By Chinyere Nwachukwu

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 262,803 candidates who wrote the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Mr Patrick Areghan, the council’s Head of National Office (HNO), said this at a news conference to announce the release of the results.

He said that the results were withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice.

According to him, the figure represents 16.29 per cent of the total number of candidates that sat for the examination.

He said that this was 6.54 per cent lower than the 22.83 per cent recorded in the School Candidates in 2022.

“The reasons for this are not far-fetched. Candidates are no longer ready to study, they lack self-confidence and preparations for examinations are poor. There is over-reliance on the so-called ‘Expo’, which is non-existent.

“Candidates got frustrated when they got to the examination hall and discovered that all they had celebrated was fake. This has pitiably led to some of them failing the examination,” he said.

He added that all reported cases were being investigated and reports of the investigations would be presented to the appropriate committee of the council for consideration and final decisions.

According to him, the committee’s decisions will be communicated to the affected candidates through their various schools in due course.

“Candidates affected by these decisions can now call for redress if they so wish. This is our humble way of giving the candidates a fair hearing and thus, maintaining their fundamental human right,” he added.

Giving a further breakdown of the results, Areghan noted that a total of 1,621,884 candidates registered for the examination, from 20,867 recognised secondary schools in the country.

He said that, of the registered candidates, 1,613,733 sat the examination.

The HNO said that the examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea, where the Nigerian curriculum for Senior Secondary Schools was being used.

He noted that, of the total number of candidates that registered for the examination, 70,794 are with varying degrees of Special Needs.

According to him, out of this number, 109 are visually impaired, 386 with impaired hearing, 33 spastic cum mentally challenged and 34 others physically challenged.

“All these candidates were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination. The results of these candidates have been processed and are also now being released along with those of other candidates.”

On the categories of the results, he said that out of the number of candidates that sat the examination, a total of 1,476,565, representing 91.5 per cent had their results fully processed and released.

Areghan noted that 137,168 others, representing 8.5 per cent, had a few of their subjects still being processed, due to some shortcomings, ranging from nonchallance, lethargy, incomplete CASS upload, disobedience of rubrics, and others associated with the schools and candidates concerned.

He explained that efforts were being made to complete the resolution process, to enable all the affected candidates to speedily get their results fully processed and released within the next couple of days.

The WAEC boss spoke on the analysis of the statistics of the performance of candidates in the examination.

He said it showed that out of the 1,613,733 candidates that sat the examination, a total of 1,361,608 representing 84.38 per cent , obtained credit and above in a minimum of any 5 subjects, that is, with or without English Language and/ or Mathematics.

“A total of 1,287,920 candidates, representing 79.81 per cent , obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

“Of this number, 616,914, that is 47.9 per cent, were male candidates, while 671,006, that is 52.1 per cent, were female candidates.

“The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for School Candidates in 2022, that is, those who obtained credit and above in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, was 76.36 per cent , thus, there is a 3.45 per cent decrease in performance in this regard,” Areghan stated.

Speaking further, he stressed that the council would continue to sanction all cases of examination malpractice, noting that all supervisors, teachers and candidates perpetrating this evil were not helping the education system.

He warned that state governments yet to pay council registration fees of their candidates would not be able to access the results of such candidates, until they pay up.

“I need to restate that the results of candidates sponsored by states indebted to the council will not be released now until they pay up.

“We appeal to them to do so to enable the affected schools/candidates access their results.
The Result Checker PIN and Serial Number required by candidates to check their results online are on the Candidate’s Smart Identity Card used during the examination,” he said.

The HNO, whose tenure comes to an end on Oct. 1, said  that results of candidates who wrote the 2023 WASSCE for School Candidates were already being uploaded on the results website.

“As I speak, a very big innovation is that after checking the result, candidates can access their Digital Certificate simultaneously.

“ That is, the Digital Certificate of candidates who sat for this year’s WASSCE for School Candidates and have no pending issues, by way of unresolved queries or hanging cases of examination malpractice, are ready on the Digital certificate platform.

“Printing of the physical (hard copy) certificates will commence 90 days from today. This is an innovation that will make admission processes seamless, and with a high level of mobility.

