By Laide Akinboade, Abuja

Education Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) at the weekend denied Students in FCT Schools are being indoctrinated into a particular religion against their wish.This was contained in a statement by the FCT education secretariat and signed by Kabiru Musa, Head, Information/ PR Unit, Education Secretariat, Abuja.

He said the source of this was a misleading and malicious voice note circulating in Hausa, Language. The statement reads, “We wish to irrevocably and categorically state that the claims in the said audio are false, baseless, and deliberately misleading. Our investigations have revealed the following:”The Areas and School locations mentioned in the voice note are not in the Federal Capital Territory. They do not exist on any official map of the FCT. Findings clearly show that these locations are situated in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, a neighboring State approximately 20 to 25 kilometers from Abuja City Centre.”The Schools mentioned are: GSS Maraba, GSS Bakin Ado, GJSS Kurunduma and Aunty Alice School where a Teacher from one of the Schools claimed that some students were forced to accept another faith against their wish.”FCT Schools are strictly secular institutions where Students of all faiths (Christians & Muslims) co-exist peacefully. The FCT Administration guarantees the freedom of worship and upholds the rights of every child to learn in an environment free from religious discrimination or compulsion.”Our Teachers and School Administrators are highly trained professionals who operate strictly within the bounds of professional ethics and codes of conduct. They are dedicated to nurturing students into disciplined, responsible citizens without bias or prejudice.”Under the focused and visionary leadership of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, Education in the FCT has been placed on the front burner. The ongoing massive renovation, reconstruction, and accelerated rehabilitation of Schools, coupled with the provision of infrastructure and ICT facilities across all six Area Councils, is a testament to this unwavering commitment.”The FCT Education Secretariat, under the watchful supervision of the Mandate Secretary for Education, Dr. Danlami Hayyo and his Management Team has continued to implement a robust monitoring and feedback mechanism to ensure that FCT Schools remain Centers of Excellence, discipline, and inclusiveness.”Let it be clearly stated that such divisive and harmful narratives aimed at destabilizing our Education System and creating religious tension will not be tolerated. The FCTA reserves the right to take legal and administrative action against individuals or groups propagating such falsehoods against its Schools or Territory.”We urge the Public, media, and stakeholders to disregard the viral voice note in its entirety and to rely only on verified information from official FCTA sources”, he said.

By Raphael Atuu, Abuja

The chairman of Apo mechanical village, Chief Emeka Ndubisi has said the Apo mechanical village is an automobile hub that has changed the narrative of Abuja and Nigeria in revenue generation and otherwise.Ndubisi stated this recently while chatting with newsmen in his office in Abuja while taking newsmen around the village.

The chairman pointed out that the village, which is a technician hub and village, is important to people in Abuja, has been redundant in the capital, but president Tinubu administration has changed the narrative. The chairman of the Automobile Association maintained that, since the village was moved to Apo, nobody or administration has worked on its progress like this present administration and called on the public to support the move.”When we came here, we had challenges from the road to light, to security, and what have you, but today is a new ball game”.Chief Ndubisi further stated that, aside from changing the environment, the present administration has donated transformers to boost electricity in the area and urged the people to maintain them.”We came here during the Obansanjo era and the land was allocated to us, and since then, we have been living and working here till last year when we were moved to wassa ” Chief Ndubisi added that the technicians working in the village must respect the laws and rules regulating the environment, as it was necessary to develop it.While appreciating his association members for the support and cooperation to succeed, Chief Ndubisi said the road and other projects would not have been completed if not for the cooperation of the members and government.On the issue of security in Apo mechanical village, Chief Ndubisi said he has been curbing insecurity in the area with the assistance of his members and workers.“You know we Igbo communities are peace loving and entrepreneurs, anywhere we find ourselves, we make sure it is our home and we protect it”.The chairman appreciated the Abuja indigenes for working hand in hand with technicians in Apo mechanical village and said the doors were open for anyone who wished to learn how to work.On the two years anniversary of the present administration of president Tinubu, chief Ndubisi said , the president has tried his best to move the country forward through his policies and called on the public to support him.”I also appreciate the chairman of AMAC, Dr Christopher Mekanlangu for his continuous support to the village and pray for his reelection bid to make the council a better place to live”.

By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The minister of education, Dr Tunji Alausa has vowed that henceforth, the issue of examination malpractices will be a thing of the past in Nigeria.Speaking after receiving a report from the “Committee on the Improvement of Quality Examination in Nigeria,” at the weekend in Abuja, Alausa described the current situation as “Alarming.

”He highlighted that at least one out of four students score below 200 out of 400 in JAMB, with many others abandoning efforts to study for their exams. The committee, headed by Prof Ishaq Oloyede, Registrar of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was tasked with the critical objectives of eliminating exam leaks and other forms of malpractice, and preventing identity theft during exams.Alausa cautioned that allowing the trend of exam malpractice to persist risks producing a generation of millions of poorly educated teenagers, severely handicapping their future prospects.He said: “They might have certificates like WAEC with numerous A1 grades, but they will not be critical thinkers or problem solvers, nor will they be equipped to make informed life decisions.“We have no choice but to restore integrity to our examination system. Rather than facilitating malpractice, so-called ‘miracle centres’ should focus on providing quality education to students, thereby securing their future prospects.“We must dismantle the entrenched ecosystem of cheating and exam malpractice that has developed over several decades, involving principals, teachers, invigilators, parents, and students.“This committee has been working tirelessly for the past five months to address this issue, and I assure Nigerians that we will overcome this challenge and make exam malpractice a relic of the past.”According to the Minister, the 17-member committee was deliberately composed of experts from all areas of the education system to provide a holistic solution to the issue of examination malpractice.Responding, Prof. Oloyede expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve and commended the minister for his valuable input throughout the report’s drafting process.Reading part of the report, Oloyede said: “The Committee recommends as follows: “All documents, including certificates, registration and result slips, etc., should contain NIN, photograph and date of birth to guard against identity theft and impersonation.“All Invigilators and Supervisors must register through NIN and subscribe to the Examination body’s Short Code, using the same pattern of 55019/66019 of JAMB in order to track and have full information about the examination officials, including examiners, supervisors and invigilators.“The Committee recommends that swapping of invigilators and supervisors, rather than candidates, should commence from the 2025 private SSCE. This decision follows strong objections from WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, and NBAIS regarding security, logistics, and the inclusion of centre details on candidate certificates.The report further reads: “At the point of entry into Basic School, every pupil must generate a unique code which is linked to his/her NIN which must be identified with the pupil throughout his/her educational journey in Nigeria.“The Federal Ministry of Education should interface with the National Assembly to enact an Act to establish a National Examination Malpractice Court/Tribunal for prompt prosecution of examination malpractices to serve as deterrent for others.“The non-implementation of the 1999 Examination Malpractice Act suggests either a lack of political will or non-implementability. Consequently, the Committee recommends a review of the Act in such a manner that it can be immediately implemented to curb examination malpractice.“The Committee endorsed the policy directive of the Minister that, rather than wait till 2027 as initially suggested, the CBE should be implemented for objective questions in 2025 private examinations and in full for school candidates in 2026.“The 30% Continuous Assessment component in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations has become a veritable source of competition in the examination system due to the fraudulent process of inputting the scores in arrears.“It is therefore recommended that the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council(NERDC) and any other FME agency, which must have recommended the policy for the approval of the National Council on Education(NCE), should immediately be requested to review the Continuous Assessment System for the purpose of reducing or eliminating its abuse.”