JAMB BEGINS SALE OF FORMS JAN 10, BANS CYBERCAFE OPERATORS

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said that it is set to commence sale of the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) form for prospective candidates on January 10, 2019. 

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who disclosed this at a meeting with Computer Based Test (CBT) centre operators in Lagos, also said that about 50 centres had been sanctioned by the board for various infractions and unethical practices. He said: Cyber cafes have been banned from registering candidates for the year 2019 examination over allegation of extortion. 

They were extorting and overcharging candidates, doing services that they do not have capacity to do. 

They keep on deceiving candidates and we have no way of tracking them because they are not registered. 

Thats why we banned them. We know there will be uproar because these cyber cafes make illegitimate money from candidates but we cannot leave the students at their mercy, particularly when people will say it is JAMB extorting them. 

Seven hundred and eighteen CBT centres have been registered across the country to handle the registration processes expected to last for six weeks. If you want to do any of our major services, choose any of them. 

The registrar also said the examination body had set up a committee of experts under Prof. Peter Okebukola to come up with an all-inclusive method to be able to bend the rule to suit blind candidates. Oloyede said only three institutions are yet to comply with the December deadline issued them to complete their admission process. 

(Guardian) 

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Government gives go-ahead to two-year degrees

Universities have been given the green light to charge up to 20% more a year for two-year degree courses.

Under the plan, students will pay a fifth (£5,500) less on tuition fees compared with peers on the traditional three-year courses, the Department for Education (DfE) says.

It follows a government consultation on shorter university courses, which supporters say offer more choice and flexibility, particularly for mature students.

Universities say the shorter degrees will still provide the same level of qualification, with the same amount of teaching.

Two-year accelerated degrees will see students taught for 45 weeks of the year, compared to the usual 30 weeks on traditional courses.

The new scheme is to be unveiled in a government response to the consultation, which will be published on Monday.

It will be subject to parliamentary approval.

Universities minister Sam Gyimah said: "Accelerated degrees not only make it possible for the next generation of students to access higher education and the undeniable financial, academic and personal benefits it has to offer but drives the sector to offer dynamic choices that serve students' needs.

"Providers will be able to tap into a new market of students, particularly mature students and those who commute, who were previously locked out of higher education.

"This provision creates a new arena of competition that delivers for students, taxpayers and employers."

Several groups have expressed concerns about accelerated degrees.

The University and College Union, which represents university researchers and teaching staff, said there is "an educational risk that fast track programmes will make it harder for students to combine study with periods of reflection, critical thinking and a 'deep approach' to learning".

It said it would also make it harder for students to earn money at the same time as studying, and would make it harder for those studying while trying to juggle other responsibilities like childcare.

Chief executive of the Russell Group, which represents 24 UK universities, Dr Tim Bradshaw, said: "Greater choice for students is always good but I would caution ministers against 'overpromising'.

"The government's own projection for the likely take-up of these degrees is modest and we actually hear many students calling for four-year degrees, for example, to spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad.

"I wouldn't want disadvantaged students to rule out a traditional three-year course because they didn't believe they could afford it."

(Sky News)

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FG BUDGETS N100 MILLION FOR RESEARCH IN UNIVERSITIES

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi says the government has budgeted the sum of N100 million as grants to carry out research in the mining sector in the nations universities. He stated at a valedictory ministerial briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, explained that the programme is aimed at creating innovation hubs nationwide and deepens expertise to grow the sector.

Fayemi, who quit the Federal Executive Council today, added that there are ongoing capacity developments for the staff in South Africa active mine sites, adding, training of security personnel of Presidential Special Mines Surveillance is on. We have received a waiver to recruit 53 critical professional, like geologists, inspectors/scientist officers to work in order to meet the projected 9 percent gross domestic products, he said. On accessing artisanal small miners N5 billion loans, the minister denied that government is not aware, adding, Bank of Industry, BOI, has criteria to be met before it is given.

