Category: Education

The Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife will resume academic activities on February 8, 2021. This was announced after the institution’s senate meeting on Tuesday. The Public Relations Officer of OAU, Abiodun Olarewaju, confirmed this to newsmen. In a subsequent press statement titled ‘resumption of academic activities for 2019/2020 academic session’, the institution also cancelled its 2020/2021 session. The statement read, “Consequent upon the directive of the Federal Government that schools should re-open, the Senate of Obafemi Awolowo University at its meeting held today (Tuesday), January 19, 2021, announced the following resumption…

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Authorities of the University of Lagos have approved January 25 as the resumption date for academic activities just as the University of Benin announced January 30 as its own resumption date. Head of the Media Unit of the university, Mrs Olufadeke Akinleye, said the institution would commence online classes on the announced date due to the second wave of COVID-19. The Federal Government had approved January 18 for schools to reopen across the country. But branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities had said that varsities were not ready for reopening.…

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Vice-Chancellors of some federal and state universities in Nigeria have expressed readiness to reopen schools. Though the Academic Staff Union of Universities had said that varsities were not ready for reopening, the VCs said they had planned to reopen their institutions as directed by the Federal Government. One of the VCs of a federal university in the South-West told our correspondent that it was wrong for ASUU to claim that there were no guidelines for reopening varsities. Apart from the scare arising from the second wave of COVID-19, another VC…

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The President of National Association of Nigerian Students, Sunday Asefon has urged the Federal Government and members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to resume academic activities at the nation’s public universities. The students’ body also ordered its chapters in all tertiary institutions to set up COVID-19 task force teams to enforce all guidelines outlined by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and ensure the safe reopening of schools. ASUU had on December 24, 2020, conditionally suspended its nine-month-long strike after a lot of foot-dragging by the union and…

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board says its portal has been reopened for the 2020/2021 admissions. The board said opening the portal gives institutions access to upload names of shortlisted applicants for the 2020/2021 admissions. The spokesperson for JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, confirmed this in a telephone interview on Wednesday. When our correspondent visited the JAMB’s website on Wednesday, the portal had been opened. He quoted the Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, as saying that admission processes must go through the Central Admission Processing System for approval. “Of course, long…

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The Academic Staff Union of University has suspended its nine-month-long industrial actions. National Infinity reports that the academic trade union body had embarked on an industrial action since March 2020. ASUU National President, Biodun Ogunyemi, made the announcement during a briefing of the union in Abuja. He said the suspension of the strike takes effect from Thursday, December 24th, 2020. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, had earlier on Tuesday, assured Nigerians that the prolonged strike by the varsity lecturers would be called off before January 15.…

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The Lagos State Government has ordered public and private schools in the state to vacate on Friday. This was contained in a statement, on Thursday, titled ‘LASG directs schools to vacate on Friday, December 18, 2020’. In the statement, the Director General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Ministry of Education, Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, said, “the 2020/2021 first term academic session for public and private schools comes to an end on Friday 18th December, 2020”. “The Lagos States Government has directed public and private schools in the state to vacate on…

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The President, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, has said the body is collating consultation is ongoing as regards the union’s response to the government offer of last Friday. On Friday, the Federal Government agreed to exempt ASUU from the IPPIS and also increased the academic earned allowance to N70bn. These and some others issues were the major grouse between ASUU and the FG. Ogunyemi explained to The PUNCH that ASUU members across the country needed to determine the extent to which the government was planning to meet their demands.…

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Respite came the way of government-owned university students as striking Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government came to the middle line with the government acceding to requests of the union. After protracted negotiations and foot-dragging, the Federal Government on Friday accepted the demand by the Academic Staff Union of Universities that they are exempted from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System. The government also shifted grounds on a number of issues, reading out the communique at the end of a seven-hour negotiation with ASUU members in…

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The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has asked the Accountant-General of the Federation, AGF, Ahmed Idris, to explain how he acquired some multi-billion naira properties in Kano State. The ASUU’s Bauchi zone coordinator, Prof. Lawan Abubakar, in a statement on Wednesday, sought the AGF’s explanation on how he bought Sokoto Hotel in Kano at the sum of N500million and ordered for its immediate demolition to build a multi-billion naira shopping mall. The union confirmed that the project is ongoing.The university lecturers also asked the AGF to account for the…

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The chairman of the Special Visitation Panel set up to probe the leadership crisis at the University of Lagos, Prof. Tukur Sa’ad, has faulted the reinstatement of Prof Toyin Ogundipe as the Vice Chancellor, saying he was skeptical about the integrity of the report. Sa’ad said he agreed to sign the report to avoid another crisis and in order to save the government from embarrassment but regretted that he had now been “stabbed on the back” by people he trusted. According to him, the recommendation that the VC should be…

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The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, will today (Thursday) meet with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in a bid to end the over six months strike by the university lecturers. A statement by the Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations at the ministry, Mr Charles Akpan said Ngige would host a meeting with ASUU in Abuja. ASUU had embarked on an indefinite industrial action following its opposition to the government’s move to enforce the use of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information…

