Education
NECO Unveils ‘e-Verify’ Portal for Online Confirmation of Results
The National Examination Council (NECO) has unveiled ”NECO ‘e-Verify” platform to ease the verification of results, and checkmate manipulation and falsification of results conducted by the council.
The Registrar/Chief Executive of NECO, Prof.
Dantani Wushishi, in his address of welcome at the ceremony on Thursday in Abuja, said all requests for verification or confirmation of results were routed through its headquarters in Minna, which took longer time to process.“The ‘NECO e-Verify’ is an Online Result Verification solutions that guarantees instant authentication of academic and basic information about prospective candidates for admission and employment into academic institutions and work places respectively,” he explained.
Wushishi said due to the growing need for verification and confirmation of results by institutions both at home and abroad, the council decided that now was the best time to introduce the e-Verify platform.
He explained that from available records, the council has observed that there were requests for verification and confirmation on results from 64 institutions across 37 countries between 2020 and 2022.
Wushishi further said that similar requests were gotten from 72 institutions in Nigeria within same period, adding that this is besides requests from individuals which are numerous.
“Result verification is an important process that helps ensure the accuracy of academic credentials.
“It is an irrefutable fact that academic institutions and employers of labour, among other agencies, rely on verification of results to help them select the best prospective student for admission and employment purposes.
“By verifying the authenticity of candidates’ result, academic institutions, employers will be more confident in that they are admitting and hiring persons who have the required qualification for further studies and specific job schedules.
“Some of the benefits of the ‘NECO e-Veify Portal’ include increase confidence, reduce risk and improve efficiency. This system will bring a great deal of relief to millions of our students, educational institutions and other stakeholders,” Wushishi said.
The Chairperson of the occasion, who is also the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom, Dr Akon Eyakenyi, expressed happiness being part of the history of NECO e-Verify.
According her, beyond making things easier for candidates, it will hopefully generate income that threatened the financial base of NECO.
“NECO and other Examination bodies in Nigeria has done well, but must work towards the full automation of the entire process of examination administration, while our schools and institutions should embrace e-learning.
“This is a world of possibilities; don’t see the obstacles, see the possibilities. The failures of the modern world would be those who are unable to record change early enough and key into it.
“Like what we are doing today, this is key into the change that is global. I am sure that the designers of the App are taking notice of activities of hackers with a view to ensuring that the system is impenetrable to intruders
“The activities of fraudsters who constantly seek to gain unauthorised access are major headache to the modern world,” she stressed.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr David Adejoh, has commended NECO for the initiative of the e-Verify platform.
“This activity seat perfectly well with the tenth pillar of ministrial strategic plan which focus on adopting and using optically the information, technoclog and communication to the advancement of education in Nigeria.
“We have gathered here as prove that NECO in ensuring that its operations align with global best practices with the e-Verify portal.
“It is going to help all stakeholders to access their results and verify from anywhere in the globe. It is faster and easier than the current tedious process,” Adejoh said.
In his goodwill message, the acting Executive Secretary of National University Commission (NUC), Mr Chris Maiyaki, congratulated NECO for unvealing the e-Verify Platform.
“The NUC coordinate the activities of over 264 Universities across the country.
“We are happy to be associated with NECO to ensure that authentic verification of results of candidates who seek admission into universities.
“We urge NECO to ensure that the portal stand the test of time and not be subjected to manipulation by hackers,” Maiyaki charged.
Meanwhile, the IT Expert, Mr Sule Onu, said the Portal has a landing and unlanding pages that has two steps of verification; Bukl and Instant verification.
According to him, an individual will have to register in the system with name, email address, phone number and password, adding that messages will be sent to the email and phone number.
“The process would take the individual to a page that he or she would have to pay to obtain a token.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event attracted officials from Ministry of Education, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Military, Commission for Colleges of Education, Nigeria Police and National Assembly, among other relevant stakeholders. (NAN)
The Federal Government has re-established a seven-member renegotiation committee to address the 2009 agreements with university-based unions.Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, at the committee’s inauguration in Abuja on Monday, gave them a three-month deadline to conclude negotiations.