According to him, N5 billion is a loan with 5 percent interest, adding, the bank cannot give out the loan because it was not a lottery, and no commercial bank can give its money like this. On mining sector, Fayemi argued that they have invested a lot of funds in the past two (2) years to ensure that the sector contributes optimally to a strong and virile economy.  He also noted they have contributed to a fight against corruption by identifying and bringing economic saboteurs in the mining industry to book and promote unity within the system.

(Guardian)

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School principal flees with N1.2m WASSCE fees

A 42-year old school principal, Michael Diekola, who allegedly defrauded his school of N1.2 million, was on Monday docked at an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.

The accused, who lives at 8, Alirat Badejo St., Oke Odo, Abule Egba, a suburb of Lagos, is being tried for fraud and stealing.

The prosecutor, Clifford Ogu, told the court that the offences were committed sometime in July 2014 at a private school — Queen Diana College, Oke Odo, Abule Egba.

Mr. Ogu, a police inspector, said the accused collected N1.2 million from students under the pretext of enrolling them for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

“The accused bolted with the money and all efforts to locate him were unsuccessful until he was sighted by one of the teachers and was immediately apprehended.”

The offences violated Sections 285 (1) and 312 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused denied the charge.

In her ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Taiwo Akanni, granted the school principal bail of N500, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

She ordered the accused to pay N250, 000 into the court’s Chief Registrar’s account as part of the bail conditions.

The case was adjourned to June 6 for mention.

(NAN)

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UTME candidates protest in Lagos, demand cancellation of exams

Hundreds of candidates in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on Tuesday stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly Complex at Alausa to protest what they called "the unacceptable irregularities" in the their results, calling for immediate cancellation of the ongoing examination.

The candidates who converged on Maryland around 12 noon were conveyed to Alausa by a convoy of buses of different sizes.

According to the candidates, the errors so far seen in their results and the shabby manner in which the examination was conducted are so grievous that nothing short of outright cancellation of the exercise would be acceptable.

The convener of the protest and president of the Association of Tutorial School Operators, Mr Sodunke Oludotun told Lagos Metro that the protest would continue on Monday.

"Is it compulsory for Dibu to use ICT to organise an exam as important as the UTME? It is a deliberate attempt to destroy the rights of the common people to good and quality education. What does the nation stand to gain when a 70-year old man toys with the destiny of 17-year olds," he said.

Oludotun, listed some of the problems encountered by students to include: changing of students' courses and subjects from their dream courses, arbitrary changing of examination centres to far distances with short notice, giving high scores to undeserving students, addition of 40marks to the scores of some students, and poor organisation of the exam nationwide.

Some of the students who spoke to Lagos Metro said as much as 100 marks were deducted from their marks.

"I originally scored 272," said Miss Olaofe Rasheedat who sat the exam at Maximum IT Centre, Onihale, Ogun State. "But my score was later changed to 172."

A young student identified simply as Aisha, narrated how she practically went through torture before she could even stand a chance of sitting for her papers.

According to the aggrieved young lady, less than 24-hours to the Dee-Day, she got a message from JAMB indicating that she had been posted to Osun State from Lagos. But rather than despair, she said she had to find her way to Osun, very early on the examination day, thus, arriving at the exam hall one-hour late.

"I was happy when I saw that all the questions set were taken from past questions, many of which I had treated before. Later I got a text on my phone that I scored 282, but when I went to the cyber cafe to print my results, I saw 232. I am demanding for an explanation to what happened to my 50 marks," she said.

At her centre which was in the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Aishat said that she had to battle with hours of technical problem as the computer assigned to her kept on logging her in and out while the exam was going on.

Similarly, another student, Kemisola Ogunleye, said she was abruptly posted to Efuze in Edo State from her choice state of Lagos.

"Going to a state I had never been to before just hours before the most important exam in my life yet, is an experience I will never want repeated in my life again," she lamented.

When the candidates waited unsuccessfully until about 3:30 pm, they began to throw stones at the Assembly building, causing the policemen stationed at the complex to use tear gas to restore order.