“Candidates who have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Council can access their results on the Council’s results website: http://www.waecdirect.org.

“After accessing their results, candidates can visit WAEC to confirm, share and download digital copies of their certificates. Copies of the result listing will be sent to schools shortly.

“Another innovation is that candidates can now check online, to ascertain the correctness of their registration details, to avoid request for amendment later, which may not even be granted. Candidates must supply their NIN as part of the registration requirements,” he said.

He said that insecurity and non adherence to registration deadline as some of the hiccups the council had encountered in their preparation for the the conduct of its examination. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Oluwole Sogunle

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) says over 2 million students and staff of higher education institutions will soon have access to online academic resources through the deployment of Blackboard Learning Platform .

The Executive Secretary, TETFund, Sonny Echono, disclosed this at a three-day workshop on the: “Implementation of the Enhanced Blackboard Learning Management System and Train The Trainer Programme” in Abuja on Monday.

Echono said the workshop attracted directors of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) from the 253 beneficiary institutions of the Fund.

He said it was part of measures put in place to bridge the digital skills gap in the country’s universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

“Given the rising significance of ICT across diverse sectors, including education, this initiative holds immense students, and the overall potential to positively impact educators, advancement of our educational landscape.

“Online learning remains critical to our collective success, and so today, as we flag off this programme, the goal is that we would have provided the necessary skills for online Blackboard LMS.

” It will further enrich teaching, learning and research in all 253 of our beneficiary institutions.

“You may recall that for 2019-2020 ICT support intervention, we gave guidelines for e-Learning and training on e-Learning methodologies for hybrid modes of learning.

”So today, with Blackboard, the aim is to provide enhancements that will further improve the quality and mode of delivery of education across the country under our converged services programme,” he said .

Echono added that the impact of the blackboard would be to eliminate the cost of subscription and technical overhead directly from each beneficiary institution.

He said the intervention would ensure that physical and online modes of teaching and learning were cemented once and for all in tertiary institutions across the country.

According to him, Nigerian students will be able to compete favourably with their contemporaries on the global stage with the deployment of blackboard platform.

“When Blackboard enhancements become fully operational, over two million students and staff of these institutions will be able to:

” Access general resources to support learning including online tests and quizzes, submit assignments and electronic grade books which allow immediate review of grades and performance tracking.

“Carry out self and peer-assessment and collaboration on required projects thereby teaching students to provide constructive feedback and learn from each other.

” Access alternative formats of materials (including audio, Braille, ePub and HTML) to accommodate students with disabilities,” he said.

The executive secretary added that it would also give students access an all-in-one web conferencing platform that would allow instructors to hold classes online, and in real time, or record lectures or short videos to post on their course sites.

He said they would also have access to a community of 4000 other tertiary institutions worldwide, with project management trainings.

Speaking further, the TETFund boss said the fund was improving its allocation to ICT development in its intervention programmes to ensure that the country meet up with the present digital reality across the globe.

” Prior to 2022, our ICT Support Intervention was N15 million for Universities and N7.5 million for Polytechnics and Colleges of Education. We took bold steps to increase this intervention to N100 million for Universities and N50 million for Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

“We envisaged that we would be able to address two main issues: (a) problems common to all our institutions, and (b) problems peculiar and unique to each institution.

”And we have done this by introducing converged services, which this programme is a part of, and by issuing guidelines for FY21/22/23 which will enable utilisation of Funds to address each institution’s peculiar ICT needs,” he added.

He stressed the importance of the increase in its intervention lines to give ICT as an enabler for teaching, learning and research environment.

“As you are aware, the Fund is not only committed to Digital Literacy in particular, but to the transformation of our education system by leveraging on ICT.

” Accordingly, we have commenced various programmes including the Thesis Digitisation Programme, Beneficiary Identity Management Service (BIMS), Tertiary Education, Research, and Application Systems (TeRAS), Consolidated Library Access Platform (CLAP), Aggregated Journal Subscription from EBSCO.

