HND/B.Sc Dichotomy Buhari urged to address 'dangerous' certificate discrimination

A social critic has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to help stop alleged discrimination between Higher National; Diploma (HND) and Bachelor’s Degree holders in Nigeria's paramilitary formations.


A social critic has called on PresidentMuhammadu Buharito help stop alleged discrimination between Higher National; Diploma (HND) and Bachelor’s Degree holders in Nigeria's paramilitary formations.

In an essay published by PM News, Buhari was urged to take quick action in order to stop the 'dangerous discrimination.'

"President Muhammadu Buhari should please urgently end this certificate discrimination between HND and BSc. holders in Federal Ministry of Interior (Prisons, Immigration, Civil Defence) and others in order to increase productivity in fight against insecurity and insurgents," the report stated.
"This discrimination is dangerous, unethical, and unconstitutional."
The unnamed critic warned that the discrimination could lead to armed conflict is nothing is done urgently.

"There is a looming bloody clash between these two cadres at fields of operation due to live arms/ammunition they bear and that is why every well-meaning Nigerian should help towards scrapping out this discrimination because you or your family could be victim directly or indirectly."
Some of the alleged discrimination included:

*HND (Inspectorate Cadre), while B.Sc. (Superintendent Cadre).

*Entry Level for HND is G/L 7, while a fellow Graduate with B.Sc. is G/L 8.

*Terminal Point for HND is G/L 13, while B.Sc. is to the highest G/L.

*HND or inspectorate cadre ranks are confusing, while superintendent ranks are normal ranks/recognized ranks in military/paramilitary agencies.
*.
B.Sc Holder do not pay complement to his superior officer with HND certificate.

*HND graduates are denied one Grade Level during conversation.

*Above all, HND holder in this Ministry of Interior are regarded and treated as artisans with WASC or Trade Test qualifications.

The writer noted also that personnel of paramilitary formations leave their duties and focus on "getting more certificates by hook or crook in order to be converted to the superintendent cadre."
He also noted that the "other well recognised security agencies like; Nigeria Military, DSS, Nigerian Police, etc do not discriminate in ranking between HND and BSc. holders."

The HND/BSc debate has been on on for a long time, signalling a battle of supremacy between polytechnic and university certificate holders.
In an interview with an Abuja based newspaper, Dr. Kabiru Matazu, Rector of Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic Kazaure, called for the removal of the dichotomy.
Also, the National President of National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) Com. Ogbonnaya Sunday, the problems of polytechnic students and graduate can be traced to the dichotomy.
Even more recently, Professor Femi Mimiko, Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, described the dichotomy as unnecessary

How Common Entrance Cut-Off Marks are Determined

Criteria used by NECO to determine common entrance cut-off marks —- Cut-off marks for the National Common Entrance Examination(NCEE) into unity colleges are determined through ranking – if you want to admit 6000 students in a state for instance, then you rank from the score of the first person to where the score of the 6000th person stops and that becomes the cut-off mark.



Prof. Abdulrashid Garba, the Registrar, National Examination Council (NECO), explained on Saturday why cut-off marks for the National Common Entrance Examination(NCEE) into unity colleges varies from state to state.

Garba said that it was not actually the score alone that determines whether a child qualifies or not.

“In every state, ranking is done; if you want to admit 6000 students in a state for instance, then you rank from the score of the first person to where the score of the 6000th person stops and that becomes the cut-off mark.

“Performances vary from state to state; you hear parents say I am from so and so state and my child score high but was not admitted but another child from another state was admitted.

“It is so because the cut -off marks for such disadvantaged states are usually lower; there is a clear cut criteria and it is only for the parents to know the criteria.

“These school are unity colleges which means you must take along all parts of the country,’’ he said.

“The results are expected to be released by NECO to the Federal Ministry of Education on June 17,’’ he said.

Experts from the ministry and principals of the colleges would undertake a selection and placement exercise between June 21 and June 25.

He said that admitted candidates were to check the status of their admissions both at the various unity colleges and online at www.fmeinterviewtest.com from June 29. 

27-yr-old law student hangs self in final year

A final year law student at theUniversity of Benin(UNIBEN) has allegedly committed suicide by hanging at the weekend.
Daniel Iyoha, a 27-year-old undergraduate hung himself at his family home at No. 17, Obamwonyi Street, Off Universal Road, Benin City for reasons yet unknown.