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Kwara to establish school for 'gifted' children

Kwara Government says it plans to establish a special secondary school to take care of the needs of gifted and talented children in each of the three senatorial zones of the state.

Alhaji Musa Yeketi, Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, stated this on Thursday in Ilorin during the weekly post State Executive Council Meeting press briefing.

He said the schools would be established one after the other, while his Ministry would later work out other details concerning admission criteria.

The commissioner said the government has approved the establishment of five Government Technical Secondary Schools and International Vocational Centre, Ajasse-Ipo.
He explained that students at the vocational centre would sit for the Federal Ministry of Labour Trade Test Grade III and II.

The commissioner said the Trade Test Grade III and II Certificates would be in addition to the conventional London City and Guild Certificate Examination.

Yeketi explained that the objectives were to make holders of both certificates internationally employable, self employed and job creators as against current trend of being job seekers.

In another development, the State Social and Welfare Directorate has been exorcised from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Culture and Tourism, and merged with that of the Ministry of Women Affairs.

Hajia Ayinke Saka, Commissioner for Women Affairs who disclosed this at the media briefing ,said the two affected ministries have been renamed.

Saka said her ministry will now be known as Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, while the other has been rechristened as Ministry of Art, Culture and Tourism.

The commissioner said the exercise was for harmonisation of duties and responsibilities.

She said it would enable her ministry effectively coordinate issues affecting the vulnerable groups in the society such as women, children, physically and mentally challenged persons.

(NAN)

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UTME: Confusion over alleged 40% marks

The allegations that some candidates who sat for the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination were awarded extra 40 marks created confusion in Abuja on Wednesday.

The examination began throughout the country on Saturday.

According to reports, the candidates allegedly received 40 marks extra after their results had been released online.

But a source said, “We did some findings but could not really get what exactly happened. We don’t have such information. We have checked our computer and there is nothing like that.

“If there are two results, the last one is more authentic. But to say that JAMB deliberately gave 40 marks, I don’t think there is anything like that.

“We would have loved to say nothing of such happened, but we don’t know where they got such information. Sometimes somebody will just come up with such information, and before you know, it will be everywhere.

“When we mark these scripts, we do what is called normalisation of scores. This is when the actual scores now comes out. So for somebody to have received a score that is not normalised, cannot be explained.”

(Punch)

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Buhari names Gbemisola Saraki as Otuoke University Council Chairman

President Muhammadu Buhari has named the younger sister of the Senate President, Gbemishola Saraki, as the Chairman Governing Council of Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, among other appointees.

Adamu, said the inauguration of the Councils marked another milestone in President Muhammadu Buhari administration's effort to turn around the fortunes of Nigeria's tertiary education institutions by appointing credible men and women into their councils.

He added that the current administration believes that universities were critical in the effort to achieve national economic prosperity through the provision of relevant skilled human capital and policy research outcomes.

He urged the councils to supervise and monitor the effective entrenchment of the committee system and ensure plurality in decision-making process.

''As governing councils, you must be bold, courageous and responsive in ways that provide the kind of leadership that supports the growth and development of universities and make them globally competitive and attractive.

''In doing all these, you must ensure that the universities' planning and growth are in consonance with all National Universities Commission(NUC) guidelines, especially, with regards to the issues of Academic Briefs and the development of appropriate master plans.

''I would like to remind you that governance and management are two distinct responsibilities in the university system.

''On the hand, councils will set the policies that define the direction and then support the managements in their implementation of the policies," he said.

He urged the councils to supervise and monitor the effective entrenchment of the committee system and ensure plurality in decision-making process.

In her comments, Hajia Binta Garba, Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund, said that concerted efforts must be made to reposition Nigeria's education sector.

Binta urged the councils to work with other stakeholders in restoring the lost glory of Nigeria's education, adding that the ranking of Nigerian universities had started improving.

She said that Nigeria loses over 2 billion dollars in capital flight in education yearly.

''We know that before 2019, the amount lost through capital flight will be reduced drastically,'' she said.

