NECO Shifts Timetable for Entrance Exams into Unity Schools

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Read Time:1 Minute, 35 Second

The National Examinations Council (NECO) yesterday announced the postponement of the second test for entrants into unity schools across the country.

According to a NECO executive  in the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Mustapaha Abdul, the examination which was slated for June 28, will now hold on July 12.

Abdul stated that the postponement was to give candidates that qualified for the second test more time to register.

The examination body had during the conduct of the common entrance examination for unity schools, disclosed that it would conduct another test for candidates who passed the examination to select the best for admission into federal government colleges based on merit.

The Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, had also disclosed this when he monitored the examination which held on April 26 in some schools in Abuja.

Wike explained that this was in line with government’s promise to ensure that 60 per cent of admissions into federal government colleges were on merit.

He had noted that 40 per cent would be allocated on the basis of quota system.
The Registrar of NECO, Prof. Promise Okpala, also said at the exercise that the measure was part of government’s commitment to ensure accessible and qualitative enrolment into the schools.

Okpala said a total of 94,234 candidates registered for the examination in 2014 as against 88,444 in 2013.

He noted that 18,726 candidates registered for the examination in Abuja alone, while Lagos State had the highest number of enrolment with 26,926 candidates.

He also disclosed that there was, however, a decrease in some northern states where Borno registered 218, Yobe 176 and Adamawa 318.
Zamfara, he said, recorded the lowest number of enrolment with only 113 candidates.
Okpala added that the increase in enrolment this year was a proof of parents’ confidence in the quality of education service offered by the schools.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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NIGERIA: Bomb Scare at the University of Jos

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The Faculty of Education of the University of Jos was yesterday thrown into pandemonium following the arrest of an alleged bomber in possession of Improvise Explosive Device (IED) near one of the lecture halls, making the students and their lecturers scampering for safety.

THISDAY however, gathered that the accused was a student, who was actually carrying a polythene bag containing garri and milk into the faculty lecture hall and was asked to reveal the content but initially declined, but later did.

Earlier, there had been rumours of explosive devices planted in the faculty, causing panic among the students.

It was against this backdrop that the alleged bomber with a black bag threw the entire faculty into pandemonium.

Confirming the development yesterday on phone, the President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the university, Mr. Abel Nok, said there was no bomb planted in the faculty.

He urged the students to go about their normal academic activities.
But the students who failed to heed to their president’s advice deserted the faculty.

The Registrar of the school, Mr. Jilli Dandam, could not be reached as his phone was switched off.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Bauchi Teachers Vow to Shut Schools over Compulsory Retirement of Union Leader

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Read Time:1 Minute, 9 Second

The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) has said there is no going back on its plans to shut down all schools in Bauchi state if government fails to re-instate its chairman, Abdullahi Tanko Ningi, who was forced on compulsory retirement.

The state Acting Secretary of the Union, Bala Ayuba, who stated this while briefing journalists shortly after a union meeting, said the measure became necessary to safeguard the future of education in the state.

Ayuba added that the teachers in the state received with utter dismay the news of the compulsory retirement of their chairman, whose contribution to education cannot be over-emphasised.

“We have directed teachers across the state to shun classes and proceed on peaceful protest  in the state capital demanding the immediate re-instatement of our greater chairman whose compulsory retirement is a calculated attempt by Governor Yuguda administration and its agents to scuttle the future of our children,” said Ayuba.

He said government was in haste to compulsory retire its chairman when the Union had already taken legal action against the former for allegedly victimising teachers, describing the action as jumping the gun.

He noted that teachers would not embark on strike, which has been the usual option, but would stage a protest to express their displeasure over the nonchalant attitudes of government on the plights of its members.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Nigeria Produces Africa’s Youngest Ph.D Holder

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A 24-year-old Nigerian on Wednesday made history in Africa as he received a Ph.D Degree in Mathematics at the convocation ceremony of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) for the 2012/2013 academic session.

Olaoluwa Hallowed Oluwadara, whose thesis was adjudged the best in Engineering and Science, having made a cumulative grade point average of 5.0, was described as the youngest Ph.D holder in Africa.

According to the university, Oluwadara was able to finish the programme within the three years of stipulated period.

