Author: Funmilayo Adeyemi

Admissions: JAMB to announce cut-off marks on July 18

Admissions

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

Abuja, June 24, 2024 (NAN)The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has fixed Friday, July 18, 2024, for the Policy Meeting to deliberate on admissions cut-off marks into tertiary institutions.

The meeting which is expected to set minimum cut-off marks for 2024/2025 admissions, would be chaired by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.

This was disclosed in the Board’s weekly bulletin and made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

JAMB listed critical stakeholders expected at the meeting to include heads of regulatory agencies, such as the National University Commission (NUC) and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

Others are National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Heads of tertiary institutions in the country, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among others.

“During the exercise, the Registrar will present reports on the just-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the ongoing Direct Entry (DE) applications.

“The registrar will also analyse key performance indicators that could shape the policy directions of the government in the area of admission.

“Also, the meeting would apprise stakeholders of the salient issues that cropped up in the course of the previous year’s admission exercise.

“In addition, the policy meeting will look at the performance of candidates in the current year’s UTME in order to determine the year’s minimum admissible score,” it said.

Recall that stakeholders had in the previous year agreed on the minimum admission requirement for admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

The meeting would determine the year’s admission requirements while kick-starting the admission process for the current year.

It would also discuss unresolved issues emanating from the previous academic year; and also appraise the compliance of stakeholders with extant advisories and suggest further amendments where necessary. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FAK/AMM

=======

Edited by Abiemwense Moru

Council awards $250,000 grant to 4 innovative research teams

Research

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

Abuja, June 24, 2024 (NAN) The Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) has awarded a 250,000 dollars grant to four innovative research teams in Nigeria.

This followed the successful implementation of the Research for Impact Initiative (R41) under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

In this initiative, four teams were shortlisted to advance their developed ideas through a collaborative research grant established under SGIC with Innovation Technology Hub as the technical partner.

Dr Saliba Bakare, Director of Research and Development of TETFund, said Nigeria joined the SGCI in 2020, five years after the programme inception and had made tremendous impact.

Bakare was speaking at the project inauguration and initial bootcamp of SGCI funding in Abuja on Monday.

According to him, the 250,000 dollars grant will support four Nigerian research teams, each working on projects with the potential to drive significant change.

Among these initiatives are advancements in the processing of garri, a staple food, and pioneering efforts in renewable energy, amongst others.

He said the funding was aimed to bridge the gap between research and practical application by fostering innovations that could be commercialised.

“The essence is to help them transform their research findings into commercialisable goods and services in this country,” he said.

He noted that a critical component of the grant was its focus on helping research teams to develop their innovations into market-ready prototypes.

He added that this involved not only technical development but also pitching these products to industries by ensuring that the research was translated into tangible economic benefits.

“Four teams are going to use this money to develop their research into prototypes and pitch them with industries so that there will be take-off of the product coming out from the research,” he said.

Recall that TETFund is one of the 17 members of the Sub-Saharan Africa Science Funding Councils Initiative (SGCI) which seeks to strengthen Science Financing Councils in supporting research and evidence-based policies that contribute to the socioeconomic development of countries. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FAK/IAA

========

Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Schools

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

Abuja, June 24, 2024 (NAN) The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, has given principals of all Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs) one-week deadline to register their schools with the National Safe School Response Coordination Centre (NSSRCC)

Sununu, who gave the directive in Abuja on Monday during an interactive session with principals of FUCs, said the purpose was to protect schools from attacks.

The NSSRCC, an initiative of the Federal Government, was established on Feb. 23, 2023, in response to increased cases of attacks on schools by bandits.

It is saddled with the responsibility of coordinating safety and security responses against violence in schools and host communities.

The minister noted that all schools must be duly registered on the national safe school response coordination centre to filter information that would help secure the schools.

“We are giving a deadline of one-week for all schools to be registered with NSSRCC to filter information and escalate to the security agencies for quick response,’’ he said.

