JABU STUDENT BAGS SCHOLARSHIP UP TILL PhD LEVEL

A 400-Level student of the Department of Microbiology of Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Excel Oluwajomiloju Jeff-Agboola has bagged a scholarship to the postdoctoral level after emerging winner of Queen of Aso Agriculture pageant competition.

Speaking to the Public Relations Unit of the University in a telephone interview, Excel revealed that JABU contributed to her emergence as Queen of the competition.

In her words: “JABU contributed to my success because I was able to sustain my spiritual and social life. I am a child of God and the JABU environment assisted me in being prayerful and provided opportunities to engage myself in various activities which have improved my competency considerably.”

Speaking on her future engagements after graduation from the institution, the newly crowned Queen of Aso Agriculture stated that she intends to follow through with her postdoctoral programme immediately after the compulsory one year National Youth Service programme to her motherland.

Excel who revealed that she had been in search of a contestable pageantry void of unnecessary display of nudity stated that intending ladies interested in competing at pageantries should endeavour to follow the tenets of godly living through set goals for achievement.

She further advised parents to encourage their children in the showcase of their talents for proper upbringing.

“My father is a General Overseer of a Church and my Mother, a Pastor and an Academic; they are my role models,” she added.

ASUU STRIKE: NANS FACTIONS ENGAGE IN FREE-FOR-ALL FIGHT

Two NANS factions clashed at the Unity Fountain , Maitama, Abuja , following the leadership tussle rocking the association .

Some of the NANS members threw caution to the wind and engaged one another in fisticuffs on the busy Shehu Shagari Way while policemen struggled to break up the fight .

Trouble started when the Kadiri faction converged on the garden to address the media before taking their protest to the education ministry .

They were about addressing journalists when the Chinonso Obasi faction stormed the venue and accused Kadiri of usurping the leadership of the student body .

The allegation angered the Kadiri faction members who attacked their opponents leading to a free- for - all on the expressway .

Meanwhile , the University of Port Harcourt Alumni Association has called on the FG to utilise the funds said to have been recovered from alleged looters to meet the financial component of the demands of the university lecturers .

In a statement , the National President of the Association, Chief Chris Adokeme , contended that the annual requirement of N200 bn for five years consecutively “ was too meagre to allow university education in the country to be under lock and key . ”

“ How can universities in the country remain shut when all that is required is a mere N 200bn annually ? That is far less than what goes into the National Assembly for a year. I will prefer the legislature to be shut for one year instead of our universities , ” he said .

Adokeme also called for adequate funding of TETFund to enable it to effectively discharge its obligations to the universities.

FG, ASUU TO RESOLVE STRIKE ON THURSDAY

The Federal Government will on Thursday hold a meeting with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to resolve the lingering strike in the nation’ s universities .

ASUU President , Prof . Biodun Ogunyemi , confirmed on Tuesday that he had received an invitation to a meeting at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Abuja .

Also , the National Association of Nigerian Students has issued a two -week ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve the ASUU strike .

The group , on Tuesday , threatened violence if the government failed to prevail on the union to call off the strike .

Speaking to one of our correspondents on the telephone , Ogunyemi said the ASUU negotiating team would be at the meeting to hear what the government had done so far in respect of the seven demands tabled for implementation .

He stated , “We have a scheduled meeting on Thursday ; we received the invitation today (Tuesday ) . We would be at the meeting . We go to every meeting with open mind and also believe the government will come with open mind and if they ( government officials) mean well , we will resolve the issue. ”

The don said he did not envisage any problem , adding that the government would be expected to highlight the demands it had implemented and to give a time frame on the ones that would be implemented subsequently .

“ Our demands are clear , seven issues with timelines . They are expected to have started implementing them ; we don ’ t see much problem here .

“ They will just tell us how far they have implemented them and tell us which ones they cannot implement for now , and give us the time frame ( for implementation ), ” Ogunyemi stated .

Asked if the government had released the N 23 bn it promised last month to the universities , the union leader said he did not know if this had been done .

But NANS factional president , Haruna Kadiri , who led his group on protest to the Ministry of Education, Abuja on Tuesday , over the strike , stated that students bore the brunt of labour dispute between university lecturers and government .

This , he noted , made them unattractive to the labour market which he said often preferred graduates from private universities who concluded their academic programmes within stipulated time.

Kadiri said , “ We are here to demand to know when the strike would be called off. The government has not been tackling the issues that led to the strike , but politicising them and dividing the ranks of the lecturers .

“ As researchers , ASUU should carry out research and find solutions to the issues instead of going on strike .

“ We are issuing a two - week ultimatum for the strike to be resolved . If after the ultimatum, the FG and ASUU didn ’ t resolve the strike , the next protest will not be peaceful . We would carry out civil unrest and we are ready to be detained in the guardroom . ”

The student leader also condemned the new cut - off marks for university and polytechnic admissions as announced by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board , describing the cut - off marks as retrogressive and ‘ anti - education . ’

The Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono , who addressed the students , assured them that the government was working to resolve the crisis .

