improve the quality of higher education by investing in the establishments of private universities and private polytechnics, and running them with or without profit motives.
It would have been a different story if private universities had come during the success years of “oil boom.” The present situation in the country has affected the management of private universities adversely. I mean the national economic situation. Let me borrow Prof. T.M. Yesufu’s (1996) summation of the Nigerian economic situation.
“Nigeria is suffering from the death throes of socio-economic ebola caused by a cross breed of the viruses of political myopia, moral bankruptcy and cultural decadence.”
This quotation is from Yesufu’s (1996) “The Nigerian Economy: Growth without Development.” Yesufu’s statement made in 1996 is even more relevant in today’s assessment of Nigeria’s

Education must top govts’ priority list – Oshiomhole

Governor Adams Oshiomhole says education must top the priority list of governments at all levels, if the country must make any headway. Speaking at the 20th convocation of the school, where seven finished in First Class Division for the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 sessions, Oshiomhole urged management of universities to, on their parts, ensure that schools are not shut saying shutting down schools affect Nigerian students’ abilities to compete with their foreign counterparts that enjoy uninterrupted academic calendars.
“There are many universities that are on strike, and ASUU has cleverly reversed the conventional adage, or even law, which says, ‘no work, no pay’. Now, ASUU members find themselves saying to now say, ‘no pay, no work’.
“As we speak, I am sure there are a number of universities that are not working because the states have not paid them, and also I am aware of reported cases of some state governments saying straight away to the universities that they are not going to be able to pay more than a fraction of the subvention that they have been paying on account of the current economic challenges. For

Borno LG introduces free feeding system, uniforms in schools

The Caretaker Chairman of Gubio Local Government Area of Borno state, Hon. Zanna Modu Gubio, in his ‘Social Welfare Programme’ has introduced free feeding of pupils in all the primary schools so as to encourage number of enrolments into western education.
The Chairman also distributed free school uniforms and teaching materials to the 21 schools now fully in operation following liberation of the communities by troops.
Gubio was among the 20 council areas in the state that witnessed series of Boko Haram attacks with destruction of lives and property worth billions of naira during the hit of insurgency, before it was liberated.
Speaking to Journalists during inspection of schools and commissioning of the newly reconstructed Council Secretariat worth N85 million, the Chairman said, apart from providing befitting teaching environment for students and conducive office Secretariat to staff, new general

Investigation on missing UNIOSUN students continues – CP

The Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Mr. Fimihan Adeoye, has said the police has not closed investigation into the case of two final-year students of the Osun State University who have been missing since September 4.
Adeoye, who succeeded Mr. Femi Oyeleye as the CP of the Osun State Police Command, said this during a briefing with journalists in Osogbo on Friday.

NYSC: Corp members to get free accommodation in Jigawa

The Jigawa State government has promised to construct lodges for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in each of the 27 local government areas of the State in 2017.
Head of the State Civil Service (HoS), Alhaji Muhammad Inuwa, made the disclosure on Thursday after meeting with the executives of the state chapter of the Muslim Corps members Association of Nigeria (MCAN) in Dutse, the Jigawa capital.
Inuwa disclosed that the lodges would be 10 bedrooms each to be situated in the headquarters of the councils.

FG to flag-off school feeding programme in Benue

The Federal government has flagged off its social welfare programme on the Home Grown School Feeding Initiative in Benue State with a three-day workshop for participating schools and food vendors.
Addressing participants and stakeholders on Thursday, Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom said there is a need to come up with practical models of implementing the programme successfully in the state and around the country.
Governor Ortom who pledged his commitment to the programme added that the state government will explore the opportunities of expanding its agricultural potentials and utilize most of its perishable produces through the programme.
He added that as Nigeria’s Food Basket, farm produce like yam and many others can be found in large quantities in the state, making it a pivotal partner of the Federal government Home Grown