“Online Blackboard, Sponsored Mobile Internet Data on and off campus, Remote Monitoring, BPP Compliance Portal, amongst others. These programmes will deliver significant value to the ICT landscape of our Beneficiary Institutions, ” Echono said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

By Salisu Sani-Idris

Sen. Ahmed Wadada (SDP-Nasarawa West), on Sunday expressed willingness to partner with the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Consult to train about 5,000 youths on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Wadada, who holds the traditional title of Sarkin Yakin Keffi, made this known during a meeting with the Chairman of the university consult, Malam Muhammad Aminu and a Director of the consult, Malami Ahmed Jibrin, in Abuja.

The lawmaker, who said that the importance of ICT knowledge on building the capacity of youths cannot be overemphasised, said youths empowerment had always been part of the programmes of his foundation and the Keffi Polo Ranch.

Wadada said that the objective of the training was to broaden the knowledge of participants on the ICT with a view increasing their economic and social well-being in the society, thereby reducing the rate of unemployment.

He added that ICT could enhance the efficiency and transparency of the public sector including the delivery of social services.

The lawmaker said that participants of the proposed ICT training would be thoroughly selected from the 59 electoral wards across the five local governments areas of the district.

Wadada commended the university under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mohammed Suleiman for maintaining academic excellence over the years.

He also thanked the consult for its determination to partner with him to organise the training to alleviate the suffering of the youths.

Earlier, Aminu said that ICT provides economic opportunities to both urban and rural population, especially the youths who are the most important segment of every society.

The chairman of the consult said that the ICT training would be conducted in different skills and programmes development.

He said: “One common contribution of ICT training is that it increases productivity and makes the market work more efficiently.” (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Toba Ajayi

The Federal Polytechnic, Ayede in Oyo State, on Friday matriculated its 211 pioneer students for the 2022/2023 academic session.

The maiden ceremony of the institution took place at the polytechnic’s temporary site in Iresa-Pupa, Surulere Local Government Area of the state.

In a speech, the Rector, Dr Taofeek Abdul-hameed, said that the management of the institution was “working tirelessly to make it a cynosure of academic excellence and entrepreneurship training”, amongst its contemporaries.

Abdul-hameed thanked the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board “for their tremendous role in ensuring that students were promptly admitted.

“The feast has also been a collective effort of the pioneer Governing Council of the Polytechnic, Management, Academic Board and the staff members generally.

“Let me add that there are a lot in the pipeline and, very soon, you all will see that our main business is to produce employable graduates and job creators,” he said.

According to him, the polytechnic was envisioned to be a world-class institution for innovative and technical education reputed for adding values to human developments through enterprising and innovative graduates.

He gave assurance that the students would experience innovation and enterprise “with a difference in this era of entrepreneurship and self-reliance campaign”.

The rector said that the journey had been tough, challenging and daunting.

He, however, argued that the management remained resolute in its approaches toward excellence.

He said that students were admitted into the Schools of Science and Technology as well as Engineering Technology.

“It is with a sense of humility that I say that of all the polytechnics established together with ours in 2021, none has reached the level we are today.

“In November 2022, we invited the NBTE for Resource Inspection and presentation of 13 National Diploma programmes.

“We aimed high and this has better positioned us for subsequent exercises, and we are trusting God that more programmes will be approved for us.

“The NBTE approved four National Diploma programmes in Computer Engineering Technology, Computer Science, Science Laboratory Technology and Statistics for us in our schools of Engineering Technology and Science and Technology,” Abdul-hameed said.

He lauded “kind-hearted” corporate organisations, individuals and Ogbomoso groups for their efforts towards the development of the institution.

He appealed to Gov. Seyi Makinde and members of the public to support the ongoing developmental efforts of the management.

He advised the students to shun cultism, examination malpractices, hooliganism, indecent dressing, drug and sexual abuse

He said that the polytechnic had zero tolerance for immorality and unruly behaviour.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the epoch-making event was attended by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Andrew Adejo, represented by Bala Adamu of the Department of Polytechnics and Allied Institutions.

Also at the event was the Traditional Ruler (Aresa Pupa) of Iresa-Pupa, Oba Moses Olayiwola Ajiboye III.

