Education

The Gombe State government has spent over N10 billion for the construction of its College of Education, Billiri, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Gombe, School of Health Technology, Kaltungo, and two Schools of Remedial Studies in Dukku, and Kumo in Ak...

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will henceforth cancel the entire results of any candidates who cheat in more than one subject.

In a communiqué it issued at the end of the council’s 55th Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) meeting, the council said it had become necessary to review its rules on examination malpractice.

The communiqué was signed by the WAEC Deputy Director (Public Affairs), Mr Yusuf Ari, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

The meeting held from April 15 to April 17 in Lagos.

The council said that it observed with concerns the indictment of some candidates for malpractice in more than one subject in the November/December, 2012 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

``In order to check the ugly trend, the committee subsequently decided that the sanction in the council’s rules and regulations should be reviewed.

``It is clear that there is an urgent need to review the rule on such cases from cancellation of subject result to cancellation of entire results,” it said.

It noted that collusion and irregular activities, inside and outside the examination hall, were the most prevalent forms of examination malpractice.

It said that monitoring by members of staff of the council and other stakeholders and recent innovations were exposing examination cheats.

``Members believed that if the principal of a school decides that examination malpractice should not be allowed in his or her school, incidences of malpractice will be very minimal,’’ it said.

WAEC said that the NEC endorsed posting of WASSCE irregularities, special and clemency cases on the council’s website.

It said that it had been alerted of the existence of a rogue website where false questions and answers were posted daily to defraud candidates during examinations, adding that it had neutralised the activities of those operators.

It warned candidates to jettison such website.

Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Monday said that the performance of the nation’s economy was a function of the quality of education its managers received in various institutions in the country. Fashola said this on Monday while receiving...

Exam Ethics Marshals International, an NGO, on Wednesday hailed the government decision to cancel the UTME and scrap NECO.

The chairman of the NGO, Mr Ike Onyechere, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview that the decision was ``the beginning of the transformation in the education sector''.

Onyechere said that if the Federal Government would go through with the decision, ``it is a right step in the right direction.

``We, stakeholders, are solidly behind the government if it goes ahead with the decision.

``Now we can be sure that government has the intention of taking this country's education to an acceptable global standard," Onyechere said.

In a related development, an authoritative source at the Ministry of Education in Abuja told NAN that the report could not be said to be Federal Government's final decision until a white paper had been released.

The source said that what had been reported in the media was not new, adding: ``it was what was contained in the recommendations of the Steve Oronsanye-led committee report.

``The fact that the government will release the white paper tomorrow or next month does not mean it has taken a decision.

``When the white paper has been released or the government goes public with the decision, then you can say the decision is final."

The League for Human Rights, based in Jos on Wednesday demanded N100 million compensation from the Nigerian Army over the alleged ``extra-judicial killing'' of a 26-year-old NYSC member.

Only 4,522 of 55,223 candidates who applied were able to secure admission into University of Calabar for the new academic session, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. James Epoke, has said.

Epoke who disclosed this while administering the oath of matriculation on the new students on Friday in Calabar described the matriculation ceremony ``as the occasion for a privileged few".

He said the 50,701 applicants were rejected at the point of screening since the university could only admit few new students.

``Based on our quota, we could only admit 4,522 into our various departments,’’ the vice-chancellor said.

He said 3,467 of the candidates admitted were for Science-based courses while 1,055 were for Arts-related courses.

Epoke pointed out that those admitted account for about eight per cent, with about 92 per cent of those who applied unsuccessful.

He however explained that the high rate of failure was not as a result of academic defficiency.

``It was not as if all the 50,701 candidates were not admissible. Rather, it was all due to our `carrying capacity’.

``Cut-off points were set to accommodate the numbers we can carry in the different programmes,’’ the vice-chancellor said.

He noted that competition for admission was made stiffer by more subscription into the professional courses like Medicine and Surgery and Law.

 ``There were limited spaces in such programmes.

``Thus, candidates who ordinarily would have easily secured admission into other programmes are annually unable to get places in the over-subscribed courses,'' Epoke said.

He also advised candidates to diversify their interest in order to reduce frustration.

``You should regard yourselves as the very privileged `chosen few’ as it is said. In fact, `many are called but few are chosen’," the vice-chancellor said.