DELSU SACKS 10, LECTURERS AND 8 STAFFS FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND EXTORTION

The Governing Council of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, has sacked 10 lecturers, eight non-teaching junior staff and warned 17 others for extortion, sexual harassment and gross misconduct, among others.

This was revealed on Friday via the official website of the university in a memo signed by the university Registrar and Secretary to the University’s Senate , Mr. Daniel Urhibo. Most of the 17 teaching staff, who were reprimanded for Plagiarism, according to the statistics, were Readers in their various departments. Others were from the ranks of Assistant Lecturers to Senior Lecturers.

According to the statement, the decision was taken based on recommendations made by the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee (SSDC) to the university’s Governing Council after the institution’s 101st regular meeting held on Friday, 18th August, 2017 at the university premises.

Urhibo, in the statement, said the workers were allegedly thoroughly investigated by the SSDC and appropriately sanctioned based on the gravity of the crimes committed. Three senior officers from the Bursary Department were also among workers dismissed from the service of the institution.

ASUU GIVES GOVT 6 NEW CONDITIONS: SHUNS MEETING WITH FG

University teachers have presented six new conditions for calling off their two-week old strike.
But the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, yesterday pleaded with the lecturers to embrace peace for the sake of innocent students.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) is to discuss today the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and chart the way forward.

Some of the options include:
bringing back ASUU to the negotiation table;
allowing the Wale Babalakin Panel to conclude its assignment;
suing ASUU to either the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) or the National Industrial Court (NIC); and
referring all issues to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, in line with the Trade Dispute law.

According to a source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, the six conditions were not part of the previous demands referred to the Babalakin Committee for arbitration.

The new conditions are that:
the Federal Government should immediately accept payment of shortfall in salaries of universities;
universities to manage their IGR the way they like and exemption from TSA;
exemption of Endowment Funds, JV cash from TSA;
payment of University Salary Scale to teachers in primary schools in universities;
release/implementation of guidelines for the retirement of Professors in line with 2009 FG-ASUU Agreement; and
waiver/ government fiat to set up Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company

The source said: “ASUU has brought proposals different from the agreement they reached in the Senate with the Federal Ministry of Education.

“They are asking the government to take over the shortfall in the salaries of universities when there were glaring cases of abuse of recruitment process and non-compliance with Integrated Personnel Payment Information System (IPPIS).

“They want the government to accept liability for the shortfall in spite of the fact that universities acted arbitrarily in increasing their wage bill.


“The lecturers have also asked the government to manage their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) henceforth instead of remitting such to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in line with their demand for autonomy for universities.”

But, according to the source, the government does not want to waive the TSA policy for universities. It, however, expressed readiness to exempt Endowment Funds and Joint Ventures Funds from TSA.

“In their new demands, the lecturers asked for the issuance of a fiat to the Pension Commission to register the Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company.

“PENCOM has expressed its readiness to register Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company, if ASUU and other stakeholders can quickly address the lapses already highlighted in the registration process. PENCOM is insisting that the guidelines in the 2005 Pension Reforms Act must be fully complied with,” the source said.

The the government is said to be shocked by ASUU’s fresh request that the Federal Government should pay University Salary Scale to primary school teachers in varsity staff schools.

It said: “They are saying that the staff school should be allowed to continue to collect tuition fees.”

“The government has a different approach to the staff school. Apart from retaining its policy that primary education is free under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Scheme, the government is of the opinion that teachers in varsity schools be either paid by the Universal Basic Education Commission(UBEC) or be placed under the salary scale of the Federal Ministry of Education or Federal Salary Scale,” the senior government official said.

“Another demand from ASUU is the release of the guidelines for the retirement of professors in line with 2009 Agreement.”

Responding to a question, the source said: “We believe that ASUU is trying to be difficult with the new conditions after the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, had conceded N23billion to pay earned allowances of the lecturers.

“The ASUU strike will be tabled before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday (today). The FEC will weigh options and chart the way forward.”

Contacted last night, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige said: “They have brought some proposals different from the demands we are already addressing. I want ASUU to toe the path of peace for the sake of the innocent students in our universities.

“I am asking ASUU to know that this dispute is already apprehended by this ministry. And when we apprehend a dispute, it is necessary for parties to come for talks and consideration of issues.

“Going by Section 3 of the Labour Dispute law, any further discussion on ASUU demands should be done with the Federal Ministry of Labour.”

JAMB IS SILLY FOR REDUCING CUT-OFF MARK TO 120 - BEN BRUCE

The decision by JAMB (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board) to drastically reduce the cut off mark of students seeking University admission continues to generate more reactions from Nigerians. Senator Ben Bruce is the latest to react to it and he had some very strong words as he tweeted, 'It is silly for JAMBHQ to say they reduced cut off marks to stop Nigerians going abroad. Only Increased education funding will stop that'.

1-It is silly for @JAMBHQ to say they reduced cut off marks to stop Nigerians going abroad. Only Increased education funding will stop that.

— Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) August 28, 2017

2-If @JAMBHQ reduces cut off mark and govt doesn't increase spaces available in universities we only create problems instead of solving them

— Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) August 28, 2017

3-As long as the FG has not increased the capacity of our universities to absorb more intake, reducing cut off marks won't have any effect!

— Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) August 28, 2017

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @FABMIMIBLOG

CUT-OFF MARK REDUCED TO STOP NIGERIANS FROM SCHOOLING ABROAD - JAMB

JAMB has said the cut-off marks for admission into tertiary institutions were reduced to encourage as many Nigerians as possible to school at home.

A statement released by Fabian Benjamin, JAMB spokesperson, reads in part: “Today, it is a known fact that millions of Nigerians are out there schooling in mushroom institutions and they will at the end come back with all kinds of degrees and certificates that we cannot explain their content.

Our Naira is continually devalued as a result of so many reasons, including the pressure to pay these school fees. It’s also a known fact that for you to study a course say Hausa in Nigerian, you will need a credit in Mathematics; however when you go outside like London, all you will need is a credit in Hausa and English, no Mathematics.

The question we all should be concerned about is how to address the flight of Nigerians to glorified secondary schools called Universities in Ghana, Uganda and even Gambia and others.

If we deny our candidates the opportunity to school in Nigeria, they will find their way out and in doing that deplete our economic base.

To provide answers to all these challenges, stakeholders decided that institutions should be allowed to determine their cut-off marks according to their peculiarities and the quality and standards they want to be known for.

Besides, events have shown that many institutions do not comply with cut-off marks in the past; hence the flood of requests for regularisation. Now, the new management has resolved to stop it and ensure full compliance with resolutions on cut off-marks.

The cut-off marks being branded by the public as previous cut-off mark were never strictly followed by most institutions. The institutions were going behind to admit candidates with far less with others admitting candidates who never sat for JAMB. .

Unfortunately, the public has been kept away from this fact for long time and now that we are saying it the way it is and working to address it, the public is criticising us using non-existing paremetres that were only announced and not followed.”

ASUU DECIDES RESUMPTION DATE TODAY

A crucial National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is going on to decide on offers made by the Federal Government team last week to persuade its striking members to return to work.

Ahead of the NEC meeting, various zones of ASUU had met also to consider the offer as well as inputs from the various branches for presentation to the NEC.

ASUU had embarked on an indefinite strike on August 14, accusing government of failure to redeem the terms of agreement signed in 2009 and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) endorsed by both parties in 2012.

One of the zonal coordinators of ASUU told Saturday Sun: “I must state that the offer from the Federal Government is a far cry from our members’ expectations. Let us see what comes out of this emergency NEC meeting. Many of our members are not happy with the way government is handling our demands. It is up to NEC to take a position on the on-going strike. Our members are prepared for a long strike, but it depends on the government.”

He debunked a claim by the Education Minister that ASUU would call off the strike this week, saying, “we didn’t promise the minister anything. We told the government team that we are going to consult with our members on what government has offered”.

He described the likely outcome of NEC meeting, as 50-50, saying members wanted to see concrete evidence that government was serious about meeting the demands. The minister, Mallam Adamu Adamu, had, admitted that “government has not fulfilled its part of the bargain, even though we are unhappy that ASUU went on this strike without following due process and giving us good notice. We realised that we promised something and we didn’t fulfill it.

EXPENSIVE EDUCATION! SEE THE NEW HIKE IN COVENANT UNIVERSITY FEES

Freshers of the 2017/2018 admission session at the Covenant University will be forced to cough out a minimum of N817,000 as school fees amid the distressed local economy in Nigeria.

This further underscores the popular view that the prestigious higher institution is established for the children of the rich and prominent Nigerians. There is a stark difference between the tuition fees of Covenant University and other public institutions in Nigeria.

The irony of the development is that the award of the best university in Nigeria has never gone to a private school. The financial details were provided on the school's website and it has become a hot topic of discussion on a popular Nigerian online forum.

Covenant University (CU) is located in Ota, Ogun State in Nigeria. It is a private Christian university, affiliated with Living Faith Church Worldwide and a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Association of African Universities and National Universities Commission.

In January 2015, it was ranked as the best university in Nigeria according to Webometrics.

Check full details of the bogus tuition fees below:

16-YEAR OLD NIGERIAN MATHS PRODIGY BECOMES THE YOUNGEST STUDENT TO ATTEND CAMBRIDGE

The son of Nigerian couple, Sunny and Ronke Ejemai is set to study Mathematics at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions, Cambridge University in September - at just 16.

Andrew Ejemai from Auriel Avenue, Dagenham, achieved A* in Maths as well as A in AS Physics, Grade 1 in STEP II and III, A* in Additional Further Maths, and As in the new Linear Chemistry and Economics to meet his offer to study Mathematics at Corpus Christi College.