Responding on behalf of the members of newly inaugurated councils, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki, the Chairman, Governing Council, Federal University, Utoke, said they were delighted to be part of history.

She assured that the councils would discharge their duties diligently and justify the confidence reposed on them.

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UTME: FG may consider re-introduction of paper-pencil test

The Federal Government may consider re-introduction of paper-pencil mode of Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME) to take care of the interest of vast number of Nigerians who have been excluded by the use of Computer-Based Test (CBT).

Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu, gave this indication on Tuesday in Abuja during the ongoing UTME being conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB).

This is even as the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, Professor 'Dibu Ojerinde has disclosed that over 200, 000 results of candidates who sat for the ongoing UTME have so far been released.

The results released are for the candidates who sat for the Computer-Based Test on Saturday, and Monday across the country and seven foreign centres.

The Minister, who expressed concern about thousands of Nigerians who are not computer literate to be able to take the examination, said the paper-pencil could be re-introduced until such a time more Nigerians, especially those in rural communities become computer literate.

Adamu, however, said he was satisfied with the conduct of the CBT mode of the examination so far, adding that he was glad the board has addressed most of his concerns and other Nigerians.

He said: "I seem to be very comfortable and happy with what they are doing. But my question has not been answered; that there are many people who are not computer literate, so, what do you do with them. I do not have reservation about CBT but sympathy for those who are not computer literate and there are many of them.

When asked if he suggested that the Board re-introduce paper-pencil mode of examination alongside CBT, the Minister said, "I think so; for some time. But certainly the future is for computer."

When further prodded on the relevance of the paper-pencil mode of examination, two years after it was phased out, Adamu asked the journalist back, "how long do you think is a reasonable period?"

Prof Ojerinde, had disclosed that results of over 68,000 candidates were released within 2 hours on Saturday, the first day of the examination in which a total of 72, 000 candidates sat for the CBT.

According to him, the Board recorded about 2000 absentees on Saturday while over 100, 000 results were released on Monday within two hours after the conclusion of the examination on Monday.

Ojerinde also disclosed that the National Communication Commission (NCC) has been mandated to construct at least four CBT centres annually for JAMB. He added that the first four were on and that the next four will soon be on.

It would be recalled that JAMB, in the quest to deal with the issue of examination malpractices as well as reduce the cost of conduct the UTME, introduced the Computer-Based Test and was tested for some years before going 100 per cent CBT in 2015.

In 2014 UTME, three modes were used: the traditional paper-pencil mode; dual mode that is Computer/paper mode and CBT. After series of consultations and sensitisation of Nigerians, the National Council on Education (NCE), which is the highest policy making body in Education approved complete transition to CBT effective from last year.

(Nigerian Tribune)

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Reps, education minister clash over sacking of 13 VCs

Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and the Minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu, clashed on Tuesday over the sacking of five of the 12 university vice-chancellors the Federal Government disengaged from service weeks back.

Lawmakers and the minister exchanged hot words over the legality of the sacking of the VCs, which the former said was done while their tenures had not expired.

The VCs being contested were those of the federal universities Eyo-Ekiti, Binin Kebbi, Gusau, Gashua and  the National Open University of Nigeria.

The minister pointedly told the lawmakers that the former VCs were sacked because there was no law backing their appointments in the first place by former President, Goodluck Jonathan.

For the former NOUN VC,  Prof. Vincent Tenebe, Adamu claimed that the governing council of the university illegally extended his tenure.

However, lawmakers were enraged by his comments, as they argued that Buhari, as the visitor to the universities, could only sack VCs on the recommendation of the governing councils in liaison with the Senate.

For NOUN, members noted that it had a council in place, which tenure had not expired as of the time of the sacking of the VC.

A member of the committee, Prof.  Mojeed Alabi, described the removal of the VCs as an act of “impunity.”

Reacting to Adamu’s claim that four of the universities were not properly established, another member of the committee, Mr. Timothy Golu, said the minister should have advised the President to close them down instead.

