BREAKING: FG Announces Reforms in Secondary Education, Introduces New Curriculum
By Doris Isreal Ijeoma The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman has that a new curriculum will be introduced in secondary schools nationwide by September 2024. The Minister made the disclosure while speaking at the ongoing 2024 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) policy meeting in Abuja, on Thursday. Mamman revealed that the new curriculum has been in the works for the past year and is set to be implemented in all public and private schools. The minister acknowledged the challenges facing the secondary education sector, including infrastructural deficits, unqualified teachers, obsolete curriculum, and deplorable libraries and laboratories. He expressed his commitment to addressing these issues through the new curriculum and collaboration with stakeholders. A stakeholders’ meeting has been scheduled for August 6, 2024, to finalize the plans, the minister said. More to follow…
BREAKING:Heavy Security As SSANU, NASU Members Gather In Abuja For Nationwide Protest
By Doris Isreal Ijeoma There is heavy security at the Unity Fountain in Abuja as a group of demonstrators from the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) gathered to participate in a nationwide protest. Several protesters have already arrived at the Unity Fountain, but some have been prevented from entering by security personnel. Following some commotion from the protesters, the gate has been opened, and the demonstrators have now used their trucks to block the entrance to the Unity Fountain. The protesters are calling for the release of their four months’ unpaid salaries and the reevaluation of the 2010 agreement with the Federal Government, among other requests. In 2022, both unions, along with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, went on a prolonged strike. While the SSANU and NASU strikes lasted four months, the ASUU strike continued for eight months. Despite President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the affected staff to receive their four-month salaries, SSANU and NASU members allege that they have not been paid, unlike ASUU members. Both unions have urged their members to participate in a nationwide protest on July 9 at all state chapters, with a subsequent national protest planned for Abuja today.
No plan to handover Public Varsities to Private Investors, FG
The Federal Government says there is no plan to hand over public universities to private investors. The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, made the clarification at the Second Quarterly Engagement of the ministry with Heads of units and chief executive officers of parastatals and agencies under the ministry. NAN reports that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the federal government of plans to hand over federal universities to investors through public-private partnerships. ”There is no plan to sell off universities to investors,” he said, noting that the policy of the government allowed for transnational education. According to him, transnational education is a policy on what this government is doing to open up tertiary education by taking people from the rest of the world to come and invest in our tertiary system. “Some people are carrying information that the federal government is selling off to private investors its universities. This is absolute lie and completely false. “This government believes in our public institutions. However, as we all know this government has reforms that this country needs. “The private sector will play a major role in the provision of tertiary education, as there are more private universities in Nigeria than public universities combined. “What this government has done is to open up the tertiary education level, in particular the universities, for global competitiveness,” he said. The minister stressed the need to allow those who operate universities at the international level to come into the country and set up institutions either for themselves or in collaboration with our local universities. He said that this was in no way to sell its institutions, noting that guidelines on transnational education had been in place. Mamman said the country must take a cue from what is obtainable in other countries so as to benefit from the advantage of transnational education. “In other parts of the world, like Asia, they have benefited immensely of having international institutions in those countries. “They have taken standards to those countries and also for the exchange and bringing money to those countries,” he said. He further said that the engagement with heads of agencies as parastatals was to review the progress, challenges and reaffirmed commitment toward educational landscape of the country.
Strike: Nigerian govt, ASUU in closed-door meeting
The Federal Government delegation and the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, are in closed door meeting to discuss lingering crisis and avert strike by the Union. The meeting holding on Thursday in the office of the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman,commenced at about 4.30p.m. The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu and other top officials in the ministry are in the federal government” team The ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, who led the union’s delegation told newsmen that the meeting was to deliberate on lingering issues affecting the universities to avert the planned strike actions. “There are a lot of issues that are outstanding within the system and we believe that before now, they would have been taken care of. ‘The issues would have been resolved in line with the promise made by President Bola Tinubu and there will not be strike in the university system. “We hope that this meeting will be able to resolve some of these issues so that we can move forward as a country as well as our university system,” he said. Earlier, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, said the meeting would provide an opportunity for both parties to rub minds on issues affecting the university system. Mr Mamman said that ASUU had earlier written to the ministry, detailing a number of issues and concerns affecting the universities and the union. He said that the issues required interactions between the union and government officials to avert any strike proposed by the union.
FG Reveals Those Exempted From Students Loan
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has revealed that Nigerian students studying abroad are ineligible for the newly introduced student loan scheme. The NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this information on Friday. The Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on June 12, aims to provide interest-free loans to indigent students attending Nigerian tertiary institutions. The move is in line with Tinubu’s campaign promise to enhance education funding. Dele Alake, a member of the former Presidential Strategy Team, noted the significance of this legislation in making education more accessible. Following a briefing from NELFUND led by Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, on January 22, the President instructed the Fund to extend interest-free loans to students pursuing skill-development programmes. Despite these delays, the scheme has seen significant interest, with 30,000 students successfully registering and over 60,000 individuals signing up on the NELFUND website. However, on May 22, 2024, a group of Nigerian students at Teesside University were expelled from their courses and ordered to leave the United Kingdom due to difficulties in paying their tuition fees on time, according to a BBC report. The students cited the devaluation of the naira as a significant barrier to meeting their financial obligations, which has led to a breach of their visa sponsorship requirements. Nevertheless, Sawyerr clarified that the loan scheme was exclusively for students studying within Nigeria. “Nigerians in Diaspora cannot benefit from the student loan. Nigerians schooling in the country are those we want to help. The law does not allow the FG to give loans to Nigerians studying abroad,” he stated. Criticising the exclusion of Nigerian students in foreign institutions from the recently introduced student loan scheme, the National Mobilisation Officer, Education Rights Campaign, Adaramoye Lenin, stated that this exclusion highlighted the inadequacy of the scheme in addressing the educational needs of Nigerian students. He argued that the government was using the loan scheme to avoid properly funding public education, instead shifting the financial burden onto students.