Reports quoting sources say the late student had attended mass and done his laundry that day.
When his mother left the house for a neighbour's he locked his door, tied a wrapper to the ceiling fan and hung himself.
His sister was reading in another room but did not know anything untoward was happening.

On returning, the mother noticed Daniel's absence and had the door forced open to discover her lifeless son.

9ja School Gist Team gathered that the late student, who combined his studies with an auto mobile spare parts business, was an easy-going person and devout Catholic.
The spokesperson of the Edo Police Command, DSPStephen Onwochei, confirmed the incident.
“We got the report that one Daniel Iyoha hanged himself with a wrapper on a ceiling fan in his room," he said.

"When our team of investigators were drafted there, after reviewing the crime scene the corpse was brought down and moved to a hospital."
He also said investigations are on-going.
This is the second suicide by a student of UNIBEN in 2015 alone.

In February, a 26-year-old graduate of the institution and serving member of theNational Youth Service Corp(NYSC), committed suicide after a finding out that a girl he is in love with has been engaged by another man.

AKSU Late Registration Deadline, Penalty – 2014/15

Akwa Ibom State University, AKSU late registration deadline and penalty for students of the institution have been announced – 2014/2015 academic session.



The Registrar has instructed that from today Monday 15/06/2015, ALL students making school fee payment will be charged an additional N5,000.00 as penalty for late registration. see highlights of the circular below:

Friday June 12, 2015 – End of Registration for All students.

Monday June 15, 2015- Late Registration begins for ALL students with penalty of N5,000.00

Tuesday June 30, 2015 – end of late Registration for all students

Therefore, students should be allowed to carry out their screening and registration till Friday June 12, 2015 when students registration will end, before commencement of late registration, as approved by the University Senate, carries a penalty of Five Thousand Naira (N5,000.00) only, made payable to the University at the Bursary Department and receipt obtained.

Late Registration will end by Tuesday June 30, 2015, and accordingly, the registration portal will be closed for the 1st semester of 2014/2015 session.

Most importantly, all students should note that failure to register on or before June 30th , 2015 will end in suspension of studies or deferment of admission for the defaulting students.

UNIOSUN crisis Gov Aregbesola approves sack of VC, others

The Visitor to the Osun State University, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, has approved the termination of the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Bashiru Okesina.

The Visitor also accepted the recommendation for the dissolution of the Governing Council, headed by Prof. Gabriel Olawoyin (SAN). However, he said the council will still be in place until the process of the appointment of a new V-C of the institution was completed.

The termination of appointment of Prof. Siyan Oyeweso, who is a deputy V-C, was also contained in the document. He was sacked for playing negative roles in the crisis.

The Visitor also warned the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities at UNIOSUN, Dr. Oluseye Abiona, for using the union for selfish purposes. Abiona was also relieved of his   appointment as the Coordinator of the Centre for Renewable Energy in the university.

The document read in part, “The Prof. A. B. Okesina-led management should be terminated by relieving the Vice-Chancellor (Prof. A. B. Okesina), Registrar (Dr. J. O. Faniran) and Bursar (Mr. F. A. Lasisi) of their positions in Osun State University immediately.

“The appointment of Prof. Siyan Oyeweso should be terminated for his negative roles in the crisis; his ambition-driven over-influence on the vice-chancellor which contributed immensely to the V-C’s irredeemable mistakes in the administration of the university.

“Prof. Wasiu Alamu Gbolagade should not be allowed to hold any position of responsibility in Osun State University for his roles in the crisis for attending the two clandestine meetings against the Governing Council held in the V-C’s house with other principal officers of the university.

“Prof. B. R. Olorede should be disallowed from holding positions of responsibility in Osun State University for the next five (5) years.

“The Bursar (Lasisi), Prof. Kizito Folorunso, Prof. Wasiu Alamu Gbolagade and any other person yet to refund the money paid to them as IGR proceeds should be made to make the refunds


The governor was silent on the panel’s recommendation that the six campuses of the university be reduced to three. The panel stated that the multi-campus nature of the university was having negative impact on it than positive ones.

13-YEAR-OLD STUDENT DROWNS IN KUBWA RIVER

A 13-year-old boy has reportedly died while swimming in a river behind a petrol station along the Abuja-Kubwa expressway.
City News gathered that the deceased, Kayode Busari, a student of Junior Secondary School, Kubwa, had gone to swim at the river with five of his friends where he met his death.

