NYSCManagement to review collaboration with INEC

TheNational Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has threatened to review its collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on conduct of polls.
This development is due to the recurring deaths of corps members on election duties, Vanguard reports.
During the 2011 presidential election, 11 corps members were reportedly killed in Bauchi State and about 150 others had their limbs hacked off in Kaduna State by people protesting the outcome of the polls.
Last weekend, an NYSC member, Samuel Okonta,was reportedly killed by gunmenin Rivers State and some went missing during the federal and state legislature re-run polls in the state.
TheNYSCDirector General,Brig-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, who vowed that the scheme would not relent until the killers of Okonta were brought to justice, said NYSC had set up a committee to look into the killing of Okonta, adding that the committee would determine whether or not the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU it signed with the INEC on participation of corps members inelectoral processwould be reviewed.
NYSC members during orientation (vanguard)
During a visit of Minister of Youth and Sports,Solomon Dalungand INEC Chairman,Professor Mahmud Yakubuto NYSC in Abuja, Olawumi vowed that Okonta's killers will be found and brought to book.
"I want to use this avenue to call on the Rivers State government and community leaders to do everything humanly possible to bring those who killed this young, innocent man to book. We shall work with relevant agencies to ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous act are fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law,” he said.

In Edo 13-year-old student sexually assaulted by teacher

An English teacher at a secondary school in Edo state has been sentenced to jail forsexually assaultinga minor.

The 47-year-old father of 3 whose name was given asRotimi, was sentenced to 4-year imprisonment by a Magistrate's Court.

The prosecutor in the case,Osasu Ewemade, said Rotimi committed this crime on May 26, 2015 in his office in the school premises.

It was revealed that Rotimi had invited the victim, a 13-year-old pupil of the school, to his office where he sexually assaulted her.

Ewemade also added that the offence contravened Section 360 of the Criminal Code, Cap 48, Vol. II, Law of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria, 1976, as applicable in Edo and the presiding magistrate, Igho Braimoh, found him guilty on all counts, sentencing him to one year in prison for each count.

The prison terms, the magistrate added, would run concurrently. He then gave an option of fine of N50,000 for each of the counts. The teacher pleaded not guilty.

UNILAG Students win court case against management

The new rules saw the school placing the students into departments other than the one they studied in during their first year.


 A Federal High Courtin Lagos has ordered theUniversity of Lagosto reinstate its students into the College of Medicine after a previous directive by school management caused them to be disqualifiedfrom their chosen course of study.

Premiumtimes reports that UNILAG has been ordered to maintain the status quo before the dispute pending the resolution of the matter.

The students, who appeared in court, were very glad with this ruling.
“For the students, as you can see, today is a happy day for them, we believe tomorrow will be better. We thank the court,” said Jiti Ogunye, counsel to the students.

“We came to this court by way of judicial review, motion eX-parte, to seek leave and to ask the court to permit the leave to operate as a stay of all actions of the respondents against the students, essentially to enable them continue their academic programmes pending the resolution of this case.”


The undergraduates from the Faculty of Medicine reportedly sued the varsity after the management arbitrarily reviewed, upwards, the academic requirements into the College of Medicine.

The universityhad blocked some of its 2014/2015 medical ‎students from proceeding to the College of Medicine after introducing new academic qualifications in the middle of the school’s academic calendar.

The new rules saw the school placing the students into departments other than the one they studied in during their first year.
For instance, a student who was admitted to study Nursing saw herself reposted to Radiography, while another who was in Medicine and Surgery was moved to Fisheries.

JAMBWrong software was used to grade 2016 examinations

“We have our evidence to show that virtually all the candidates we have collected results of 2015/2016 and not of 2016/2017."

TheJoint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) made use of the wrong grading software to mark the 2016/2017Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME),Association of Tutorial School Operators(ATSO) has alleged.
ATSO claimed that the error was responsible for the poor and conflicting results that were released by the board for the examination written between February 27 and March 17 in over 500 centres nationwide.
Speaking in Lagos on Wednesday, March 23, President of the group,Mr Shodunke Oludotunsaid the board used the software from last year to grade this year’s examination.
Oladotun also called for the resignation of the JAMB Registrar,Prof ‘Dibu Ojerinde.
Oludotun said: “We have our evidence to show that virtually all the candidates we have collected results of 2015/2016 and not of 2016/2017.
“This year, Prof Dibu Ojerinde advertised 2016/2017 UTME – we all saw it. During his press conference, he also mentioned 2016/2017. During the exam, the students on their monitor, it displayed 2016/2017. Why is it that the result that was sent to the students showed 2015/2016?
READ:House of Reps want suspension of CBT tests
“From our findings from insiders in JAMB, we realized that the software of 2015/2016 interfered with the 2016/2017, which led to the massive failure of the students. If you can see the trend of results from (February) 27 to 29, the students failed; (March) 7-15, the students failed massively.
“But we noticed that the 27-29 were compensated with 40 marks still under the interference of software. We can see that the 2015/2016 software was used to mark, that was why the students were receiving 2015/2016 results. So where is 2016/2017 result? That is what we are asking Prof Dibu Ojerinde…We are saying that Prof Dibu Ojerinde should step aside.”
He called for Ojerinde to step aside so someone else would build on the foundation he has laid to conduct hitch free examinations.
JAMB’s Director of Media and Public Relations,Dr. Fabian Benjaminhas responded by saying focus should be on the programming and not the marking guide.
“I am not a programmer, but I can confirm to you that JAMB does not joke with its template. What happened with the 40 marks issue is because the scripts were marked based on 250 marks because only English Language is 100 while the other three papers carry 50 marks, making a total of 250.
“So when the first results were released, they were calculated based on 250, and after normalization we felt it would not be ideal for us to cheat on the candidates. So we had to quickly send them their real scores,” Benjamin stated.

House of Reps Backtracks, Endorses JAMB CBT

The House of Representatives seems to be talking out of both sides of its mouth with the recent report that it has endorsed the JAMB CBT.
It would be recalled that the Hose of Reps earlier directed that JAMB revert to the use of PPTor adopt the two and allow candidates make their choice.
In a recent development, the Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education, Mr Zakari Muhammed, during a visit to one of the CBT centres, said the members of the House Committee on Basic Education have thrown their weight to the Computer-Based Test as it is part of the Federal Government’s plan to improve the education sector and in line with with global best practices.
In his words, “Basically, we need to be educated more. We are in support of the CBT and we cannot go back to paper-pencil; we must be in tandem with the world in the conduct of our examinations.
“The House (of Representatives) did not take any position on CBT, but there were fractions on the floor as to the adoption of both methods and I believe it is the reason why the House Committee on Basic Education was mandated to investigate. Nigeria cannot afford to maintain double standard as we know other African countries such as Uganda have been to our country to replicate our system such as the CBT.”

YABATECH Expels Six Final Year Students For Result Forgery

Six students of Yaba College of Technology have been expelled for presenting fake or altered National Diploma (ND) and National Certificate of Education (NCE) results for admission.
This was contained in a circular signed by the Deputy Registrar of the institution Mrs Taiwo Obadimu.
The students who were in the departments of Food Technology, Mathematics and Integrated Science, Physics Education, Estate Management and Valuation, Industrial Technical Education and Industrial Maintenance Engineering were directed by the circular to hand over all college property, including student identity cards in their possession, to the heads of their department, the Polytechnic Librarian and the Dean of Students’ Affairs, with immediate effect.

BSU Registrar And Bursar Sacked Over Alleged Corrupt Practices

The appointments of the Registrar of Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, Dr Timothy Utile and the bursar, Mr Aondoakaa Kwaghfan have been terminated following alleged corrupt practices by the duo.
This followed the report of a seven-man visitation panel set up by Governor Samuel Ortom to review the activities of the institution from 2010-2015.
It was learnt that the Bursar and the Registrar were key actors in the fraudulent activities that occurred in the tenure of the Past Vice Chancellor, Prof Charity Angya which has necessitated the termination of their appointments.

Only 400,000 UTME Candidates Will Gain Admission Into Universities– NUC

Report reaching us has it that out of the 1.5 million candidates that sit for the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, only 400,000 candidates will gain admission to Nigerian universities.
The National Universities Commission (NUC) Executive Secretary, Prof. Julius Okojie, said this when Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole visited the commission on Wednesday in Abuja.
Oshiomhole was at NUC to collect the Certificate of Recognition for the new Edo State University, Iyanmo.
Okojie said new universities were needed to boost access to higher education while making sure that quality was not compromised.
He said, “I am always happy when a new university comes on board; what that means is that we are expanding and we are opening up access.
“We know the number of candidates that sit for UTME organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board every year.
“However, out of the 1.5 million candidates who take UTME every year, we are barely able to make provision for only about 400,000 students.
“The new university will, therefore, be accessible not only to candidates from Edo State but those from Ondo State and other states.”
According to the executive secretary, the Edo State University, has become the 41st state university and the 142nd university in Nigeria.