Katsina State Gov, Dikko Radda has extended the offer of automatic employment to indigenes of the state who graduate with first-class degrees from higher institutions across the country.

Radda announced this on Sunday during the grand finale and award presentation of the maiden Katsina State Students’ Week held at Bayero University, Kano (BUK).

The governor said the initiative was designed to attract the brightest minds into the state civil service and strengthen its capacity for effective service delivery.

“When I assumed office, I introduced automatic employment for students who graduated with first-class degrees.

“Today, I am pleased to expand the offer to all Katsina State students across the country who graduate with first-class degrees from this year onward.

“This decision is deliberate. If we recruit a significant number of first-class graduates into the civil service, Katsina State will have one of the most efficient and productive civil services in the country within the next 10 to 15 years.

“You will have a civil service that can compete favourably with any state in the federation and even rival those at the federal level because we are bringing highly talented individuals into the service,” he said.

He also explained that his administration had prioritised the settlement of outstanding scholarship obligations and increased bursary allowances to encourage students to remain in school and pursue their academic aspirations.

According to him, the government has significantly reduced the number of out-of-school children in the state and prevented many from drifting into social vices.

The governor said education remained a top priority for his administration, which had consistently allocated a substantial share of the state budget to the sector.

He said that the government had recruited more than 10,000 teachers, constructed new schools and rehabilitated educational infrastructure across the state.

He urged students to continue striving for excellence and to contribute meaningfully to the development of Katsina State.

He added that the outstanding performance of Katsina students had made him proud to be both a son and governor of the state.

The Vice-Chancellor of BUK, Prof. Haruna Musa-Muhammad, described Radda as a student-friendly governor.

Musa-Muhammad commended the upward review of the state scholarship scheme and expressed the institution’s readiness to partner with the Katsina State Government in advancing educational development.

The convener of the event and Special Assistant to the Governor on Student Matters, Muhammad Nagaske, said the Students’ Week was organised to foster collaboration, promote academic excellence, encourage cultural exchange and discover talents among students from various institutions.

The event brought together Katsina students from higher institutions in Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Borno and other states.

Participants who excelled in the week-long activities, including sports, academic competitions and cultural displays, received various prizes.

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has abolished admissions into affiliated degree programmes run by Colleges of Education nationwide, effectively making the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) the only admission pathway into the institutions from the 2026/2027 academic session.

The decision, contained in JAMB’s newly released NCE/ND Agric Registration Guidelines issued by the Office of the Registrar in June 2026, marks a major policy shift in Nigeria’s teacher education system and brings to an end the long-standing arrangement that allowed Colleges of Education to award university degrees through affiliations with conventional universities.

Under the new policy, JAMB declared that no admission would be conducted into any affiliated degree programme in Colleges of Education from the 2026/2027 session. The Board also ruled out direct admission into 100 and 200 levels, insisting that all fresh entrants into Colleges of Education must now come through the NCE programme.

The development is expected to affect thousands of candidates who applied for degree programmes in affiliated Colleges of Education during the 2026 admission exercise.

To mitigate the impact, JAMB outlined several options for affected candidates. Direct Entry applicants may change institutions at no cost, transfer to the parent university overseeing the affiliated degree programme, or allow their second-choice institution to become their first choice for admission processing.

Similarly, UTME candidates seeking admission into affiliated degree programmes may change institutions, elevate their second-choice institution to first choice status, or opt for admission into the NCE programme.

According to the Board, candidates choosing the NCE route will be required to obtain an O’Level verification code from the relevant examination body and pay a registration fee of ₦700 through the JAMB portal.

JAMB further explained that candidates who elect to pursue the NCE programme and are subsequently recommended for admission will have any ongoing UTME or Direct Entry admission process suspended.

The Board fixed June 22 as the deadline for affected candidates wishing to make changes to their admission choices.

In addition, JAMB announced that details of candidates who applied through the 2026 UTME would be automatically migrated to their selected first-choice Colleges of Education or Agric-related Non-Technology National Diploma programmes where applicable.