The source said he was one of the candidates sitting for the ongoing junior West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams and had just finished writing a paper when he left for the stream with his classmates.
“It was a farmer working in his farm close to the stream that saw the boy drowning and tried to rescue him but did not succeed,” the source added.

According to the source, the farmer alerted the police who arrived the scene and carried the corpse to the hospital.
It further revealed that the incident was not the first time students had gone to the stream, adding that they even go with food in some occasions.
City News learnt that the mother of the deceased collapsed when the news got to her, as he was said to be one of only two children she has.
When contacted, the Kubwa Divisional Police Officer, Chief Superintendent Nurrudeen Sabo, said the body was taken to the Kubwa General Hospital where it was certified dead and deposited at the mortuary.

He described the incident as tragic, urging parents to be more concerned about the whereabouts of their children.

NUT TACKLES KOGI GOVT OVER TEACHERS’ SALARIES, ENTITLEMENTS

Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers ( NUT) at the weekend took on the state government over, the non-payment of teachers salaries and entitlements.

The state NUT chairman, Suleiman Abdullahi, after a meeting between the Union and the Board members of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB-) led by its chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ahmed, said if the state government had followed the law which mandated it to contribute to the funding of basic education, there would have been no problem.
He lamented that the state government left the burden for only the local government to bear.

“The law that set up Kogi State SUBEB was signed by the former governor, Ibrahim Idris, in 2005, and it stipulates that the financing of SUBEB should be carried out by the state and local governments but this is not the case. Had it been the state government has been paying its contributions, many of these problems would have been solved,” he said.
He said during the meeting, the SUBEB chairman assured them that the problem of teachers salaries would soon be over as a committee headed by Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede to look into the matter had been set up.

“SUBEB has agreed that the government is owing teachers November and December salaries  and other allowances. We told them that the N25 billion we talked about is balance owned teachers since the commencement of payment of minimum wage in 2011,” he said.

On the Leave grant for basic education teachers, the NUT chairman said the SUBEB blamed the education secretary of various local governments who are yet to compute the figures for onward submission to the government.

The chairman pleaded with members of the union to remain calm and wait for further directives, adding that the union will meet to decide on the next line of action.
Meanwhile,  primary school teachers in the state have called on Independent Corrupt Practises and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to stop NUT from deducting union dues from their salaries.

This was contained in a letter by 53 staff of Okene Local Government Education Authority and signed by Abdullahi Yekeeni.

SSANU Threatens To Shut Down Universities

Activities in the nation’s universities would soon be paralyzed as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)  threatened to commence a nationwide strike should the Federal Government carry out its plans to stop funding of university staff schools across the country.

Vice-President, Western Zone of SSANU, Comrade Alfred Jimoh drop the hints during a peaceful protest against a circular purportedly issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, directing Federal Public Establishments with staff schools not to fund their personnel budget from the treasury, at the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma-Edo State.

The unionists, carrying placard with various inscriptions marched through the university, chanting songs that captured their grievances.

Comrade Alfred Jimoh, insisted that government must abide by the 2009 FGN/SSANU Agreements, which according to him, states among other things that the recurrent and capital expenditure of the staff schools is the responsibility of government.

Trailer Crushes LAUTECH 400 Level Female Student To Death (Photos)

The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, community has again been thrown into mourning following the sudden death of a 400 level accounting student, korede who was crushed to death by trailer.

This is coming barely a week after a 400 level mechanical student of the institution slumped and died playing football.

Liveschoolnews.com.ng grapevine gathered that the gory accident occurred on Friday, June 12th, 2015.


The late korede
Our correspondent gathered that the commercial motorcycle she board to school got collided with a trailer which result to her death.

liveschoolnews.com.ng team commiserated with the family of korede on the untimely death of their daughter, urging them to take solace in God for the unquantifiable loss.
The loss of a loved one is always an unfathomable tragedy, which is compounded when such death occurs at an unripe age. We pray that God will grant repose to the soul of the departed, korede and his entire family and give them the strength to bear the irreparable loss.

We also wish the immediate family of the deceased God’s succour in their moment of darkness. May her soul rest in peace, amen.