Education
ASUU urges FG to fulfil promises, avert imminent strike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on Nigerians to prevail on the Federal Government to prevent imminent strike by fulfilling its promises.
Prof Ayo Akinwole, the ASUU Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter, stated this in Ibadan on Tuesday, in an interactive session with newsmen.
Akinwole, who was joined by other ASUU leadership of the institution, said that government was yet to implement the 2009 agreement which encompassed its members’ conditions of service, emoluments and allowances.
“What has been subsisting in the universities since 2009 still remains the same. So, we have agreed, we’ve concluded negotiations with the government’s team in attendance in May, but yet to sign it into Law.
“Rather than submitting it for presidential ascent, what the government wants to do now is to set up another tripartite committee to look again into what took us four years to arrive at.
“This is unacceptable to our union and we are telling the public that government is playing with time bomb in respect to higher education and universities in general,”Akinwole said.
He noted that the intervention of the National Inter Religious Council prevented the industrial action that could have been in December 2021 and promised to discuss with government and mediate.
Akinwole said that another issue in contention was the registration of UTAS, the software that ASUU developed for management of personnel, salaries and wages in the university system which government said would be evaluated by NITDA and deployed in six months.
“Government is asking us after a year of submission to resubmit the software for another re-evaluation. In spite of the fact that the average evaluation scored the software very high, the government is not willing to deploy UTAS.
“We are calling on Nigerians to prevail on them to do the needful in order not to throw the university system into another crisis which they may not be able to manage.
“Another issue is the revitalization of the university system. The government by his own team submitted that it will take N1.3 trillion to revitalise the Nigerian education system to meet up with the West African average way back 2013.
“Up till today, government had released just N270 million which leaves a surplus of over one point something trillions yet unreleased. Government promised that N220 million would be released before the end of last year.
“But N30 million was released in addition to N20 million released in 2019 that makes N50 million that government ought to release in 2014. With the additional outstanding N850 million it ought to release for the next four years,”he said.
Akinwole said there was no need for another crisis if government had fulfilled its promises, noting that, “the congress of ASUU UI calls on the Federal Government to fulfil the MoA signed in December 2020.” (NAN)
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has re-scheduled the 2024 National Common Entrance Examination into Federal Unity Colleges and the entrance examination into Federal Government Academy, Suleja.
This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday by Azeez Sani, acting Director, Information and Digital Communication of the council.
Sani stated that the common entrance examination earlier scheduled for April 20, 2024, would now hold on June 1, 2024.
He also said that the entrance examination for Gifted and Talented Children into Federal Government Academy, Suleja, earlier scheduled to hold on May 4,
2024 would now hold on May 25, 2024.
He added that the rescheduling of the two examinations was due to low enrollment of candidates.
He enjoined candidates, parents, guardians, schools and relevant stakeholders to take note of the new dates.
Sani said that registration of candidates would continue till the new dates of the examinations. (NAN)
By Eddy Ochigbo
No fewer than six Nigerian Universities have been selected to benefit from the 15 Intra-Africa Mobility Scheme Projects funded by the European Union (EU) with €27 million under the flagship Youth Mobility for Africa.
Permanent Secretary, of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs.
Didi Walson-Jack, who signed the agreement at the Global Gateway High-Level Event on Education in Brussels, said Nigeria would also benefit from the regional Team Europe Initiative on Opportunity-driven Skills, Vocational Education and Training in AfricaUnder the initiative, the European Union would spend €27 million, allocating €1.
8 million to each of the Projects in the education and healthcare sectors in Africa.These Projects, which are to be facilitated by various Universities, aim to enhance learning mobility opportunities for Students, Trainees, and Staff across the Continent, focusing on developing high-level green and digital skills.
The participating Universities include the University of Lagos, the University of Port-Harcourt, Ebonyi State University, the Federal University of Technology, and the University of Nigeria.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the police have warned candidates preparing for the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) against patronising fake websites.
The two bodies gave the warning at a joint news conference in Abuja on Saturday.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said there were several fake websites created by unscrupulous individuals with the intention of misleading candidates.
He urged candidates to be wary of their tactics, saying the fake web sites were designed to deceive innocent candidates into providing personal details such as registration numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers.
“Both JAMB and the Nigeria Police Force condemn these fraudulent activities and hereby reiterate the readiness to safeguard the interests of candidates and maintain the integrity of the examination process.
“We urge parents, guardians, and all stakeholders to ensure that candidates print their UTME Notification Slips only from the Board’s approved website: www.jamb.gov.ng.
“Candidates can print their slips from the comfort of their homes or visit any of the over 700 accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide,” he said.
Adejobi explained that the force was familiar with the tactics employed by fraudsters, especially during the annual assessment and admission exercises.
He, therefore, said that both organisations was actively sensitising candidates and the public about these deceptive practices.
“Any candidate who visits these fake sites will definitely have unreliable information and thereby miss out in the forthcoming exams.
“Candidates are advised to print their UTME Notification Slips before Friday, 19th April, 2024, to access vital information about their examinations.
“Any website other than www.jamb.gov.ng offering UTME slip printing services is fake and designed to defraud candidates,” he said.
He also called on candidates to beware of web sites offering ‘live’ questions and answers, as they were false and deceptive, saying that accessing such materials was prohibited.
He further said the board was partnering with the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) to address online scam-related issues seamlessly.
He assured candidates and the public of the force firm dedication to ensuring a fair and transparent examination process.
He also stressed that the Inspector General of Police had ordered the NPF-NCCC to go after scammers and fraudsters who engage in cyber related crimes and create phishing sites/portals.
On his part, the JAMB spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, pledged the Board’s commitment to continue in playing its role
He, therefore, urged candidates to ignore any unsolicited messages noting that they were from elements who aim at defrauding candidates.
The 2024 UTME is scheduled to commence on Friday, April 19, and end on April 29. (NAN)
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