The course is highly competitive, attracting more than 1,400 applications this year. Speaking to The Voice about the fact that he will be attending one of the world’s prestigious universities two years ahead of his contemporaries, he said:

“I’m mostly grateful to God Almighty for helping me to achieve this great feat. I believe that without hard work, perseverance, parental and school support this would not have been possible. I am indebted to all my teachers and headmaster of Brentwood School for believing in me, and giving me the opportunity to complete my three A level subjects in one year. Whilst I did not participate in any of the Cambridge programmes, I found the Cambridge online STEP Support Programme very useful in my independent preparation for STEP papers.” Brentwood School pupil told the Post"




Andrew said he owes his love of numbers to his mum Ronke. He isn’t daunted about starting university two years ahead of his peers, and is “mostly looking forward to the sports – athletics and football – and meeting other people.”

He is also a talented musician, a grade six in both piano and cello.

His proud dad Sunny, 52, said he was “elated, to put it mildly.”

Andrew’s headmaster, Ian Davies, called him “an exceptional student”.

"Andrew has been an exceptional student. In addition to his mathematical excellence, he has played a full part in the musical and sporting life of the school, as well as enjoying our Combined Cadet Force.

"These extra-curricular opportunities have provided a healthy balance and have enabled Andrew to develop into a well-rounded 16 year-old who will thrive at Cambridge.”




The teenage genius made news back in 2013 when he became the youngest person in his school’s history to pass an A-Level exam when he gained an 'A*' in his Maths A-Level at the age of just 12.

“After being interviewed, I studied past papers and worked extremely hard to gain the necessary exam results. When I was told that I would be going to Cambridge University, I was very happy.” he said.

The talented student, who has his sights set on a career in finance, added:

”My advice to other youngsters is to work hard, persevere and with talent, you can also receive a place at a good university.”

Ejemai recalls that his potential was uncovered at the approximate age of four, when a teacher asked him to write a simple formula for a sum and he pencilled down a complex equation, instead.

Describing his fascination with numbers, the high-flying pupil recalled:

“What I enjoy about maths is the problem-solving aspect of the subject. It always gives me satisfaction.”

Ejemai's father Sonny hopes his son’s example will encourage other young black pupils to excel academically and apply to attend Britain’s top universities. He however insisted that black youths will only excel if they receive adequate support, primarily from their parents.

"The best mentor for children should be parents. Me and my wife believe that every child has the potential to be a genius, but parents need to nurture their talent. Andrew’s mother, Ronke, would give him various challenges centred around school subjects and outside activities, and this started at the age of three," he told The Voice

“I saw that encouraging youths can be tough, but parents need to be focused and dedicated to the cause. It’s a marathon. But if they start early and have the G factor – the God-factor – it’s possible to provide a good foundation. It’s all about dreaming big and giving children the opportunity to try things.”

He added:
“My key advice is having plenty of parental involvement.”

VCs, ASUU REJECT 120 CUT OFF MARK

Some Vice-Chancellors and the Academic Staff Union of Universities have rejected the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to peg admission cut-off mark at 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.

ASUU said the action, which it described as a “sad policy decision,” was in tandem “with the dream of the present government to destroy public universities in the country.”
Most of the vice-chancellors our correspondents interviewed on the issue maintained that they would not lower admission standards in their respective varsities.

The vice-chancellors stated that the decision would add no value to the nation’s university system.

For instance, in a statement issued by the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, on the issue and released by his Media Assistant, Mr. Sunday Saanu, on Thursday, the premier university stated that it would never admit any candidate that scored 120 in the UTME.

The statement added, “It should worry us as patriots that candidates who scored just 30 per cent in the UTME can be admitted into some of our universities. Yet, we complain of poor quality of our graduates. You can hardly build something on nothing. The consolation here is that since JAMB started conducting this qualifying exam in 1978, UI has never admitted any candidate who scored less than 200 marks out of the maximum 400 marks.

“This translates to a minimum of 50 per cent. This remains our position as an institution aspiring to be world-class. Reality is that only about four other universities in the country have such high standard. To that extent, apart from being the oldest, we are an elite university in the country at least judging by the quality of our intakes.’’

Olayinka, however, commended the decision of the Federal Government to re-introduce the post-UTME test and exonerated the incumbent JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, from the cancellation of the test two sessions ago.

“It is gratifying to note that the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who chaired the meeting, apologised publicly for canceling the post-UTME screening last year.

“In effect, universities are now allowed to conduct the test using modalities approved by the Senate of each institution.

“To be fair to the incumbent Registrar of JAMB, he was not the Registrar when the policy somersault of cancelling the post-UTME test was made last year. As strongly canvassed by us at every opportunity, for UI, the need to admit the best admission seekers is the primary motivation for the test and not money, even though we do not pretend that you can run any university so properly called without funds.”

Speaking to one of our correspondents on Thursday, the Vice-Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Prof. Oluyemisi Obilade, said that the onus would ultimately fall on parents and employers of labour to decide “between a first-class graduate of a university which takes 120 as its cut-off mark or one that takes 180 as its cut-off mark.’’