Army donates teaching, learning materials to IDPs schools

The Nigerian Army on Friday donated teaching and learning materials worth several millions of naira to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Schools in Yola.
Presenting the items to the camp’s management, Maj.-Gen. Leo Irabor, Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, said that the gesture was to create quick impact to uplift the plight of the IDPs.
Irabor explained that the gesture was from the Nigerian Army quick impact project, soldiers of the education corps, and other officers deployed to teach in the various IDPs schools in the camps across the north east region.
“The Nigerian Army introduced a humanitarian dimension to the IDP camps to uplift their plight.
“And as part of the quick impact, Army deployed officers and soldiers of the education corps to teach in various IDPs camps in the North East region,’’ he said.
Irabor, who was represented by Brig.-Gen. B. Akinroluyo, said that the tragedy of insecurity is a

Utomi, Momodu task nation on intellectual leadership, youth policy

Former Presidential candidates of the African Democratic Party (ADP), Prof. Pat Utomi, and Publisher, Ovation Magazine, Mr. Dele Momodu, who ran on the platform of National Conscience Party (NCP) in 2011, have tasked the country on the need to build intellectual leadership with mental capacity and exposure.
Besides, they argued that such prerequisites were needed to lead the country out of its present woes and to formulate youth-oriented policies.
Speaking at the launch of a book ‘Our Entrepreneurship Mandate’ written by Ola Grace at the weekend, Momodu said the country was into the mess it found itself currently because most of the leaders it has produced lack the intellectual capacity to run a nation and have refused to seek advice on how to get things done.
On the other hand, Utomi said what the country needs today is leaders that can shape values

Teachers should not bear pains of recession — NUT boss

Chairman, National Union of Teachers, NUT, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area, Comrade A J Daggar Tolar, has called on state governors not to use the current recession as an excuse not to pay teachers’ salaries.
Comrade Tolar said this at an event organised by the chapter to commemorate 2016 World

I’ve forgiven my kidnappers – UNICAL’s Esuambuk

President of University of Calabar Staff Cooperative Society, Elder Esuambuk, has said he had forgiven those who masterminded his kidnapping.
He made the declaration during the just concluded cooperative society`s elections which ushered him into office as president.
He recounted his ordeal in the hands of kidnappers who held him hostage at the climax of the election campaign for the position of the society’s president.
The cooperative society`s helmsman said that his kidnappers alerted him that they were instructed by certain individuals to take him hostage until the elections were concluded before he could be released to join his loved ones.
Esuambuk said: “The kidnappers told me that they were sponsored to ensure that I don’t take part in the elections, that theynwere only asked to keep me after the election and they took my phones

Speculation abounds ahead of Nobel Literature Prize

Literary circles are abuzz with speculation ahead of Thursday’s Nobel Literature Prize announcement, with award watchers suggesting this year’s honours could go to a controversial writer such as Syrian-born poet Adonis.
The Academy is known for its cloak-and-dagger methods to prevent any leaks about its choice, resorting to codenames for authors and fake book covers when reading in public.
The list of nominees is never revealed and the jury’s deliberations are kept secret for half a century.
The suspense will come to an end on Thursday at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) when the winner is announced, ending an unusually long wait: it comes a week later than usual “for calendar reasons”, the Academy said in late September.
“That leaves a little more time to speculate” about the 2016 laureate, joked Swedish Academy member Per Wastberg, interviewed by AFP.
While perfectly in line with Academy statutes according to Wastberg, some Nobel watchers have interpreted the late date as a sign of discord over this year’s choice.
“If you ask me, it’s absolutely not a ‘calendar’ issue,” said Bjorn Wiman, cultural pages editor at

Illegal polytechnic uncovered in Ekiti

The Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday arraigned in a Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti an illegal polytechnic operator.
The alleged illegal operator, Johnson Babatola, was arraigned before Justice Taiwo Taiwo on a seven-count charge bordering on Advance Fee Fraud and operation of illegal Polytechnic.
Babatola, a former Principal Manager of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ado-Ekiti branch, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The EFCC said that the suspect was arrested following a petition from the National Board for Technical Education in Kaduna, alleging that he was operating an illegal Polytechnic named Teedek Polytechnic at Ilogbo, Ekiti State.
The board said that the accused had allegedly extorted gullible students, who were not aware of the status of the institution.

