BANNER NEWS

Tag: Education

  • UniCross Suspends Heads of Dept Over Exams Frauds – Director of Exams

    UniCross Suspends Heads of Dept Over Exams Frauds – Director of Exams

    By BANNERNEWS Reporter
    A number of heads of departments in the University of Cross River State, UniCross, have been suspended for involvements in examination racketeering and manipulation of results.
    Dr. Anderson Etika, Director of Exams and Results in the school disclosed this to journalists at the NUJ Press Centre, Calabar.
    He explained that to he affected heads of departments took advantage of the ongoing migration of data from old portal to the new, which is aimed at streamlining results administration in the school.
    He did not revealed the names of the culprits and how long they have been suspended, but stressed that they are really fighting back at the system for blocking loopholes.
    “These changes have cost a lot of people. Some dirty lecturers can no longer do what they usually do.
    “So they are fighting the system. They want the system to go back to ‘Egypt’ where grades could be changed, grades could be manipulated and they are the ones who are pushing some of the students.
    “Students are fighting back. Those who want to buy grades, they cannot buy grades. So that’s why you see some of all of this.  One of the kingpins had litanies of carryovers yet they are at the forefront of these issues. So the system itself is fighting back.
    “We know that there are genuine students who do not have issues and we are making effort to fix their complaints”, he assured
    He noted that a bulk of the students who are crying foul have litanies of carryovers.
    He called for little bit of patience and the result system will be completely fixed.
    He said there were some errors that needed to be fixed and they have now made huge progress.
  • Teacher Training Overhaul: Colleges of Education Win Power to Award Degrees

    Teacher Training Overhaul: Colleges of Education Win Power to Award Degrees

    By BANNERNEWS Reporter

    Nigeria’s teacher education landscape is set for a major shift as Colleges of Education have now been granted the authority to award Bachelor’s degrees in Education independently, ending decades of compulsory university affiliation.

    The new authority flows from the full activation of the dual mandate policy by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), a reform aimed at widening access to professional teacher training and strengthening the standing of Colleges of Education nationwide.

    Education authorities say the policy marks a decisive step in repositioning Colleges of Education as autonomous, competitive institutions capable of driving quality teaching and restoring confidence in the nation’s teacher-training system.

    The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) formally announced the reform at a review workshop of the 2020 Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) minimum standards held in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

    Speaking at the event, NCCE Executive Secretary, Professor Paulinus Chijioke Okwelle, said the commission is reviewing the NCE minimum standards to align teacher education with national priorities and global trends.

    He described the reform as a deliberate and far-reaching effort to reposition Colleges of Education for relevance, quality, and sustainability within Nigeria’s education system.

    Okwelle explained that the dual mandate legally empowers Colleges of Education to award Bachelor’s degrees in Education in their own right, a move he said would improve enrollment, institutional credibility, and competitiveness.

    According to him, the revised framework will emphasise competency-based training, digital literacy, inclusive education, and practical classroom readiness for future teachers.

    He added that the review process is inclusive and consultative, involving key stakeholders in teacher education, policy-making, and development partnerships.

    The NCCE boss disclosed that the revised NCE standards will integrate artificial intelligence and digital competencies, supported by curriculum innovation, digital transformation, and partnerships with organisations such as UNESCO and the British Council.

    On her part, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmed, called for practical reforms in teacher training, stressing the need to reduce redundancy, strengthen teaching practice and mentorship, and prioritise demonstrable competencies.

    She criticised the existing NCE curriculum for being overly theoretical, with weak integration of 21st-century skills such as digital and AI literacy, climate education, inclusive technology, social-emotional learning, and blended learning approaches.

    Declaring the workshop open, Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, urged education stakeholders to develop realistic and implementable policies, stressing that reforms must align with available resources to be sustainable.

    Governor Sule also announced the implementation of the minimum wage for lecturers and non-academic staff of tertiary institutions in the state, a move expected to boost staff morale and support efforts to reposition teacher education nationwide.

     

  • FG Emphasizes Education for Northwest Street Children

    FG Emphasizes Education for Northwest Street Children

    By BANNERNEWS Reporter
    The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to educating street children across Northwest Nigeria, with the enrollment of no fewer than 10,000 out-of-school children already underway, beginning from Kano State.
    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (Northwest), Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai, disclosed this during the first day of school resumption at Kawaji Primary School in Kano.
    Yakasai said the initiative forms part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope education agenda, aimed at reintegrating street children and school dropouts into formal education.
    According to him, the programme targets children who had never attended school as well as those who had dropped out, popularly known as Almajirai.
    “During the break, we identified about 200 children in this neighbourhood alone. Today, they have been enrolled and provided with uniforms, school bags and exercise books,” Yakasai said.
    He added that the intervention also extends to teachers, noting that educators in the selected schools were supplied with teaching materials such as notebooks, chalk and cardboard papers to enhance effective classroom delivery.
    Yakasai explained that the programme would be expanded across Kano, with three schools targeted in each district in the next academic term.
    “We are committed to ensuring that at least 10,000 out-of-school children across the Northwest are enrolled before the end of President Tinubu’s administration,” he said.
    He also drew attention to the poor state of public school infrastructure in the region, revealing that engineers had inspected dilapidated structures and prepared bills of quantities for rehabilitation.
    “Many public schools are in urgent need of repairs. We intend to take these findings to the Presidency to ensure the schools are restored to standard,” Yakasai added.

  • Governor laments highest out-of-school children as Foundation commissions orphanage

    Governor laments highest out-of-school children as Foundation commissions orphanage

    Gov laments highest out-of-school children as Foundation commissions orphanage 
    By BANNERNEWS Reporter
    The Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf has lamented that Kano has the highest rate of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
    He said this has been worsened by insecurity in neighbouring states which has led to an influx of widows and orphans.
    He made this known when he commissioned a newly built 700 capacity orphanage and a 5,000-capacity mosque built by a Saudi-based humanitarian organisation, Albidairi Foundation.
    The commissioning was done weekend in Kano by the governor represented by the Commissioner for Education, Ali Haruna Makoda, who described the intervention as timely.
    “Establishments like this will help address part of these challenges and reduce social vices,” he said.
    The state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs, Children and the Disabled, Hajiya Amina Abdullahi Sani, said the orphanage would ease the burden on government.
    She stressed that the state has intensified efforts to certify and accredit legal orphanages while cracking down on illegal ones.
    Dr Nura Abdullahi, Director of Alkahirat Islamic Trust, highlighted the spiritual significance of caring for orphans in Islam.
    “Even Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was an orphan. He said whosoever takes care of an orphan, paradise is compulsory for him. The proprietor of this foundation has never been to Nigeria, yet his helping hand has reached us,” he said.
    The facility, named Albidairi Orphanage Home, is sister at Langel in Tofa Local Government Area of the state.
    It is to support vulnerable children and tackle the menace of out-of-school children.
    Director of the home, Sheikh Adam Yushau Adam, said the orphanage was founded by Abu-Abdurrahman Al-Bidairi, under the Albidairi Foundation which is registered in Nigeria and engaged in humanitarian activities.
    He explained that the home is designed to accommodate 14 children per room, each with its own toilet, a nanny, and teachers who will provide both Islamic and Western education.
    “The children will memorise the Qur’an here, and there is also provision for sports activities. The place is powered 24/7 by solar energy and equipped with adequate security,” he said.