On his part, Suleiman asked why the government did not constitute the councils for the universities so that the proper procedure for the sacking of the VCs could be followed.

The minister replied that the President got different nominations from “the party, states and other sources” for positions in the councils.

Suleiman spoke further, “The section of the law you read to us didn’t show that you can proceed without the council. There are still contentious issues which you need to come and show us clearly.

“So you need to come with prove to show us. We sit to protect the law and so when we are confronted with the provisions of the law, we surrender.”

The lawmakers were not satisfied with the minister’s responses. They directed him to return again on Tuesday next week.

The development came as the House in plenary, opposed a move by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Muhammed Bello, to close down 556 private schools in the territory.

The schools are said to be operating without the backing of the law.

(Punch)

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University of Jos lecturers begin indefinite strike

Lecturers of the University of Jos have begun an indefinite strike to press home their demands for improved working conditions.

The lecturers, in a statement by F.C. Piwuna, the chairman of the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, on Friday in Jos, said the union’s National Executive Council, had approved the action.

“The NEC of ASUU has approved our request for total, indefinite and comprehensive strike starting immediately.

“It means that all activities – teaching, supervision, examination as well as statutory and ad-hoc committee meetings – have been suspended,” Mr. Piwuna, a professor, said.

Alhough Mr. Piwuna did not give further details on the reasons for the strike, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt the lecturers’ grievances bordered on, among other things, alleged discrepancies in the payments of entitlements.

The lecturers are also demanding that certain allowances being enjoyed by their colleagues in other institutions be paid to them.

(NAN)

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JAMB has made private universities attractive to Nigerians – VC

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has made private universities attractive to more Nigerians, a Vice Chancellor has said.

The Pro- Chancellor of Lead City University, Ibadan, Jide Owoeye, disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan.

He expressed delight that the sustained redistribution efforts championed by the Registrar of JAMB, Dibu Ojerinde, had led to the renewed interest of applicants in private universities.

“For the first time, students who normally go to public universities have now been convinced to seek admission into private universities,” the don, who is also the chairman of the university’s governing council, said

“We now have a lot of students who ordinarily do not think they can afford private universities coming in.

“There is a lot of ignorance among parents and students because application to JAMB is not application to one choice.

“It is application to the entire system. Anyone who has passed and made the cut-off mark can walk into a university, either public or private, and seek for admission.

“JAMB has made this known to the students,” Mr. Owoeye said.

He also said Lead City University will soon unveil a scholarship and bursary scheme as part of initiatives to mark its tenth anniversary.

Mr. Owoeye, who said the formal inauguration of the scheme would hold during the institution’s graduation ceremony billed for December, added that the initiative was to celebrate “10 years of God’s faithfulness.”

“The reduction in fees as well as the scholarship and bursary we are giving is now offering an opportunity to such students to make a choice here.

“I can assure you that this is our tenth year and I am not aware of any other university under 10 years that has the infrastructure we have here, be it public or private,” he said.

(NAN)

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Students protest proposed merger of Osun Colleges of Education

Students and indigenes  of Ila Orangun trooped out on Saturday to protest the alleged plan of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration to merge the College of Education in the town with another state owned College of Education in Ilesa.

The students, who were led by the National President of Ila Orangun Students Association, Mr. Rilwan Sulaiman, and the Student Union President of the COE, Ila Orangun, Julius Akinleyin, marched round major streets in the town singing anti-government songs.

One of the protesters told PUNCH correspondent that security agents closely monitored  the protest  to prevent it from being hijacked by hoodlums.

He said the protest, which was also joined by market women , okada riders and other residents was peaceful, saying there was no record of breakdown of law and order thought the period of the protest.

The national president of Ila Orangun Students Association, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone said students mobilised themselves and other residents to embark on the protest, which he described as a patriotic one.

Sulaiman said the protesters went to the palace of the Orangun of Ila, Oba Wahab Oyedotun, who appealed to them to be peaceful in their approach.

The students’ union leader said the monarch also said he was aware of the rumour of the merger of the college but had not been able to verify its authenticity.

Sulaiman said operatives of Department of State Service quizzed him during the protest but they did not arrest him nor anybody who participated in the protest.

He said, “We are against the planned merger of the College of Education, Ila Orangun. We don’t want the college to be merged with any institution. We also do not want the college to be converted to a continuos education centre.

“Ogbeni Aregbesola is not the first governor of Osun State, he should leave the college alone. The college is the mainstay of our economy in the town and merging it with any institution would collapse the economy of the people of the town.”

Lecturers   in the four tertiary institutions owned by the state government  had condemned the alleged move  to merge the institutions due to the financial crisis the state is facing.

The lecturers, who are members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics , Iree and Esa Oke  and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union,  Ilesa and Ila Orangun, in a communique  issued after their meeting at Esa Oke said “Council frowns at the clandestine move of the state government  to merge the two state polytechnic  and the two Colleges of Education and describes  it as an ill-advised, laughable, non-progressive and obnoxious policy that will only complicate the sufferings of the masses.”

(Punch)

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Only one Nigerian university ranked among world’s top 800 universities

Only one Nigerian university is ranked among the top 800 universities in the world, according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2015/2016 released this week.

PREMIUM TIMES’ analysis of the report showed that the University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s oldest university, is ranked 601st of the world’s top 800 universities featured in the survey, 200 steps lower than Makerere University, Uganda, which is ranked 401st.

The ranking was released on Wednesday, September 30, 2015.

The University of Cape Town, South Africa, at 120th position, is the highest ranked university in Africa, 481 steps higher than the University of Ibadan.

Five other South African universities are included in the list of top notch universities in the world, making it the highest from a single African country.

They are University of Witwatersrand (20ist); Stellenbosch University (301st); University of KwaZulu-Natal (401st); University of Pretoria (501st); and University of South Africa (601st).

Three Egyptian universities, Alexandria University, Cairo University, and Suez Canal University are all ranked 601st on the list.

Just like Nigeria and Uganda, only one Ghanaian university, the University of Ghana is on the list, and it is ranked 601st.

Morocco too has only one university, University of Marrakech Cadi Ayyad (601th), on the list.

Altogether, 13 universities from six African countries are included among the top 800 universities in the world.

The California Institute of Technology, United States, occupies the number one spot in the world.

The University of Oxford, United Kingdom is on the 2nd position, while Stanford University, United States and University of Cambridge, United Kingdom are on the 3rd and 4th positions respectively.

Other top ranked institutions are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States (5th); Harvard University, United States (6th); Princeton University, United States (7th); Imperial College London, United Kingdom (8th); ETH Zurich-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland (9th); and University of Chicago, United States (10th).

Find full ranking here

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, according to its website, assesses the best global universities across all of their core missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

The survey uses “13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and even governments”.

The performance indicators are grouped into five areas: Teaching (the learning environment), Research (volume, income and reputation), Citations (research influence), International outlook (staff, students and research) and Industry income (knowledge transfer).

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Michelle Obama’s advice to girls in school: ‘Compete with the boys. Beat the boys.’

First lady Michelle Obama, who has two teenage daughters, dispensed some advice to girls on Tuesday:

“Compete with the boys. Beat the boys,” she told an audience of 1,000 at an event  in New York City hosted by Glamour called “The Power of An Educated Girl.”

The Associated Press reported that the first lady talked about her campaign called “Let Girls Learn,” which is a government-wide effort aimed at supporting community-led solutions to reduce barriers that prevent adolescent girls around the world from completing their education. The story quoted her as saying:

    “I know being a teenager is hard,” but it’s temporary and not a template for the rest of life: “Half these people, you’re not going to know when you’re 60.”

    And on whether being brainy comes at a social cost: “There is no boy, at this age, that is cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting your education,” the water pump operator’s daughter-turned-Harvard-trained lawyer said. “If I had worried about who liked me and who thought I was cute when I was your age, I wouldn’t be married to the president of the United States.”

Last Saturday, she attended the Global Citizen Festival in New York City and talked about the millions of girls around the world who are not in school, saying, “they deserve the same chances to get an education as my daughters and your daughters.” She encouraged everyone in the crowd to tweet about how education helped them with the hashtag #62million.

    In school, I learned how to speak up for myself. #62MillionGirls don’t have that chance.
    — The First Lady (@FLOTUS) September 26, 2015

Obama has traveled to several countries to promote “Let Girls Learn,” which involves numerous agencies and departments of the federal government.

For example, since 2013, the U.S. Department of State and USAID have committed more than $22 million to the Safe from the Start initiative to strengthen prevention and response to gender-based violence at the onset of humanitarian emergencies. In Ethiopia, where one in seven girls is married by the time she turns 15, USAID is facilitating “community conversations” with girls, their families, and their community members to discuss the impact of early and forced marriage and to explain the importance of providing resources for the mental and physical health of girls.  According to the Web site:

“Families are offered school supplies to help overcome the economic barriers to sending girls to school. And families who keep girls unmarried during the two-year program are awarded a sheep or a goat. An early evaluation of the project found that girls aged 10–14 in the experimental site were 90% less likely to be married at the end of the two-year program.”

Of the 62 million girls around the world who are not in school, half are adolescent, and their lack of education makes them more vulnerable to forced marriage, violence, HIV/AIDS, and reduced economic opportunities, according to the Let Girls Learn Web site. When a girl receives a quality education, it says:

    She is more likely to earn a decent living, raise a healthy, educated family, and improve the quality of life for herself, her family, and her community. In addition, girls’ attendance in secondary school is correlated with later marriage, later childbearing, lower maternal and infant mortality rates, lower birth rates, and lower rates of HIV/AIDS. A World Bank study found that every year of secondary school education is correlated with an 18 percent increase in a girl’s future earning power.

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Nigeria has enough universities to meet West Africa’s needs – Don

Nigerian universities have the capacity to absorb the applicants in the country as well as the entire West African sub-region, the Pro-Chancellor of Lead City University, Ibadan, Jide Owoeye, has said.

The professor told the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan that many Nigerian universities were not meeting the admission quota allocated to them.

“I can assure you that as we speak, apart from the first and second generation universities, there is no university that meets 60 per cent of its quota.

“Some government universities don’t even meet 40 percent of their quota, it is as bad as that.

“We have all those vacancies and yet, people imagine that we don’t have enough universities in Nigeria. We have enough. I think that is part of the misinformation that people get.

“Nigeria has enough spaces in its institutions for everybody in West Africa that wants to study,” he said.

Mr. Owoeye, who is also the Chairman of Lead City Governing Council, further expressed support for the post-UTME being conducted by each university, saying there would be rigour in choosing the best candidates.

“When one is asked to sit for any examination, I don’t think one should complain. The rigour must be there in choosing the best candidate. The institutions have to take those who can sustain the academic rigour of the university.

“In that regard, the candidates should be able to take the two examinations, UTME and post-UTME,” he said.

(NAN)

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Private varsities’ fees still low, says Pro-Chancellor

Contrary to popular belief, the fees being paid in the country’s private universities are still relatively low, the Pro-Chancellor of Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof. Jide Owoeye, has said.

Owoeye, who is also the Chairman of the university’s Council, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan that the fees being paid in private institutions were relatively low compared to their public counterparts which receive billions of naira in government subvention.

He said, “The cost per head of student in University of Ibadan or University of Lagos for example cannot be less than N700,000 when you are talking about Arts courses or Basic Social Sciences courses.

“But when it comes to courses like Medicine, Engineering, government is spending nothing less than N1.5m on each of the students, but the students do not know this because they are not paying.

“Those students that attend public universities are not attending for free. Somebody is paying. It is you and I, the tax payers, that are paying because that money could have been spent on something else like electricity, but it is a function of opportunity cost.”

According to Owoeye, only very few private universities in Nigeria charge over N1m in fees for certain courses.

“In our own case, the highest fee is about N500,000; we have fees as low as N100,000 in the Faculty of Arts for courses like Performing Arts as well as English and Literary Studies.

“But people don’t know because they don’t come and find out in the belief that private universities must be expensive.

“We really must thank JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, who has made it possible for people to find out what is happening in private universities.

“We have state universities which charge higher fees than ours. But we think quality can be guaranteed if resources are well managed and if you have good enrolment.

“Go to Ghana, you pay an average of 6,000 dollars as school fees. Ghana is a third world country, it is not as developed as Nigeria.

“The universities in Ghana are not as developed as those in Nigeria.

“The best public university in Ghana is Legon (University of Ghana, Legon), but it cannot match our own premier university, University of Ibadan.

“Yet people run there for reasons I cannot understand; it may be they don’t have the information they need,” he said.

(Punch)

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UNIZIK nabs 167 impersonators at Post-UTME test

The 2015 Post-UTME screening at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, was concluded on Monday with the screening of 28,233 candidates and arrest of 167 impersonators.

The screened candidates applied for departments of Political Science, Economics, Psychology, Mass Communication and Sociology of the university’s Faculty of Social Sciences.

A statement by the university’s director of information and public relations, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said out of 30,477 candidates who applied for the test on the university’s portal, only 28, 233 candidates turned up for screening.

The statement also disclosed that the university’s newly acquired Biometric Data Capturing Machines were fully deployed throughout the exercise to ensure candidates’ fingerprints matched their database records.

According to Mr. Ojukwu, apart from the biometric screening, there was also physical verification of candidates’ documents.

He said 2,244 candidates failed to present themselves for the screening, saying their absence may not be unrelated with the stringent screening process, which eliminated impersonation to greater extent.

The spokesman said with the exclusion of candidates that applied for the university’s affiliated institutions, a total of 28,233 candidates were screened in the exercise.

Mr. Ojukwu also said during the week-long exercise, 167 impersonators were apprehended and handed over to security agents for prosecution.

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NUC approves University of lbadan’s new business school

The National Universities Commission has approved the establishment of a School of Business at the University of Ibadan, the school said.

This is contained in a statement by the university’s Director of Public Communications, Olatunji Oladejo.

Mr. Oladejo said the approval was conveyed to the university in a letter signed by the commission’s Director of Standards, G. Kumo.

He said approval was sequel to the recent resource evaluation visit carried out by a panel of experts from the NUC to the university on its proposed School of Business.

Mr. Oladejo said the panel had assessed the human and material resources available for the establishment of the school.

“The school will run executive Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with specialisation in telecommunications, agribusiness, oil and gas, effective from the 2015/2016 academic session,’’ it said.

Mr. Oladejo said further inclusion of options would require the express approval of the commission.

“All programmes shall bear only the approved titles and nomenclatures (MBA Telecommunications), etc and any change will require the approval of the commission.”

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Isaac Adewole, has commended the NUC for the approval.

(NAN)

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NECO releases 2015 exams results, declares higher pass rate

The National Examination Council (NECO) has released the June/July 2015 results with a pass rate improvement of 16 per cent.

The NECO Registrar, Abdulrashid Garba, who announced the results on Thursday in Minna, said that 68.56 per cent of candidates got more than five credits, including Mathematics and English Language, this year.

He said the 2015 result was an improvement on 2014 when 52.29 per cent got above five credits.

Mr. Garba said that 969,491 candidates wrote the examination out of 969,991 who registered.

He said that 0.11 per cent cases of malpractice was recorded, adding that the results of candidates involved have been cancelled.

The registrar said that the council was able to sustain its timely release of results in less than 60 days from the date the last paper was written.

“The 2015 examinations result was released within 60 days after the final paper. This shows a great success achieved by the council.

“Lists of schools which were involved in examination malpractice have been blacklisted and the results of students who wrote in such centres have been cancelled,” he said.

Mr. Garba called on candidates who sat for the examination to access their results on NECO Website.

(NAN)

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