As part of the new admission framework, the Board introduced compulsory O’Level verification for all NCE applicants, with fees pegged at ₦1,500 for one sitting and ₦2,000 for two sittings.

JAMB directed Colleges of Education, Institutional Professional Registration Centres (IPRCs), accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres and its officials nationwide to study the new guidelines and ensure strict compliance.

The policy effectively ends decades of university-affiliated degree admissions in Colleges of Education and reinforces the NCE as the foundational qualification for teacher education in Nigeria.

The Federal Government has approved N4bn for the payment of allowances to Nigerian students studying abroad under the Bilateral Education Agreement.

The approval follows outcries from the beneficiaries who had lamented that they were being pushed into forced labour and prostitution due to prolonged hardship occasioned by the nonpayment of their allowance by the Federal Government.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed that the fund, representing part of the N8bn budgeted for the programme this year, had been released as the first tranche to address outstanding payments owed to the scholars.

“The Federal Ministry of Finance has approved N4bn to pay the first tranche, and I am working with the Minister of Finance to settle the remaining N4bn. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, they will receive all their allowances for 2025 and 2026.

According to him, efforts are ongoing between both ministries to ensure that all outstanding payments are cleared, with the balance expected to be released within four weeks.

The development follows a disturbing viral video from affected students across countries, including Russia, Serbia and Venezuela, who said delays in stipends spanning over a year had left many struggling to survive, with some resorting to menial jobs while others claimed female students had been forced into prostitution.

The outcry comes barely a year after the Federal Government terminated the scholarship programme and promised to ensure that current students are funded to complete their studies.

In 2025, the minister cited inefficiency and misallocation of national resources as reasons for terminating the programme, following similar complaints from previous beneficiaries.

The programme, established through diplomatic partnerships, had enabled Nigerian students to study in countries such as China, Russia, Hungary, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Serbia.

He explained that the scheme had become unsustainable, noting that the government planned to spend about N9bn on just 1,200 students in 2025.

However, the minister assured that all current beneficiaries of the scheme would continue to receive full government support until they complete their studies and return to Nigeria.

Despite assurances that current beneficiaries would not be affected, several students said they had not received stipends for over two years, leaving them stranded.

In the viral video, about 16 Nigerian scholars in Russia appealed to the government for urgent intervention, describing their situation as dire.

One of the students, a fifth-year medical student in Rostov, said many had been pushed into extreme conditions to survive.

A student leader in Russia, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the development recently, lamenting that the rising cost of living and currency challenges had worsened their situation.

She added that restrictions on student work permits in some countries further limit their ability to earn income.

Another student in Venezuela described the situation as abandonment, noting that scholars from other countries receive regular support from their governments.

He said, “It is only Nigerians that are abandoned. Other countries like Mozambique, Burkina Faso, and Brazil, send delegates to check on their students and pay them, but no one comes from Nigeria.

A parent of an affected scholar, who spoke anonymously with our correspondent, said relevant government agencies had been engaged to facilitate the payment.

“The situation requires prompt attention. These children were sent abroad through a government programme. There have been delays in stipends despite repeated appeals to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and other agencies.”

The Federal Government had earlier, in January, dismissed claims that Nigerian scholarship students in Morocco were abandoned, following a viral video that showed some students facing hardship, including homelessness and lack of medical support.

The video, shared on X by activist Martins Otse, featured interviews with Nigerian students in Morocco who alleged they had gone for years without receiving financial support despite being beneficiaries of government scholarships.

Reacting, the Federal Ministry of Education, in a statement signed by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, insisted that no student on a valid Federal Government scholarship had been neglected.

Alausa was quoted as saying that all beneficiaries enrolled under the Bilateral Education Scholarship Programme before 2024 had received payments up to the 2024 budget year in line with government obligations.

The statement noted that any delays in outstanding payments were due to fiscal constraints and were being addressed through ongoing engagements between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.