Sununu also expressed decline in the enrolment rate of students, calling on the principals to ensure their schools get more students.

He said that the ministry had developed a portal for self-learning, urging the principals to key into the portal for their students to build their skills through technology education.

He, therefore, charged them to put efforts in making their schools better, especially in the area of quality education so as to boost students’ enrolment.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, reiterated the ministry’s commitment to work closely with the principals to achieving quality education in all schools. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FAK/OJI/ADA

Edited by Maureen Ojinaka/Deji Abdulwahab

====

Council

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

Abuja, June 20, 2024 (NAN)The Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education (SSUCOEN), has called on the Federal Government to address infractions in the constituted governing councils of tertiary institutions, before their inauguration.

The President of SSUCOEN, Danladi Msheliza made the call in a letter addressed to the Federal Ministry of Education and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

A copy of the letter was made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.

Msheliza observed that, in the list of the constituted councils released by the federal government, there were omissions and wrong inclusions of schools while some colleges were listed as universities.

“We observed that some Colleges which are all listed in the First Schedule of the Federal Colleges of Education Act, 2023, are omitted from the composition of the list of Councils.

“As such, no Governing Council was constituted for any of them, even in the recently published list of Councils,” he said.

He listed the colleges as, Federal College of Education (FCE), Technical, Ekiadolor, Edo state, FCE, Odugbo, Benue state and FCE Jama’are, Bauchi State.

Other are FCE Isu, Ebonyi State and FCE Gidan Madi, Sokoto State.

SSUCOEN president added that there were appointment of governing councils for some FCEs not listed in the FCE Act, 2023, as they were yet to take off with members of staff or students.

He expressed dismay that FCEs that had been in existence with members of staff and students in their campuses, we’re not captured in the list of governing councils.

“In the same vein, we also observed that some FCEs (FCE Kano, FCE Zaria and Alvan Ikoku, FCE Owerri), whose names were, in the past, changed to Universities of Education were listed as Universities.

“Pro Chancellors/Chairmen and members of Councils were constituted for them.

“These FCEs are by mere official pronouncement without any law establishing them, and are not known to the law, as Universities.

“It should be noted that the above-mentioned Federal Colleges of Education are currently listed in the First Schedule of the FCEs Act, 2023.

“Therefore, one wonders how they would be regarded as Universities when there is no law establishing them as Universities,” he said.

On membership of councils, he noted that the FCEs Act provided for a Chairman and four members, for each College, out of which, one shall be a female.

He, however, said that from the list released, some Colleges have all male nominees, without a female nominee, which was in contravention of the Act.

“Unfortunately, we are aware that the Governing Councils may be billed for inauguration soon.

“However, we strongly stand on our earlier advise that the observed anomalies be corrected before the inauguration.

“Or better still, the inauguration be put on hold while the observed anomalies are corrected within the shortest time possible,” he said.

He assured that the union’s intentions and concerns were in the best interest of the colleges of education subsector and of industrial harmony.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FAK/ROT

========

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi

Quality

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

Abuja, June 12, 2024 (NAN) The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has identified quality assurance as a major impediment to the actualisation of Open Distance E-learning (ODL) in the country.

Mamman spoke at a three-day Stakeholders’ Roundtable for the Critique and Adoption of the Draft Stand-alone National Policy on Open Distance Learning (ODL) on Tuesday in Abuja.

The three-day roundtable was for stakeholders to deliberate on the draft policy and come up with a holistic approach to open distance learning, taking into cognisance its challenges.

Mamman said many Nigerians especially employers of labour did not have confidence in the quality of the programme; hence the need to change the perception.

“We want to assure them that ODL is as good as qualifications obtained in normal universities.’’

The minister explained that part of the Federal Government’s effort to expand access to quality education was the strengthening of open distance learning through the development of a national policy to ensure sustainability.