He got two first and second degrees in Mathematics (Pure Option) and Physics in 2007 and 2008 respectively, at the age of 18, from the University de Bangui, Central African Republic.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues at the convocation ceremony, Oluwadara said his achievement was not only a personal triumph but a triumph for mathematics as a useful subject of study in Nigeria.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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NIGERIA: At Last, Lagos Reduces LASU Tuition Fees by 60%

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Read Time:3 Minute, 27 Second

 About 48 hours after some security operatives shot teargas at protesting students in Alausa, the Lagos State Government yesterday reduced tuition fees of the Lagos State University (LASU) by 60 per cent.

However, the state government warned the students of the institution against violating law and order in the state, noting that their rights to protest “does not suspend the operation of criminal laws.”

Special Adviser to the state governor, Mr. Fatai Olukoga, disclosed this at a press conference he addressed at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, noting that the state government would remain committed to the institution.

The special adviser said the state government had agreed to reduce the tuition fees from 34 per cent to 60 per cent across the different faculties and courses, saying the Governing Council of the school would now decide what percentage reduction of the fee should be paid by different faculties and courses.

Olukoga, who read a 17-point resolution of the ad-hoc committee approved by the State Executive Council (SEC), said after an  extensive deliberation on the report of the ad-hoc committee, the council made observation and resolution “regarding the fees and recent actions embarked upon by staff and students of the university.

He said deriving from the foregoing, damage to property, blockage of highways or other acts of public nuisance were punishable offences under the criminal law of the state and could not be justified or excused under the guise of public protests as society itself would be at risk of perpetual disturbance by sundry interest groups.

However, Olukoga said the state government commended the students for taking up the invitation to participate in the resolution of matters affecting their lives when they met with the governor, saying their response by way of detailed observations and suggestions had assisted the government in taking a second look at the issues in contention.

According to him, “in welcoming the submission of the students, the state government reiterated the fact that it was not inflexible or resistant to change where such is justifiable. It’s commitment to continually subsidise university education is a deeply-ingrained policy adopted to ensure that no willing and able student is left behind.

“Despite the foregoing, the ad-hoc committee has recommended and government has accepted that the fees and charges payable by students for incidental services and materials are amendable to a downward review.
“Some of the fee components have been applied to students across all levels when in fact they can be justifiably limited to students at a particular level only, while some of the charges included can still be reduced on compassionate grounds.

“On the basis of these principles, government agrees that with the subsidised tuition fees and appropriate moderation of the incidental fees, a reduction ranging from 34 percent to 60 percent is possible across the different faculties and courses.

“The state government has therefore approved the reduction and, in accordance with the law setting up the university, forwarded its approval to the institution governing council for consideration and implementation.

“Pursuant to its mandate, the governing council will issue details of what is now payable by students in each department, and also, deal with all other management matters of the university. All individuals and groups within the community are advised to relate to the university council accordingly.”

Olukoga said notwithstanding the approval of reduced fees for students in the institution, the state government would retain and continue with its enhanced scholarship and bursary provisions while the research fund sponsored by the government would also be maintained to foster a culture of research and innovation in the university.

The special adviser assured the students that government would continue its increased spending on infrastructure and physical development of the campus, which had already begun to enhance the stature of the school as a leading institution of higher learning in Nigeria.

He hoped that with the resolution of the fees issue, staff unions at the university would immediately call off their strike and ensure the resumption of normal academic activities.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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ASUU Strike: UniAbuja VC Clears Air on Check up Dues

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Read Time:1 Minute, 44 Second
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. James Sunday Adelabu, has said the check up dues of members of unions within the university have been included in their salaries and were not deducted by the university management.
 
He, therefore, described the ongoing strike by one faction of the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over alleged non-remittance of the check up dues, as unfair.
 
The strike which started on Monday, had disrupted some of the ongoing examinations, leading to protests by the students yesterday morning.
Some examinations are however continuing, supervised and invigilated by the second ASUU faction called the Integrity Group.
 
Speaking with journalists in Abuja yesterday, Adelabu said the management was also not owing its staff any allowances that have been approved by the Federal Government.
 
He added that the genesis of the problem with ASUU is the 'sharing formula' of the Internally generated revenue (IGR).
 