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First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, has announced its partnership with Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) in a matching fund scheme.  The scheme aims to cushion the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on low-cost private schools by ensuring lending at an attractive interest rate. The programme will provide access to finance where participating schools can each be availed up to N5 million as well as capacity development, business and financial advisory. There will be monitoring and evaluation to ensure prompt loan repayment. To enjoy this funding opportunity,…

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Lecturers of the University of Lagos rejoiced over the resignation of Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN) as the Chairman of the Governing Council and Pro-Chancellor of the institution. Speaking through the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, UNILAG branch, Dr Dele Ashiru, the lecturers described Babalakin’s exit as “a welcome development”. Ashiru, in an interview with The Punch, said, “It (Babalakin’s resignation) is a welcome development. We thank the visitor to our university, through the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, for putting an end to tyranny, authoritarianism, and dictatorship…

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A one time commissioner for Women Affairs in Cross River State, Professor Florence Obi, has broken a 45-year jinx to emerge as the first female Vice-Chancellor-elect of the University of Calabar, Cross River State. Obi of the faculty of education who is presently a Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of administration emerged top after a rigorous screening exercise involving 12 other candidates. Obi will take over from Prof. Zana Akpagu, whose tenure ends on November 30, 2020. The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, UNICAL, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, who announced the emergence…

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Ogun State Government has announced Monday, 21 September 2020 for the reopening of schools in the state for the first term of 2020/2021 session in addition to the earlier resumption of students in SS3 who are currently writing the West African School Certificate Examination.In a Press Statement issued in Abeokuta by Kunle Somorin, his Chief Press Secretary, Governor Dapo Abiodun announced that this second phase of the reopening of schools is extended to all classes in primary and secondary schools, Technical and Vocational Colleges, and Tertiary Institutions. However, as part…

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has lifted the suspension on the printing of admission letters, and inter-university transfers among others. The organisation said with the development, “all requests for printing of admission letters, inter-university transfers, condonement of illegitimate admissions and other processes for previous years which had been hitherto suspended would now be restored from Monday, August 31 2020.” The Head of Media and Public Relations in JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, made the announcement in a statement in Abuja on Sunday. He said, “To ensure that candidates who took…

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Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has ordered the reopening of tertiary institutions effective September 14 while primary and Secondary Schools will reopen on 21st. “I am pleased to announce that our tertiary institutions will be allowed to reopen from September 14, 2020, all our tertiary institutions,” the governor announced during a briefing on Saturday at the State House, Marina. Schools in the country had been shut in March as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease. But the Federal Government announced the resumption of graduating pupils…

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Citing Federal Government’s directive that the UNILAG Senate nominates an acting VC for the varsity, erstwhile Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Omololu Soyombo has stepped down from the office “with immediate effect”. The governing council led by the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin, had appointed Soyombo last week after it sacked Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe. Soyombo, in a statement on Saturday, said it was necessary he did so because the government had directed the UNILAG Senate to nominate an acting VC for the varsity. “The news of the setting up of a Special Visitation Panel…

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The Federal Government has said the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) organised by the National Examination Council (NECO) for SS3 pupils will commence on October 5 and end on November 18, 2020. The government also said the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) examinations will start on September 21 and end by October 15, 2020. Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuiba, announced the dates at the end of a two-day meeting with Chief Executives of examination bodies in the country. In a statement on Wednesday by the…

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The Federal Government has asked schools in the country to reopen for graduating pupils effective August 4. It also announced that this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination would commence on August 17. This was contained in a statement signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong. In the statement titled, ‘Exit Classes To Reopen August 4th’, the ministry said the agreed dates were part of the resolution reached after a consultative meeting with the education commissioners of the 36 states of the…

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Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State has secured full accreditation for all its courses two years after the National Universities Commission withdrew accreditation for its Law, Dentistry, Science, Medical Science and Social Science programmes of the institution. According to the Public Relations Officer of the Varsity, Abiodun Olarewaju in a press statement on Wednesday, “The NUC, which has the statutory mandate to accredit academic programmes in all Nigerian Universities, has given full (100 per cent) accreditation to all the academic programmes being run by the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Dentistry,…

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The Lagos State Ministry of Education has warned private schools in the state to shun the idea of resuming for the third term academic session until the lockdown period is over. Recall that the state government had on March 18 ordered public and private schools in the state to close down from March 23, as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the state. The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, in a statement on Thursday, said all private and public schools in the state would…

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As part of the preventive measures against the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Lagos State Government has announced the closing down of all public and private schools from Monday, March 23, 2020. According to a statement the state government, the move became necessary to prevent children and their teachers from getting more vulnerable to the pandemic. “It is important for parents to ensure that their children practise ‘social distancing’ while at home, wash their hands regularly or use hand sanitisers and observe high standards of personal hygiene. Children should…

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