The committee brings together representatives from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU). Others are Non-Academic Staff of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).Mamman stated that President Bola Tinubu’s government aimed to improve the education system and maintain peace on campuses.He noted that renegotiations began in 2017 but were delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.He said that the previous committee, led by Prof. Nimi Briggs, produced a draft report covering significant areas.The minister urged the reconstituted committee to work diligently and produce realistic agreements addressing the challenges facing the Nigerian University System (NUS).Committee Chairman, Dr Yayale Ahmed, appealed to the government to support universities in achieving global competitiveness and to consider lecturers’ salaries as investments.ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, thanked the government and expressed hope that the new committee would succeed where previous ones failed.He emphasised the unions’ readiness to renegotiate, provided the government worked towards a stable academic calendar.(NAN)
The Federal Ministry of Education has announced that the new curriculum for basic education will commence across schools in Jan. 2025.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, at a stakeholders meeting on the implementation of the new curriculum.
Mamman said new curriculum for senior secondary education would also commence by Sept.
2025.He said the new curriculum would address problems of learning crises and employability.
According to him, the new skills acquisition to be introduced would have multiplier effect by equipping students with 21st century skills.
“In the last one year, we have worked with stakeholders to develop a skills framework that will inject skills right from the latter part of basic education to secondary education.
“The whole idea is that, by the time children finished, they should have a minimum of two skills so that they can have a productive life,’’ he said.
The Minister said the meeting was conveyed to discuss the modality and as well tidy some aspects of the curriculum, while also giving timeline for implementation, support, monitoring and evaluation.
He said the next three months would be used for preparatory stage. including preparing teachers guide in using the curriculum.
When asked on the difference between the new scheme and the 6:3:3:4 system of education that also infused skills, he said the problem was the inability to implement the policy.
“The major justification for what we have done has been the inability to implement the 6:3:3:4 system from inception
“The minimum academic standard of 1993 shows a reason for 6:3:3:4 and the Act outlined clearly the learning trajectory of schools in Nigeria.
“It was envisaged that by the time learners finished basic education, they would have acquired skills. Unfortunately, we departed from it,’’ he said.
The Director of Curriculum, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Dr Garba Gandu, said the new curriculum would provide prerequisite skills and training for global competitiveness.
Gandu said the curriculum is competency and digital based, as it also aligned with Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and (STEAM) methods.
The new curriculum includes 15 newly introduced trade subjects for basic education.
The subjects are, basic digital literacy such as information technology, vocational entrepreneurship skills such as building and construction, plumbing and tiling.
Others are hospitality such as hair styling, make-up and services such as construction, GSM repairs, satellite and CCTV installation and maintenance and garment making, among others. (NAN)
The Zamfara Teachers Service Board said the recent disengagement of the 109 contract teachers by the state government was not based on ethnic, tribal or religious reasons.
The Chairman of board, Alhaji Muhammad Aliyu-Anka, stated this while speaking to newsmen in Gusau on Friday.
The state government recently announced the dismissal of 109 contracted teachers over failure to abide by the government contract policy.
“You know, the disengagement of the teachers was not on ethnic, religious or tribal reasons, it was for the interest of the state.
“You know Gov. Dauda Lawal declared a state of emergency on the education sector of the state.
“The state government embarked on massive infrastructural investment on education across the state,” Aliyu-Anka said
He said that the provision of qualified and regular teachers was necessary to achieve the government’s policy.
He said that some of the teachers had abandoned their contracts and they were teaching at private schools while still collecting salaries from the government.
Aliyu-Anka said, “The board recommended the termination of the contracts of teachers who did not abide by the rules and regulations of the state.
“Many of the disengaged teachers were not attending schools to teach, leaving volunteers to teach the pupils.”
The chairman stated that the volunteer teachers were more qualified and they were not receiving salaries from the state government.
He said,”Considering the roles played by the volunteers in our schools, the state government plans to recruit 2000 teachers to fill the gaps by the disengaged teachers.” (NAN)
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