World Teachers’ Day: NUT warns against members’ retrenchment

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has warned state governments against retrenchment of teachers and reduction of their emoluments due to economic recession.
National President of the union, Comrade Michael Olukoya, gave the warning yesterday at the celebration of the 2016 World Teachers’ Day in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme for this year’s celebration is “Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status”.
The union honoured teachers for their role in development and described the plan to retrench teachers as misplaced.
He said that said such act would jeopardise the progress of public education and the future of the Nigerian child.
He also advised state governments to be alive to their responsibility of managing basic education.
“We demand that state governments should appreciate and take up their constitutional

Obasanjo, others harp on girl-child education

The significance of girl-child education to the socio-economic and political development of the country, was brought to the fore recently as stakeholders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and members of the academia, gathered in Lagos to launch a book, “Nigerian Women: Pioneers and Icons,” written by Prof. Bolanle Awe.
The book, which dwells on pioneers and icons among the country’s womenfolk, x-rays the pioneering efforts of women who “despite the odds in a male-dominated environment,” broke barriers and explored new frontiers to become historical figures in Nigeria’s contemporary history.
According to the author, a professor of history, former Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, and former Commissioner for Education in the old Western State, “The book is meant to inspire young girls to brave all odds and reach the top of their chosen careers.”
In the first part of a three-volume compendium, 33 women who ventured into otherwise

Imo teachers ask Okorocha to fulfil promises

Teachers in Imo State, yesterday called on the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to fulfill all the promises he made to them, just as they alleged that they have not been paid their salaries since January 2016.
Chairman of the Imo State Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, Comrade Napoleon Emenike Aniche stated this in his address presented at the 2016 World Teachers Day in the State.
He said: “It is indeed worrisome to note that despite the 70 percent salaries paid to your hardworking teachers, some have not been paid their January, or February, or March 2016 salaries. Some have been waiting for two months, some one month.We have a compilation of the teachers

Bankole wants criteria for admission into COEs re-evaluated

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, has called on the Federal Government to urgently re-evaluate the criteria for admission into colleges of education to ensure that the best and brightest students are attracted into the profession.
According to him, it is only in so doing that the manpower deficit in that sector would be addressed, while the country would have also set itself on the path to raising 21st century compliant teachers.
Bankole spoke while delivering a lecture titled, “Teachers’ Quality, Competitiveness, And Employability: Defining The Roles For College Administrators And Academics,” at the 2nd Distinguished Guest Lecture, organised by the Registry Department of the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The erstwhile lawmaker, who lamented that the current system pre-disposed us as a nation to select poorer academic performers to train as teachers for our children stressed, “If we are selecting poorer academic performers to train and teach our students, how can we expect our students to be high achievers, if all through their formative academic years, they are separated

Yabatech’s rector Ladipo seeks corporate help to produce globally-competitive graduates

Against the backdrop of obsolete teaching aids and equipment in some Nigerian tertiary institutions, and the compelling need to produce top-notch graduates that would fit into the increasingly advanced world of work, Rector, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr. Margaret Kudirat Ladipo, is appealing to corporate bodies to come to the aid of tertiary institutions.
According to her, corporate organisations and industrialists should endeavour to assist these institutions, through direct investments and donation of equipment, which she said would go a long way in bolstering teaching and learning.
Ladipo made the appeal at the commissioning of equipment worth N8m donated to the institution by the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN).“As an institution, YABATECH has continued to forge ahead in improving skills development, through the adoption of best practices and teaching methodologies in advanced economies. We need the support of well-meaning people at a critical time like this so that our goal to produce graduates for the global market and entrepreneurs would be realised fully.”