President Tinubu Directs Inclusion Of NOUN Graduates In NYSC Scheme
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has mandated the Federal Ministry of Education to develop guidelines for including graduates of the National Open University (NOUN) in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. This directive was given during the university’s 13th convocation ceremony, held at the University’s Convocation Arena in Jabi, Abuja. Represented by Biodun Saliu, Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), the President expressed his administration’s commitment to addressing educational inclusivity. “With the changing demographics of our great nation, the government has recognized the importance of allowing NOUN graduates to participate in the NYSC scheme,” President Tinubu stated, emphasizing the need to harness the potential of young Nigerians from all educational backgrounds. In a related development, President Tinubu also announced the resolution of the long-standing issue concerning the admittance of NOUN law graduates to the country’s law schools. “The doors of the Law School are now open to the graduates, ensuring equal opportunities for all,” he declared. This move is expected to remove any remaining barriers faced by NOUN graduates in legal education, further cementing the government’s stance on educational equality.
BREAKING: SSANU, NASU Declare 7 Days Warning Strike
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have declared a 7-day warning strike to demand the payment of four months of withheld salaries of their members, after the 2022 nationwide strike. The decision was part of the resolution of the joint action committee of the two unions, after a meeting which held in Akure at the weekend. Recall that President Bola Tinubu had directed that workers in the public universities that embarked on a prolonged strike in 2022 but were not paid salaries within the period of the strike by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari should be paid for four months. While the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation has paid the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, the four months as directed by the President, the three unions of non teaching staff are yet to be paid.
Tinubu’s daughter gets new appointment
Mujidat Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, daughter of President Bola Tinubu has been appointed as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Havilla University, in Nde Ikom, Cross Rivers State, Nigeria. She announced this in a post on her X page while expressing gratitude for the appointment. As the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Tinubu-Ojo will play a crucial role in overseeing and guiding the strategic direction of Havilla University. Pro Chancellors and Governing Council Chairs often play pivotal roles in higher education institutions’ governance, development, and sustainability.
Former Education Minister dies
Former Nigerian minister of education, Professor Fabian Osuji is dead. He died on Wednesday morning, according to a family member who confirmed the news. He had returned from a vacation in the United States on Saturday and had been treated for undisclosed medical issues. Osuji was born on January 20, 1942, and attended Holy Ghost College in Owerri, Government College in Umuahia, the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, Enugu State, and the University of Ibadan, Oyo State. He conducted his post-doctoral research at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. He became a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan in 1973, a post he held till 1981. He was also a Visiting Scientific Fellow at the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organization. He became a Dean of the College of Science, Dean of the College of Postgraduate Studies, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and member of the Governing Council of Imo State University. He was appointed Professor of Applied Biology, at St. John’s University, New York (CUNY) USA (1997-1999). He was also a Visiting Professor at several universities in Nigeria and worldwide. Known as a scholars’ scholar, he published 35 papers and books to his credit. He celebrated his 80th birthday in 2022 when family and friends gathered to extol the virtue of a man highly regarded as a sound educationist. The former educationist died aged 81.
NECO Releases 2023 November/December SSCE Results
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has unveiled the results of the external 2023 November/December Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), revealing a commendable 67.35% of candidates achieving five credits and above in English Language and Mathematics. The official announcement was made by NECO’s Registrar and Chief Executive, Professor Dantani Wushishi, at the headquarters in Minna, Niger State, on Monday. The results, accessible on the official NECO website, www.neco.gov.ng, were released just 67 days after the conclusion of the examination held from November 20 to December 20, 2023. Out of the 74,950 candidates who registered, 39,213 were males (52.31%) and 35,737 were females (47.68%). Notably, 50,066 candidates secured five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics, representing 67.35%. Furthermore, 84.11% of candidates, totaling 62,530, achieved five credits and above irrespective of English Language and Mathematics. Professor Wushishi also highlighted a decline in examination malpractice cases, with 8,518 reported cases, reflecting a 25.4% reduction from the previous year. Notable actions were taken, including blacklisting one centre each in Kaduna and Ogun States for whole centre cases, blacklisting two supervisors in Oyo and Lagos States for poor supervision, and blacklisting a Borno State centre for aiding and abetting through sharing WhatsApp messages. In a significant development, NECO introduced the e-Posting Software to streamline staff posting, addressing historical challenges such as lopsidedness and favoritism. The Registrar emphasized that this digitalized process would provide staff with notifications about eligible assignments at the beginning of each year, enhancing transparency and fairness.