"I adopted a method that the resource persons (lecturers) get their dues and the rest of the IGR belongs to the university. On the check up dues, it is paid in full to them with their salaries. The money is paid to them. What are they now asking me to remit?" he said.
 
Adelabu also denied factionalising ASUU or the Students' Union Government (SMG).
 
"It is immaterial to me who becomes the president of SUG or the unions. We are here as academics and our primary assignment is to teach and examine," he said.
 
He added that he intervened and tried to mediate when the local chapter of ASUU split into factions.
Adelabu tenure which will end on June 30, had been dogged by controversies and his appointment was not renewed by the federal government.
 
"All the challenges I experienced were catalysts to me, and as a result, the determination rose, with the energy to consistently remain focused, which is why I was able to execute a lot of projects," he said.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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LASU Fees: Students’ Position Now Before State Exco, Says Fashola

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Read Time:2 Minute, 43 Second
The lingering issue between the students of the Lagos State University (LASU) and the State Government may soon be resolved, as the parties have been holding talks on ways of reaching an agreeable fee regime for the school.
 
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), who dropped the hint at the weekend, again assured the students of the institution that the State Executive Council was currently studying their paper to the government on the increase in school fees, promising that where there was need for adjustment or amendment it would be effected accordingly.
 
It would be recalled that following several agitations by the students on the fees increase, Fashola met with them severally and it was agreed that the students should make their independent study and present to government a position paper on the way forward.
Fielding questions at a live television interactive session with media executives at the Lagos Television, Ikeja, to mark Democracy Day in the state, Fashola said the students have presented their paper, which is now before the Executive Council for consideration and approval.
 
“I have passed it out to the council. We have told the students that we are not inflexible and where we see the need for adjustment or amendment, we will do it so that they can understand it better,” Fashola said, noting however, that going by the position paper, “the students were not against the increase but the parameters used in calculating the fees.”
 
Fashola reiterated that the increase in fees regime was one of the many recommendations made by a visitation panel inaugurated at the instance of the students in a petition to the House of Assembly.
 
“There were many recommendations made by the panel many of which we accepted. It is the school fees that has become so vexatious as it were. What we have done is that we looked across schools, federal, state and private schools and tried to stay somewhere in the middle,” he explained.
 
The governor said government also decided that the new fee was not going to affect sitting students, but only new intakes, adding that in consideration of qualified but indigent students, government also increased its budget for scholarships and bursaries from N700 million, to about N1.2 to N1.3 billion “in order to ensure that no child was left behind.”
 
On the reason for the increase, Fashola further explained: “We felt that there was no convergence of universal learning. We had begun to see LASU as a school only for children of the poor. For me, that is a very dangerous thing to do. A university where children of the rich and the poor cannot sit together! The rich are taking their children to private schools. For me that is a time bomb for the future. They may not see it now.
 
“In the event, the students have come back to me three years after at the instance of their lecturers who are saying that we should reduce the school fees otherwise they would go on strike. But the same lecturers are asking us under Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to increase their salaries”, he said.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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CBT: JAMB Supervisor Allays Candidates’ Fear over Missing Results

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Read Time:1 Minute, 14 Second
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday said candidates who sat for the Computer Based Test (CBT) and were yet to receive their results should check the internet.
 
Supervisor, Yaba College of Technology (YabaTech) CBT centre, Lagos, Mrs. Ebere Okeke, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
 
Reacting to complaints of missing results, Okeke said wrong or incorrect GSM number might cause the delay or missing result. The supervisor also said in most cases, the delay could be caused by delay in processing of the result or network problem, but noted that it was nothing to worry about.
She said the problem might also be caused by individual negligence and candidates who did not carefully fill their numbers during registration.
 
Okeke said the CBT mode was devoid of missing results, adding that the computers will mark immediately the candidates start writing the examination. She said candidates who sat for the CBT examination would receive their results within 48 hours through their phone Short Message Service (SMS).
 
According to Okeke, during registration, candidates fill GSM numbers that the results of their examination will be sent to, but some candidates submit wrong numbers in the process.
“Some candidates are experiencing delay or have not received their results because they submitted wrong or incorrect GSM numbers.
 