Others were the Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Dr Kamoru Kadiri; the Provost, Federal College of Education, Iwo, Prof. Rafiu Adebayo, and other eminent Pup State indigenes. (NAN)(www nannews.ng)

=========
Edited by Sam Oditah

By Muhammad Nasir

The Federal College of Education (FCE), Gidan Madi, in Sokoto State, on Wednesday, matriculated 287 students during its maiden matriculation ceremony.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FCE Gidan Madi which was established in 2019 started its academic activities in 2023 with eight programmes.

The programmes are: Metalwork Technology, Woodwork Technology, Electrical and Electronics, Computer Science, Business Education, Computer Education, Mathematics and Physics.

In his address, Prof. Faruk Umar-Zaki, the Provost of the college, said it planned to expand its programmes to complete the school of Vocational and Technical Education, and School of Science Education.

“This is through the introduction of Automobile Technology, Building Technology, Agricultural Science and Home Economics to complete the School of Vocational and Technical Education.

“We are also introducing Chemistry Education, Biology Education and Integrated Dcience to complete the School of Science Education,” he said.

Umar-Zaki said that a team of National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) had scheduled August 20 to come for resources verification in the college.

He said that the college was presently equipping its Entrepreneurship Centre, while disclosing that the production of soap and vaseline had already commenced.

“Our ICT centre is already functional and the computer application programme for the staffers is due to take off by the end of August.

“All these efforts are meant to support the skills development drive of the Federal Government from where the college drew its motto: ‘Knowledge for Self- Reliance’,“ he added.

While congratulating the students, the provost implored them to be security conscious and report any suspicious character to the college authority at any time.

In his remarks, Prof Paulinus Okwelle, NCCE Executive Secretary, assured the college that all the requests and complaints had made would be duly forwarded to the relevant institutions.

“I am sure that the current government is committed to bolstering of the nation’s educational standards.

“As such, I enjoin the students to shun all negative tendencies of cultism, drunkenness, exam malpractice, and disrespect to constituted authority for which the college has zero-tolerance,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Ruth Oketunde

The Chief Executive Officer of the UK charity, IA-Foundation, Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, has warned that increasing tuition fees in Nigerian universities could compound the crisis plaguing the country’s education sector.

Speaking against the backdrop of increases in tuition and other fees by some universities in Nigeria, Adeagbo said that a country currently having some 20.2 million children out-of-school should have no business increasing fees in schools.

She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday that increasing fees of any sort should not be an option, until Nigeria came out of the woods and was able to put every child in school.

“The increment in tuition in Unity Schools is unacceptable because it can lead to more children dropping out of school,’’ Adeagbo said, calling on the Federal Government to take measures to ensure that every Nigerian child acquired basic education.

“The government should also introduce regulatory measures soonest, to compel private schools operators to curb unnecessary demands on parents such as forcing parents to pay expensive fees for uniforms and other related items.

“The government also needs to reduce the financial entry barriers into public schools as thousands of families cannot even afford to pay basic enrollment fees.

According to her, government needs to stay true to its promise of free basic education for all in Nigeria.

The IA-Foundation founder said that Nigeria should improve education standards in public schools and introduce strategic communication measures to address the prevailing negative notion about education in public schools.

She, however, lauded the Federal Government for inviting IA-Foundation to the just-concluded annual National Summit for NGOs Intervening in the Education Sector, hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja.

Adeagbo said that her foundation’s participation in the summit had re-energised IA-Foundation’s commitment to campaigning for every Nigerian child to have access to basic education.

IA-Foundation, based in the south eastern city of Kent in England has been campaigning vigorously to promote education in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous nation.

Nigeria has an army of out-of-school kids, especially the girl-child, prevented from classrooms because of various problems, including poverty and banditry, according to UN agency UNESCO.

The organisation is mostly active in South Western Nigeria but it has been making efforts to expand its activities to other parts of Nigeria, according to the founder. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Silas Nwoha

By Salisu Sani-Idris

Dr Kabir Kabo, a renowned academic, has been appointed Pro-Chancellor of one of the National Universities Commission’s 37 newly approved private Universities, Prime University, Abuja.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Abdulkadir Ibrahim, Advisor on Media and Strategy to Kabo, which quoted a letter of appointment to that effect from the Board of Trustees of the university situated at Kuje, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory.