Obilade, who said that TASUED would never go below 180, insisted that many of the VCs at the Combined Policy Meeting during which the 120 benchmark decision was made, said they would not go below 180.

She said, “But some universities chose 120 at the meeting. What the JAMB has done is to transfer power back to the Senate of universities to decide their cut-off marks. What I can tell you is that many public universities and even private universities will not go below 200. We were told that some universities were doing what they called ‘under the table admission’ and then come back to JAMB after four years for regularisation.

“TASUED will not go below 180, not under my watch. Even in the United States, there is what we call Ivy League universities, and there are those you can call ‘Next Level Universities.’ There are also those that are termed community colleges. At the meeting, the outcome is that universities have been given the freedom to decide. It is not general legislation and it is not binding on everybody.’’

Speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the Chairman of ASUU at the University of Ibadan, Dr. Deji Omole, said it was the dream of the present government to destroy education in the country.

He said, “Rather than sanctioning the identified universities that admitted over 17,000 students illegally, the JAMB registrar simply regularised illegality and lowered cut-off marks to favour the interests of the friends of government who own private universities and are hell bent on destroying public education.”

Omole said it was vital for JAMB to be scrapped in order to save the nation’s education and its future. He said the board had outlived its usefulness and that prospective students should apply directly to universities of their choice for admission.

He said, “Where are the students that the JAMB registrar said entered universities illegally? Which universities admitted them? If 30 per cent did not take JAMB and found their way into the university system, is that not corruption and a message that JAMB is not significant anymore? What sanction did those who did the illegal thing receive other than regularisation of illegality.

“We are watching because long before now we have said that JAMB has outlived its usefulness. Let the universities set their unique standards and those who are qualified can come in. Scoring 120 out of 400 marks is 30 per cent. Even in those days, 40 per cent was graded as pass. But now JAMB said with F9 which is scoring 30 per cent you can be admitted.

“They deliberately want to destroy education. Even for polytechnic, 100 marks is 25 per cent. It is sad. And that is where we are in Nigeria. They want to destroy public education at all costs. This is not setting standard for education in Nigeria. It is purely lowering standards and digging grave for the future. This is why ASUU is currently on the struggle to influence the government to do the needful for education in Nigeria.”

Also, the Dean of Students Affairs, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Kayode Alese, who spoke on behalf of FUTA management, said that the institution would soon unveil its cut-off mark.

“However, I can assure you that FUTA has never gone as low as 120. It has never happened and it will never happen,” he said.

Alese added, “Having spoken for the university, my personal opinion is that the 120 cut-off mark will not add value to our education system. The Federal Government has just increased the pass mark from 40 to 45 in universities. What that means is that you must score at least 45 for you to pass any course. We have enough candidates and yes you may try to increase access but tertiary education should be for those who have the capability.’’

Also, the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Tope Ogunmodede, said the institution would not admit any candidate with 120 UTME score.

He said, “Traditionally, OAU has never admitted students who scored below 200 in the UTME. For us, we are sticking to 200. The minimum benchmark is 120 but you can go higher than that. I expect that an institution should be able to determine the quality of its graduates because there are internal exams. What has been done is to provide a leeway for universities to decide their cut-off marks.”

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has described the reduction of the cut-off marks for admission into tertiary institutions as “a gross misplacement of priority and an exercise in futility.”

The organisation said that the reduction by JAMB, from 180 for universities and 165 polytechnics, to 120 and 100 respectively for the 2017 UTME, would translate to a disastrous outcome in the future.

The President of NANS, Chinonso Obasi, in a statement on Thursday, threatened that the decision would be resisted if JAMB refused to adhere to the status quo.

He said, “As critical stakeholders in the educational sector, NANS will vehemently resist the review and call on government to maintain the status quo and endeavour to conduct a comparative study and analysis of policies from other climes that support functional learning and production of young people that can compete with their peers globally.

“Even with the current status, the general phenomenon is that Nigerian graduates are not employable. The lowering of standards will translate to a disastrous outcome in the future by churning out young people who cannot fit into the demands and expectations of the 21st century.’’

According to him, since the 21st century is being driven by innovation and competitiveness, lowering the entry level into tertiary institutions would only further contribute to reducing the productivity and peak performance of young people seeking admission into the country’s higher institutions of learning.

However, the Vice-Chancellor of the Christopher University, Ogun State, Prof. Friday Ndubuisi, said the new admission benchmark would have no negative implication on the quality of education.

He said, “This is not an imposition. The cut-off mark is a minimum benchmark for admission. This idea of taking the UTME every year without getting admission is worrying. About 1.6 million candidates sat for the examination this year and about 500,000 will be admitted mostly because of the cut-off mark. Most universities will not go below 200, but with five credits obtained in two sittings, a person should be qualified for admission. This is, however, not an imposition. Universities still get to decide on whom to admit through the post-UTME.’’

DANGOTE TO OPEN N200 BILLION UNIVERSITY

The President and founder of Dangote Foundation, Aliko Dangote, has set aside N200 billion to establish a world-class university in Abuja.

A former Executive Secretary of the NUC, Julius Okojie, who is the chairman of the technical team for the establishment of the university, said the foundation intends to drive technology and research in stimulating economic growth.

Mr Okojie, who led his team to the current Executive Secretary of the commission, Abubakar Rasheed, said the proposed university is meant to be technology-driven and asked for the cooperation and support of the NUC towards the realisation of the goal.

According to a National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, publication, the team, accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of the foundation, Zouera Yousouffou, disclosed that Mr. Dangote’s desire was to float a unique university of technology with all the necessary infrastructure and best faculty members from across the globe.

Mr. Rasheed, who applauded the bold step, promised to offer all the needed assistance for the success of the project.

He, however, advised the team to reconsider its plan of establishing a university of technology to ‘a conventional university running all programmes but with specialty in the area of technology.’

The executive secretary, who underscored the advantages of the conventional university over the special one, said with the countless impacts on society by the business mogul, the project would be a success.

He asked the team to consult widely and look at the universities in Nigeria and abroad with a view to creating a unique university that would be different in terms of quality in all its operations.

In her remarks, Mrs. Yousouffou said the foundation was ready to make the dream a reality with the sum of N200 billion already earmarked for the project.

She said the land was purchased and preliminary measures were in place for the headquarters of the university at the nation’s capital city of Abuja.

ASUU STRIKE WILL INCREASE PR0STITUTION, S3X WORKERS WARN FG

The Nigerian Sex Workers Association says the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, which has led to the closure of public universities, will increase Pr0stitution among female students.

The national coordinator of the association, Amaka Enemo, said this during an interview with our correspondent on Friday.

Enemo said, even without the strike, many female students had been engaging in ‘runs’, a euphemism for offering Sex for cash or other valuables.




She said if the strike was not called off soon, idle students would embrace S3x work.

Enemo said, “Even without the strike, a lot of the students were doing ‘runs’, which is exchanging money for S3x. But with the strike, just like a holiday, the rate of S3x work will double.

“In this job, strike or holiday period is like a peak period. So, I urge them to stay safe because we cannot kick them off the streets. They should be safe and use Cond0ms.

“The government needs to ensure that the strike is called off because if the students are left idle due to the closure of schools, it means the government is indirectly telling them to go to the streets.”

Nigerian student third in World Microsoft Word Competition

A 16-year-old student of Childville School, Ogudu, Lagos, Katherine Eta, has emerged the third place winner for Microsoft Word in the 2017 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship hosted by Certiport in Anaheim, USA.

Eta competed against 156 other finalists from 49 countries for the competition which had more than 560,000 candidates.

The competition involves contestants demonstrating their superior skills in Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint®
Zenith Bank and Readmanna supported her in her trip to the USA and she was the only African student to win a medal in the competition.

For the Microsoft Word 2016 category won by Eta, Cheng Wai Fung from Hong Kong was first, while Ieong Chi Kei, Macao came second.

To enter the competition, students aged 13 to 22 took a qualifying Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification exam to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office products. Regional competitions were held worldwide and 157 student finalists competed in the final round of competition in Anaheim, California, USA from July 31 – August 2, 2017.

In the concluding round, competitors participated in unique project-based tests to demonstrate their ability to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for the information presented in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Certiport and Microsoft recognized the top competitors at the MOSWC Student Awards Ceremony at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. Each first-place winner was presented with a $7,000 cash prize, second place $3,500 and third place $1,500.

“The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is inspiring – not only because these students won an impressive award, but because they have gained valuable workforce skills that will benefit them throughout their academic and career pursuits,” said Aaron Osmond, General Manager at Certiport.

“The best part is watching the champions go home and then report back to us with all of the amazing things they are doing academically and in the workforce. Microsoft Office Specialist certification truly changes lives.”

MOS certification is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally and serves as a powerful instrument for assessing student skills and preparing students for real-world application.

“We are proud to support the MOS World Championship and grateful to meet young people from all parts of the world who have discovered the power of Microsoft Office skills for productivity and employability,” said Anneleen Vaandrager, Senior Director, Education Industry at Microsoft.

“The competition itself is the experience of a lifetime but every participant, all 560,000 of them, earned MOS certification to bolster their employability opportunities.”

Next year, Certiport will host the 2018 MOS World Championship in Orlando, Florida.

NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES TO GET FREE WI-FI FACILITY ON CAMPUS THIS WEEK

Surfwella, a free Wi-Fi facility, will be made available in Nigerian universities, from this week, to give a boost to tertiary education in the country.

The Chief Marketing Officer, Surfwella, Olusola Bankole, said on Sunday that the firm would make available the free Wi-Fi in all university campuses in the country.

Surfwella is a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of an indigenous 4G operator, Cyberspace Network Limited, and a platform for social and cognitive computing.