Some candidates have either misplaced their numbers or changed them; as such, the computer could not deliver the result after the examination,” she said.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Jos Blasts: Unijos Students Mourn Dead Colleagues

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Read Time:2 Minute, 20 Second
Students of the University of Jos yesterday held a rally to mourn their colleagues who were last week killed in the twin blasts that rocked the city.
 
The students, who were all in black attires, marched round the permanent site of the university on Bauchi Road and to some of the hospitals around the city where those injured are still being treated.
While denouncing terrorism and urging a decisive action against terrorists, the students, led by the acting president of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Mr. William Jiman Lar, said the death of their colleagues and the earlier abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls are sufficient evidence that students are no longer safe to pursue their studies.
 
Seven students of the university were feared killed, though the school authority confirmed two, while four others were confirmed injured following the bloody blasts.
 
The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Youth Mobilisation, Mr. Jude Imagwe, who was in Jos to placate the students over their loss, said Nigerians should realise that terrorism perpetuated anywhere in Nigeria affects all Nigerians, who must rise as one the fight the menace.
 
Lar, who also spoke as the rally began, said terrorism was intolerable and should therefore be stopped before it wreaked more havoc in the country.
 
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Musa Ibrahim, who addressed the students on behalf of the university management, called for calm, expressing optimism that the government would do everything within its means to address terrorism in the country.
 
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Government yesterday banned street trading and hawking in the Central Business District of Jos, including the usually congested Terminus area, that was bombed recently.
A statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information, Olivia Dazyem, said: “Sequel to the unfortunate twin bomb explosions that occurred on 20th May 2014 in the Central Business Area of Jos and the ongoing clearance/evacuation exercise, the Plateau State Government wishes to announce that all street trading, street markets and street hawking are hereby banned in the city of Jos,”
 
The statement directed street traders along the Murtala Muhammed Way, the Terminus area, Ahmadu Bello Way, Tudun Wada Junction, Chorbe, Jenta, Dilimi, Kujiya-Bukuru and Rantya Lowcost Junction to relocate to the Satellite Market located on the Rukuba Road area of the capital city.
 
The government’s order also banned all street motor parks in the Central Business Area of Ahmadu Bello way, Murtala Muhammed Way and Terminus, directing operators to move into approved motor parks in the city.
“The Plateau State Government continues to sympathise with families of the deceased and those injured in the incidents and urges vigilance on the part of the general public,” the statement added.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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NIGERIA: Power Outage Forces JAMB to Reschedule CBT

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Read Time:1 Minute, 57 Second
Power outage at one of the examination centres in Lagos has forced the Joint Admisions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to reschedule the third session of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination Computer-Based Test (CBT) to May 31.
The examination, which was previously scheduled for May 26 at the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in Lagos, had to be shifted because of the outage, Mr. Noble Onukwue, JAMB’s Deputy Director, Outstation, said in Lagos.
 
Onukwe said the test would now be held at 11a.m., explaining that the outrage caused delay in concluding the second session of the examination, which made it impossible to start the third session.
“It was not safe to keep children late because of the examination because of the security situation in the country.
 
“Some of these children are from very far distances and keeping them will amount to rushing the examination so as to get home on time.
“So the best decision was to reschedule which is one of the flexibilities of the CBT.”
 
Onukwue said one of the criteria the board requested from examination centres was the provision of adequate power supply without relying on public sources of electricity.
 
The second session of the CBT at the DBI, which started by 11a.m. was supposed to last three hours and to end by 2p.m.
 
However, it ended by 6p.m., due to the power problem and as a result, there was no time for the third session.
A Facility Manager at the institute, Mr. Afam Aboh, said the 250 KVA generating set at the institute had broken down.
He said, however, that another generator had since been provided to serve the institute.
 
Some candidates said they held no grudges against JAMB for rescheduling the examination.
 
“It was wise for the board to reschedule because allowing the candidate to write the exam will amount to getting home late,’’ said a woman, who gave her name simply as Mrs Oludare.
 
One of the candidates, Olamide Olabisi, said she preferred the CBT system, appealing to JAMB to make adequate arrangements for a good generating set to prevent a re-occurrence.
Another candidate, Betty Eduwoh, who was in the second phase of the CBT, described the power outage as quite disappointing. 

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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