Ibrahim said the letter addressed to the appointee was signed by Dr Aliyu Dikko on behalf of the trustees.

“Following your remarkable antecedents in various fields of endeavour in Nigeria and at the international stage, and the pedigree you have been demonstrating in your undertakings, particularly towards conceptualising and actualising Prime University Abuja.

“The Board of Trustees (BoT) of Prime University Abuja-FCT has approved your appointment as the pioneer Pro-Chancellor of the new University.

“The appointment is for a five-year term during which strategic leadership of impact, culture, quality, commercialisation, funding and knowledge exchange will be employed,” the letter read in part.

Similarly, Ibrahim disclosed that the authorities of another new private university, Elrazi Medical University, Kano, has appointed Dr Kabo as a member of the university’s Board of Trustees and that of the Governing Council.

Kabo is a former Dean at Manchester University in the United Kingdom, Bureaucrat and Management Trainer and a Board member of National Senior Secondary School Education Commission.

Currently, Kabo is the Director-General of the International Centre for Islamic Culture and Education, ICICE, at Wuse II, Abuja, and was a Pro-Chancellor and later Chancellor of African Business School, Abuja, in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

He holds Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Bayero University Kano (1981), Masters (M.Sc) in Chemical Technology (Petroleum Chemistry and Hydrocarbon) 1984, and Ph.D (Chemistry) in 1988 both from Manchester University, United Kingdom.

Kabo also obtained a Masters in Business Administration at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2006 and a Certificate of Education and Post Graduate Certificate of Education (Teaching Qualifications) from 1994 to 1996.

He was Head of Department (1998 to 2001), Director of Curriculum (2001 to 2002), and Assistant Principal (2002 to 2008) at Manchester College of Arts and Technology now called the Manchester College, a Post Doctoral Research fellow at University of Manchester (1988- 1992) and a Lecturer at three other institutions in the UK (1986 – 90).

A former Head of Department at Gumel Advanced Teachers College (now in Jigawa State) 1982 -1983, he was earlier a Lecturer (Mathematics and Chemistry) at College of Advanced Studies, Kano (1981-1982).

In 2009, Kabo was appointed the Technical Adviser to the Minister for National Planning on Social Sector Strategy Coordination of National Vision 20:2020 and the Seven Point Agenda, Consultant to the European Union on strategy and policy coordination involving Vision 20:2020.

He was equally a member of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, and was the Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Management Development (CMD) from January 2010 to February 2018. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu

The National Parents-Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) has urged parents and guardians to engage their children and wards with skill during the holidays.

The National Deputy Chairman of NAPTAN, Mr Adeolu Ogunbanjo, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

Ogunbanjo said that students currently on a long holiday should be occupied meaningfully to shun vices.

He said long holidays should be the best time to engage students in other aspects to boost their general knowledge.

“Parents and guardians must not loose their guards, particularly in this long holiday. As they go to offices or places where they run their business, it will, therefore, be a worthy idea to meaningfully engage them.

“It’s about one week that many schools vacated and I believe that students have rested. However, there is the need to expose them to skills that will keep them busy and boost their creative mind.

“There are lots of handiwork.

“Those in secondary schools can go for graphics, web designs, artworks, photography, musical instruments, barbing, plaiting of hair and making of weavon, phone/laptop repair and culinary skills, amongst others.

“It should not be a one-off thing but taking advantage of the holidays to enrol and introduce them to it, they will be looking forward to continuing whenever they are on break.

“It will also be part of efforts and measures to avoid them from being involved in vices or activities that will influence them negatively or get them into trouble.

“This will be an added advantage to them and even stand them out among their peers or mates who relaxed at home because they made judicious use of their time to improve themselves,” he added.

Speaking on the recent hike in school fees of Unity Colleges and public tertiary institutions in the country, he said that stakeholders were earnestly awaiting positive response from the Federal Government.

He noted that various associations, unions and stakeholders have made several appeals to the Federal Government on the development.

Ogunbanjo said the idea was to make fees affordable for parents and ensure that the students continued to enjoy quality education in the country.

“We are optimistic that our dear President Bola Tinubu, also a father, will hear us, intervene and reverse the fees to normal before the new academic session begins in September,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma