Education

Gambia has requested more postgraduate scholarships in Nigerian universities for its students. The Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Prof. Pierre Gomez, made the appeal during a visit to the acting Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki, in Abuja on Monday. Prof. Gomez commended Nigerians for their contribution to university education in Gambia, noting that many key positions in the country's first university are held by Nigerians. He also praised the quality of Nigerian universities, stating that Gambians who have completed postgraduate programs in Nigerian universities under the World Bank-sponsored African Centre of Excellence (ACE) are now playing vital roles in Gambia. The Gambia is particularly interested in post...

The Commissioner for Education and Technology in Zamfara State, Malam Wadatau Madawaki, expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of education in the state, stating that it is highly embarrassing and requires strategic measures to revive the sector. Addressing the Ministry's staff on his assumption of office on Friday, the Commissioner lamented that the damage done to the education sector in the State is worrisome and challenging. Madawaki further explained that past administrations in the State failed to give proper attention to the sector, resulting in a lack of educational policy direction and the eventual collapse of the education system. The Commissioner expressed concern that all three levels of education - Basic, Secondary, and Tertiary - have been seriously neglec...

The Enugu State Government has instructed a comprehensive investigation into the reported sudden deaths of students at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Agbani. The government has emphasized its commitment to providing a safe and improved learning environment at the institution. During a visit to ESUT, the Governor delegated the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, to express the government's genuine concern for the welfare of students. He stated that the investigation would go beyond the preliminary report of the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Emmanuel Obi, who had been directed to investigate the institution and its medical facility. "The Governor has directed us to conduct a preliminary fact-finding mission concerning the ...

On Friday, students at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) took to the streets to protest the sudden and heartbreaking death of Ayomide Akeredolu, a highly regarded 500-level student. In their grief, the students blocked the busy Akure-Ilesa highway, causing significant disruptions to traffic flow and resulting in a prolonged traffic jam that lasted for hours. Akeredolu sadly collapsed in his hostel at Akindeko Hall just days before his final exams. He was promptly rushed to the University Health Centre, where medical personnel confirmed his passing. The news of Akeredolu's unexpected demise sent shockwaves throughout the university campus, prompting students to unite in protest. An eyewitness recounted the events to 9JA NEWS: "We brought the student to the health centr...

The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, is calling for the amendment of the Student Loan Act. It should be noted that President Bola Tinubu signed the student loan bill into law in June. This bill, sponsored by former House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, aims to address the financial challenges that young Nigerians face in accessing higher-quality education. During the legislative summit on student loans and access to higher education organized by the House ad hoc committee in Abuja on Thursday, NANS President Usman Barambu emphasized the need to have student representation on the board. Moreover, Barambu called for the inclusion of polytechnics and colleges of education alongside the National University Commission (NUC) on the board, as initially proposed...

The non-release of nearly eight months' salaries for university lecturers has been condemned by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). ASUU attributed the withholding of lecturers' salaries to its 2022 strike action. In a statement by ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, it was highlighted that this issue is one among several affecting the Nigerian University System, NUS. Osodeke disclosed that this matter was addressed during ASUU's National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Borno State, from Saturday, August 19 to Sunday, August 20, 2023. According to Osodeke, ASUU NEC restated that "the application of the anti-labour 'No-Work-No-Pay' policy to academics disregards two undeniable facts: (i) only the teaching aspect of academics' w...

A computer expert and professor at a university, Professor Rasheed Gbenga Jimoh, has called on the Nigerian government to support the use of biometric technology in public places as a means to combat cybercrime in the country. Professor Rasheed also recommended the implementation of fingerprint authentication in all educational processes within the university system to prevent cases of impersonation and enhance campus security. He suggested that students' biometric data could easily be collected from the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board's (JAMB) Central Admission Processing System (CAPS). These recommendations were made during Professor Rasheed's 239th inaugural lecture at the University of Ilorin. The lecture, titled "Deconstructing The Crawling Mindsets: Combatting Secur...

The instability in the forex market, with the fluctuating exchange rate between the Dollar and the Naira, is negatively impacting the tertiary education system. This may result in the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) suspending its foreign scholarship programs in the near future Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of the Fund, made this announcement on Wednesday during a "One-Day Stakeholders Engagement on Emerging Issues with the TETFund Intervention" in Abuja. He expressed concern about the Central Bank of Nigeria's monetary policy and the volatility in the forex system, which has made it challenging to settle tuition fees for foreign scholars. Echono stated that due to insufficient funds for the Tertiary Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS), the Fund is considering the sus...

In a public hearing conducted by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on students' loans in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mr David Adejo, reiterated the Federal Government's position that no federal university is permitted to charge tuition fees. Adejo expressed concern over the recent increase in charges by federal universities in the country, viewing it as unfortunate. He clarified that what universities collect are charges to cover the cost of accommodation, ICT, power, and other services. The authority to approve such charges lies with the Governing Councils of the universities. According to Adejo, the University of Lagos is the only institution that increased fees after the signing of the student loans act. This increase was approved by the ...

The Ministry of Education has disclosed that students of the Ahmadu Bello University were on the brink of studying without electricity due to the school’s incapacity to settle the N1 billion electricity bill. During an interaction with a House of Representatives committee, David Adejoh, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, made this revelation on Tuesday. While addressing the financial state of the universities, the permanent secretary stated that the ministry assisted the school by settling the N1 billion debt to prevent students from studying in a school without electricity. “For instance, we had to rescue Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, by providing about N1 billion to settle its electricity bill. The school had just resumed academic sessions because they were in d...