“The University of Abuja will be the first beneficiary, with the service scheduled for launch on the institution’s campus this week Wednesday,” Bankole said.

According to him, while the firm is unveiling the service at the University of Abuja and other institutions, it is still building and adding more features on the Internet infrastructure.

“The usage is totally free. No payment, no subscription, no data purchase, and no need for modems. It is free Internet in the most useable form on the Wi-Fi,” he said.

He said, “The Lagos State University will be next, followed in quick succession by the College of Agric, Lafiaji, and the University of Lagos.”

Bankole said that Surfwella was doing this as a way to give back to the society.

“It is our own form of Corporate Social Responsibility. It is all about empowering the students to be globally competitive, and access to free Internet is the best way to empower the budding oncoming Generation-Z.

“The whole idea of this project is to ensure that future graduates from universities across the country will compete with their contemporaries from other countries of the globe. More so, the surest way to be an entrepreneur is to acquiring Information and Communications Technology skills,” he added.

JAMB TO DETERMINE CUT OFF MARK FOR ADMISSION AUGUST 22

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, will hold the policy committee meeting on August 21 and 22 that will determine cut of points for admission this year into various courses in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

A press statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES by JAMB on Sunday said the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, had given the Board approval to hold the policy committee meeting on 2017 admission.

It said the meeting will kickstart the 2017 admission exercise.
The policy committee will announce the cut off points at the end of the meeting.

“All stakeholders including vice-chancellors of universities, rectors of polytechnics and mono-technics and provosts of colleges of education would be in attendance,” the statement said.

JAMB disclosed that it has sent to all institutions a soft copy of printout of candidates who chose them.

“This year, the Board has sent candidates who scored 100 and above in their JAMB to the institutions in its flexible admission policy for institutions to determine the suitability of the candidates in compliance with all laid down rules and regulations as determined by the proprietors of the institutions and approved by Senate of the various schools.

“The Board will ensure that criteria set by Senate are strictly adhered to by the institutions’ admission officers and no shifting of goal posts in the middle of the admission exercise.

“This is to guarantee fairness and equity to all candidates.”

Meanwhile, the Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, has advised owners of Computer-Based Test centres are up to date ahead of the accreditation exercise for next year.

Mr. Oloyede gave the advice during the foundation laying ceremony for a 500-capacity twin CBT centre being built by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, in Osogbo, Osun State.

He said the board would not compromise on the 2018 accreditation exercise, stressing that having suitable centres is the bedrock of conducting a smooth examination.

“The 500-capacity twin CBT centre built by NCC in compliance with presidential directive for NCC to build such centres in each senatorial district was to bring the centres closer to the candidates and also ensure standard,” JAMB said in its statement.

“The Registrar urged the consultant to ensure that the centre is built according to specification,” it concluded.

THE DEBATE: PRIVATE OR PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES?

It seems we are yet to see the end to one of the most recurring debates on social media, the debate between private universities and the public or government owned univerisities.
In a series of tweets, proponents of both class of universities were once again at logger heads on which of the schools is better.
Tweets have been going back and forth about which set of universities is the best- private or public.
The private university clique will tell you it has the most employable graduates in the market.


This claim is especially made by young adults who graduated from church-funded universities. Higher institutions owned by churches make up a chunk of private universities in the country. Covenant University, Redeemers University, and Babcock University are the top three church funded private universities in the country.

Babcock University

Covenant University is arguably the most popular private university in the country. It was established in 2002 under the leadership of the Davido Oyedepo of Winners Chapel.
During this period, public universities were plagued with strikes, school riots and gangland activities from confraternities. These disturbances messed up the academic calendar year. You could end up using six years in a public university studying a four-year course.

Covenant University came in the midst of this mess. It promised a no disturbance environment that wouldn't mess with the school timetable. Other incentives included serene environment, quality teaching and a higher standard of education.
The fine print in the Covenant University contract had strict laws and guidelines. A strict dress code, conservative mode of dressing, no physical contact with the opposite sex and no phones. It was outrageous at the time, it still is.
Everything that a young person looked forward to doing in a university was ripped away in Covenant. This is still the order of the day at Oyedepo's University.

In social discussions, private university graduates especially those from Covenant were the butt of jokes. They were not spared for attending what some called a 'glorified secondary school'. It is believed that they paid their way through university.

The public university goers are proud of the freedom and liberty they have. Yes, strikes still go on and the standard of education isn't any better than it was in 2002 but the opinion is that public universities are lit.

Graduates from legacy universities, like the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Benin, Ahmadu Bello University, and others have a superiority complex. They think they are better than their counterparts from private universities. The hardship faced by public universities is seen as a badge of honour, a passage of rites of sorts. They believed they are seasoned to handle life.

University of Lagos (UNILAG)

The argument on which type of university is better in Nigeria is almost baseless. The standard of education in Nigerian hasn't gotten any better since the advent of private universities. Some will say it has gotten worse.

The Nigerian educational system, especially in higher institutions, is the same. There is hardly any difference between education in public universities and private universities.

When private universities first came on board, most of its lecturers were from public universities. Many lecturers who were mere doctors in public universities suddenly became professors and Heads of Departments in private universities. Obviously, the fast tracking of careers without due process must have its negative effects.

Nigerian education is so bad that no Nigerian university makes the global top list of best universities in the world- private and public. If the quality of education isn't of international standard then why is this debate going on? It's just two sides of the same coin.

Nigerians are consumed about debates that mean nothing. Private universities are not better than public universities and vice versa. It's the same thing. Instead of this meaningless rhetoric on timelines, young Nigerians should be thinking of how the allocation for education in the annual budget can be increased.

Author of ‘Eze Goes To School’ Onuora Nzekwu dies at 89

Onuora Nzekwu is a Nigerian professor, writer and editor and also a co-author of the widely read ‘Eze Goes To School’.  He co-wrote the novel with with historian Michael Crowder and also wrote ‘Troubled Dust’ a recount of the civil war experience.

He joined the Federal Civil Service as an editorial assistant at the Nigeria Magazine Division of the Federal Ministry of Information. Nzekwu worked as an editorial assistant from 1956 to 1958.

In 1958, he took over the position of editor-in-chief of the magazine. He continued to run the Nigeria Magazine Division of the Federal Ministry of Information until 1966, when the Nigerian Crisis compelled him to transfer his services to the Eastern Nigeria Public Service.

Onuora Nzekwu began as a senior information officer at Eastern Nigeria, a post that the combined the roles of Information Ministry and Cultural officer. In 1968, he was promoted deputy director of the newly created Cultural Division. At the end of hostilities in January 1970, Nzekwu returned to the Federal Ministry of Information in May and was assigned to the information division as senior information officer.

Nzekwu worked as Protem general manager of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) until July 1, 1979, when he then took over the position of substantive general manager. Nzekwu retired from the Nigeria Public Service in 1985, after presiding over the affairs of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) for nearly eight years and servicing his country’s government for 39 years.

The renowned author died on friday April 21th, in his home town, Onitsha, Anambra state at age 89.

Lagos announces resumption dates for public, private schools

Lagos State Ministry of Education on Thursday announced that public and private primary and secondary schools operating in the state would resume on April 18.

Dr. Idiat Adebule, the Deputy Governor of the state, who is also the Commissioner for Education, made this announcement in a statement in Lagos.

Adesegun Ogundeji, the Assistant Director, Public Affairs Unit in the ministry, signed the statement.

In the statement, Adebule said private and public schools must adhere strictly to the 2016/2017 academic calendar.

The deputy governor sent a goodwill message to all pupils and parents, wishing them Happy Easter following the successful completion of the lent.

She said the 2016/2017 academic calendar was jointly agreed upon at the state education stakeholders’ meeting before the commencement of the academic year.

According to Adebule, the adoption of a uniform calendar will enable proper planning and ensure that pupils and students attend school for the number of days required per term.

BIRS seals off federal varsity of agric Makurdi over N2.3bn debt

Benue State Internal Revenue Service has sealed off the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, over non-remittance of Personal Income Tax running into N2.3bn.
The Chairman of the Board, Mrs. Mimi Adzape-Orubibi, led the enforcement agents to the university located at north bank area of the state, where they sealed off the offices of the vice-chancellor, registrar and the bursar.

The institution's chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has described the move as a fraudulent attempt to commence another round of illegal deductions from the salaries of its members, a situation ASUU said might instigate crisis in the university.

Mrs. Adzape-Orubibi while speaking shortly after the exercise, said the BIRS had to make the move after the university failed to respond to several letters written to it to pay up the outstanding Personal Income Tax from 2007 to 2011.

"The BIRS got an interim order to restrain FUAM because it failed to deduct PAYE tax in some cases or deducted less in other cases. The institution would now have to pay almost N3bn, inclusive of penalties and interest," she stated.

According to her, Benue State Government is very passionate about education, stressing that the decision to picket the institution became necessary owing to its continued evasion of tax.

But in a swift reaction, acting Chairman of ASUU, Mr. Bemgba Anjembe, insisted that PAYE was deducted monthly from staff salary and alleged that there is suspected connivance between BIRS and the university authority not to remit taxes already deducted from staff, thus denying them access to tax clearance certificate.

Anjembe said: "On August 27, 2014, BIRS wrote a letter to the VC in which it informed that the university was owing BIRS tax liability due to the failure to deduct PAYE tax to the tune of over N2bn.



"That was their claim, but we don't agree with that figure. How did BIRS arrive at that value? The university is not a business outfit but a social service. This is fraud."
The students of the university however besieged the BIRS office located on Gboko Road, Makurdi, to protest the closure of their institution and called for dialogue between the BIRS and the university authority.

When contacted, the university's management which spoke through its Public Relations Officer, Joseph Fanafa, said it was maintaining a dignified silence on the matter until the outcome of a meeting with BIRS scheduled for Friday.