Education
TETFund Trains 17,000 Academic Staff on ICT
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) says it has trained about 17,000 academic staff on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the last two years.
The Executive Secretary, TETFund, Mr Sonny Echono, made this known in Abuja at an Asset Declaration, Security and Fraud Detection Awareness Workshop, /TETFund Servicom Week.
Echono expressed delight at the level of impact TETFund had brought to bear in public higher education institutions in the country.
He said the fund had also trained 37,000 academic staff and sponsored 98,000 others to attend workshops and conferences.
“Since the signing of the TETFund Act of 2011 into law by Mr President, the impact of the fund has been felt by all our stakeholders.
” This is evident through the magnitude of projects and programmes for both infrastructure and human capacity development of all academic staff of the public tertiary Institutions. and is something we are very proud of.
“If you go to our campuses across the country in our beneficiary tertiary institutions, the TETFund logo has become so synonymous with many of the physical structures that we have.
“If you notice, even when unions are agitating they never mention TETFund as part of their problem because we have been able to train 37,000 of them,” he said.
Echono, who congratulated the immediate past Chairman of TETFund’s Board of Trustees, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam and former Executive Secretary, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro for bagging OFR and OON respectively, said the awards were well deserved.
On the recent move by TETFund to leverage more on ICT to ensure seamless delivery of its mandate, Echono said the fund would soon ensure major processes in some areas of interventions which would strictly be done through online.
“This year we have approved that all the interventions that have to do with ICT will have to be done online, we don’t want them to send papers to us, we don’t even want face to face contact,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Coordinator of Servicom, Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, commended Echono, TETFund’s Head of Servicom Unit, Mrs Ebere Nwobu, among others, for ensuring successful celebration of the Customers Service Week.
Akajemeli expressed satisfaction with the open communication between TETFund and its stakeholders, saying it was a right step in the right direction.
In a remark, Head, TETFund’s SERVICOM Unit, Mrs Ebere Nwobu, who said the Agency would continue to give the desired attention to all its stakeholders, commended Echono for always providing the necessary support to ensure better service delivery.
The 2022 Customer Service Week has its theme as ‘Celebrate Service’.(NAN)
Education
NECO Reschedules 2024 Common Entrance Exam into Unity Colleges
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)
Education
Six Nigerian Universities to Benefit from EU’s €27m Funding
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.
Education
UTME: Police, JAMB Warn Candidates Against Patronising Fake Websitess
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)