The Federal Government has restated its commitment to encouraging Technical and Vocational Education in order to improve skilled manpower to operate the nation’s economic activities for rapid development. The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyat...

The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) said on Tuesday it had opened 46 new examination centres nationwide.

The number brings to 246, such centres opened in the last two weeks ahead of the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Mr Fabian Benjamin, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the board, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that with the new ones, 3,000 centres were now in place for the smooth conduct of the examination slated for April.

NAN reports that more than 1.6 million candidates applied to sit for the examination, 90,000 of whom would be tested with the newly-introduced Computer-based Test and Dual-based Test.

According to JAMB, the number of applicants in this year’s examination is higher than the 1.4 million figure of 2012.

The sale of the forms closed on Friday.

Also on Tuesday, the board said contrary to some reports, it did not impose examination centres on candidates or nominate for them during registration for its examinations.

This is contained in a statement signed by Benjamin in Lagos.

``We wish to state unequivocally that the board does not impose examination centres or towns on candidates at the point of registration.” the statement said.

It said that examination towns and centres were displayed at the point of uploading the candidate’s details, during which the applicant was allowed to choose an examination town so desired.

It explained that the board only assigned centres within the towns the candidates chose, each of which could take a maximum of 540 candidates.

According to the statement, the number of centres for the forthcoming 2013 UTME in Lagos and other states for Paper and Pencil Test have been increased.

It said that Lagos State alone had 450 centres for the paper test, indicating a 20 per cent increase over 2012 figure.

The statement said that though the board was not insensitive to some of the complaints by candidates of their centres being far from their areas of residence, it would not be pressurised to use unfit centres.

It noted that such centres, also referred to as ``special centres'', were usually used for examination malpractice and other unethical behaviours.

The statement said the computer test policy, which was approved by the Federal Government, would not reduce the number of centres used for the conduct of the examination.

It said rather it had created opportunity for a reasonable percentage of candidates who would have gone outside their places of residence, to now write the examination within their towns.

The statement said the computer test, which was an internationally accepted best practice for the conduct of examinations, was already being practised by some universities in their Post-UTME.

It said the test would reduce examination malpractice to the barest minimum, enhance prompt delivery of scores and help to restore confidence in public examinations, as it would reflect the true ability of candidates.

The statement also explained that the Prof. Dibu Ojerinde-led management of the board, had over time, reduced the number of results cancelled or withheld, with the introduction of innovations like the bio-metric data capturing.

The University of  Jos on Tuesday said it owed the Plateau Board of Internal Revenue ``only a little over N300 million'' as against N3.8 billion claimed by the board.

Mr Ninnan Denden, counsel to the university, told the Federal High Court in Jos that ``even though we just got the brief yesterday, the university does not owe the board such a huge amount``.

``What we are aware of is something a little above N300 million and not N3.8 billion as quoted by the board of internal revenue.’’

The board, through its counsel, Mr Philemon Dafi, had on Feb. 28, sued the university over alleged unpaid N3.8 billion taxes before Justice Ambrose Allagoa.

The board accused the university of ``deliberately’’ withholding the amount, being outstanding unremitted tax liabilities of  Pay as You Earn (PAYE) of its employees between 2005 and 2010.

Dafi claimed that in pursuance to the Personal Income tax Act 2011 (as amended), the court should compel the institution to pay the accumulated unpaid tax to the board without further delay.

He alleged that the board tried to make the university see reasons why it should cooperate and pay up the debt, but that all such entreaties were rebuffed.

The board also prayed for imposition of penalty and interest on the university over its failure to file tax returns and remit the tax collected when due within 90 days as required by law.

Dafi urged the court to compel the university to pay its taxes just as other federal institutions as a proof of a ``statutorily responsible corporate organisation’’.

When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, Denden asked for adjournment, to enable him to reply properly to the writ.

But Dafi opposed the application, saying that the university was served very well with enough time for it to have replied the writ for hearing of the case.

He, however, said if at all the court would consider the application, he would ask for N250,000 costs.

``My Lord, I am opposing the application for adjournment, but in the event the court will grant it, I have no option than to ask for cost of N250,000 because I came all the way from Kano for this case.’’

Allogoa granted Denden’s application and awarded a cost of N30,000 to Dafi.