“What we are trying to do is to put together quality assurance and strengthen the policy.

“Once we give them the quality training in the various places they are going to be trained, employers will see the difference in practical terms,’’ he said.

Prof.  Olugbemiro Jegede gave an overview of Open Distance E-learning from inception and its benefits from the National Open University.

He said that it would bring education closer to the people leveraging on technology.

“The ODL is to take the distance out of the reach of the learners; you have that distance and it can be geographical, economy, social, political and physical.

“So what distance education is doing is taking that distance away so that the learners get close to whatever he/she wants to learn.

“The ODL takes away the barrier, obstacles, blockage and boundaries in education,” he said.

The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, urged the stakeholders to bring their wealth of experience to bear in developing a policy that was comprehensive and meet global standards.

Sununu, represented by the Director of ICT in the ministry, Mr Isa Abubakar, said available statistics showed that the achievement of SDG-4 in 2030 would be a mirage if the ODL approach was not properly conceptualised in a long-term governmental strategy for improved access to education.

He said the development of sustainable policy on ODL became critical to realign national strategies with emerging educational challenges. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FAK/CJ/

=======

Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo

CSOs advocate revival, integration of western education into Tsangaya system

Education
By Funmilayo Adeyemi

Abuja, June 12, 2024 (NAN) Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have come together to advocate the revival and integration of western education into the Tsangaya system.

The organisations, at the Unveiling of Training Manuals on Gender Responsive Education Sector Planning and Tsangaya Reformation, in Abuja on Tuesday, said the integration would tackle out-of-school challenges.

The County Director, Plan International, Charles Usie, said that reforming the Tsangaya was critical toward the reduction of out-of-school children in the country.

Use, represented by Helen, Idiong, Director Programme Quality and Influencing, Plan International, said there was need to give the Tsangaya students numeracy and literacy education to complement their Quranic education.

“Tsangaya system has been in existence for years when we have children coming into a religion setting and they are given some form of skills educational training.

“Over the years,the context has been somehow changed and the children in this sector are usually on the streets as they don’t have the educational qualification required to help them in the current content that we live.

“The idea is to see how we as CSOs advocate to the owners and implementers of this Tsangaya education system to see how to transform it without losing the religious value,” he said.

Also, Mr Duke Ogbureke, National Moderator, Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), called for adequate investment in Tsangaya education.

Ogbureke said that not training the children will have a multi-sectoral effect on the Nigerian polity.

According to him, the children must be trained in some level of education to understand the implications of having very many children that they cannot cater for, leading to population growth.

Meanwhile, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Dr Jabir Maihula, emphasised the need for collective efforts to address the insecurity challenge in the northern states.

Maihula explained that if 50 per cent of the insecurity issues were tackled, the number of out-of-school children would be reduced.

He noted that children from refugees camps, who were displaced as a result of insecurity in their domain, contributed to the high number of out-of-school, explaining tha this must be addressed headlong.

In a keynote address, Dr Murtala Mohammed Executive Director, System Strategy and Policy Lab., said addressing the challenge of out-of-school required stakeholders collaboration.

According to Mohammed, the country is having conflicting figures of the number and coming together to get accurate data of the out-of-school in the country would go a long way in addressing the menace.

He also urged state governors to be deeply committed to addressing the issue of out-of-school children by putting in place strategic plan and having the plan in their budget.

“We need to work collectively to solve our problems. We need to know the exact number, the struggling we are having is that we have no idea of the number.

“We must address the issue of disjointed statistics before we come up with policy recommendations that will clearly address the challenges,” Mohammed said.

He called for the integration of Tsangaya Education Management Information System into the existing education management information system.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Tsangaya system is one of the legacies of former President Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2014, to take care of ‘almajiri’ system of acquiring Qur’anic knowledge.

The Tsangaya centres were, however, abandoned shortly after the former president was defeated in the 2015 polls. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

FAK/ORO
========
Edited by Razak Owolabi