The Katsina State Government has reiterated its commitment to improving the education sector of the state.

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda,spoke at the second combined convocation ceremony of Al-qalam University Katsina.

Represented by his deputy Alh. Lawal Jobe, he congratulated the graduands, saying that his government has recorded significant strides in overhauling the education sector of the state.
A statement by the Chief Press secretary to the Governor, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, quoted the governor to have indicated that, “The elevation of the Department of Higher Education to a full-fledged Ministry and changing the nomenclature of the State Ministry of Education to Ministry for Basic and Secondary Education is among other steps to reposition Katsina education sector, and taking it to the next level”.

Gov Radda urged the graduands to put into practice the knowledge acquired in school.

Earlier in his address, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Nasiru Musa Yauri, said the combined convocation ceremony covered the conferring of Bachelors of Arts, education and science degrees of 9,894 graduates of the institution.

Of the number, he said 104 passed out with first class, while 1,910 had second class degrees and 125 others bagged various masters degree.

Also speaking, the Pro-Chancellor of the University, Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura, indicated that Al-Qalam University offers the cheapest tuition fees among all private universities in Nigeria.

He thanked the Chancellor of the University, Alhaji Aminu Dantata and the Chairman Islamic foundation Alhaji Bilya Sanda for supporting the growth of the university through physical structure.

Highlights of the ceremony included the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees on the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, that of Kazaure, Dr. Najib Suleiman Adamu, the Chairman, BUA Group of Companies, Alhaji Abdussalam Rabiu and Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura.

By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse

The UK government through the British High Commission in Nigeria has pledged continued support to the Jigawa state government in the reforms of it’s educational system to improve human capital development in the state.

This was contained in a communique issued after a one day Education Reform Dialogue with critical stakeholders at Three Star Hotel in Dutse, the state capital.
The communique was signed by the state ‘s Team Leader of the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) projects, Mr Mustapha Balarabe Ahmed.

The communique indicated the theme of the dialogue to be ‘Repositioning Teaching and Learning for Human Capital Development’.
The dialogue was convened by the Ministry of Basic Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology in Jigawa State.

The communique explained that the dialogue is targeted at highlighting the 12-point agenda of the new Jigawa administration, geared towards repositioning the state as a centre of excellence in addressing learning poverty and other challenges with basic education,  the dearth of teachers and the high prevalence of out-of-school children in the state.

The communique disclosed further that “Jigawa State has set aside more than N2.6b to recruit, train and induct 6,000 new teachers adding that a recruitment committee was inaugurated by the Honorable Commissioner for Basic Education, Honorable Dr. Lawan Yunusa Danzomo during the Education Reform dialogue.

“This reform is in line with key recommendations highlighted in a new Teacher Recruitment and Deployment Policy approved by the state, which the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) supported through its Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) and Partnership for Reform and Learning (PERL-ARC) programmes”.

FCDO’s Senior Education Adviser, Mr. Ian Attfield, during a courtesy visit to the Governor on the day of the event, commended the effort of the new administration, while pledging the UK Government’s support.

Mr Attfield expressed appreciation the state governor, Malam Umar Namadi on the formidable steps taken by his administration to address key strategic issues in Jigawa State’s education sector, especially the current efforts to address the critical shortage of teachers.

He said “Nigeria is still experiencing a learning crisis, and one of the most vital ingredients that any state or government can do is to supply qualified, motivated and adequately supported teachers. The UK is delighted to see the progress being made across the board, under the leadership and vision of Governor Namadi”.

The communique added that the state governor appreciated FCDO for its interventions in the state which has spanned over a decade, saying that the state is still reaping from the benefits of the Public Financial Management reforms done by the UK Government through the then Department for International Development (DFID).

The governor maintained that “PLANE is a programme which the Jigawa State Government is partaking in, and I want to assure you that just as we sustained reforms of the public financial management systems, we will also continue to sustain whatever reform or intervention you bring to us.

“We will sustain it and build on it. That is why you can see what we are doing in education in terms of teacher recruitment, deployment, training and retraining and our efforts to reduce the out-of-school children”, the Governor said.

He added that the state’s Tsangaya programme is designed specifically to drastically reduce the number of out-of-school children and called on FCDO to join hands as it is poised to replicate FCDO’s interventions.

‘i, Dutse

The UK government through the British High Commission in Nigeria has pledged continued support to the Jigawa state government in the reforms of it’s educational system to improve human capital development in the state.

This was contained in a communique issued after a one day Education Reform Dialogue with critical stakeholders at Three Star Hotel in Dutse, the state capital.
The communique was signed by the state ‘s Team Leader of the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) projects, Mr Mustapha Balarabe Ahmed.

The communique indicated the theme of the dialogue to be ‘Repositioning Teaching and Learning for Human Capital Development’.
The dialogue was convened by the Ministry of Basic Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology in Jigawa State.

The communique explained that the dialogue is targeted at highlighting the 12-point agenda of the new Jigawa administration, geared towards repositioning the state as a centre of excellence in addressing learning poverty and other challenges with basic education,  the dearth of teachers and the high prevalence of out-of-school children in the state.

The communique disclosed further that “Jigawa State has set aside more than N2.6b to recruit, train and induct 6,000 new teachers adding that a recruitment committee was inaugurated by the Honorable Commissioner for Basic Education, Honorable Dr. Lawan Yunusa Danzomo during the Education Reform dialogue.

“This reform is in line with key recommendations highlighted in a new Teacher Recruitment and Deployment Policy approved by the state, which the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) supported through its Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria (PLANE) and Partnership for Reform and Learning (PERL-ARC) programmes”.

FCDO’s Senior Education Adviser, Mr. Ian Attfield, during a courtesy visit to the Governor on the day of the event, commended the effort of the new administration, while pledging the UK Government’s support.

Mr Attfield expressed appreciation the state governor, Malam Umar Namadi on the formidable steps taken by his administration to address key strategic issues in Jigawa State’s education sector, especially the current efforts to address the critical shortage of teachers.

He said “Nigeria is still experiencing a learning crisis, and one of the most vital ingredients that any state or government can do is to supply qualified, motivated and adequately supported teachers. The UK is delighted to see the progress being made across the board, under the leadership and vision of Governor Namadi”.

The communique added that the state governor appreciated FCDO for its interventions in the state which has spanned over a decade, saying that the state is still reaping from the benefits of the Public Financial Management reforms done by the UK Government through the then Department for International Development (DFID).

The governor maintained that “PLANE is a programme which the Jigawa State Government is partaking in, and I want to assure you that just as we sustained reforms of the public financial management systems, we will also continue to sustain whatever reform or intervention you bring to us.

“We will sustain it and build on it. That is why you can see what we are doing in education in terms of teacher recruitment, deployment, training and retraining and our efforts to reduce the out-of-school children”, the Governor said.

He added that the state’s Tsangaya programme is designed specifically to drastically reduce the number of out-of-school children and called on FCDO to join hands as it is poised to replicate FCDO’s interventions.

The Senate has launched investigation in to allegations of organized fraud in universities’ admissions across the country, after a motion moved by Senator Onyeka Nwebonyi (Ebonyi North) during Wednesday’s plenary.

Nwebonyi, in his motion, alleged that university staff are in the habit of conspiring with officials of Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) to carry out the fraududlent practices for financial gains.

JAMB is a statutory body with the mandate to conduct the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for admission to all Nigerian universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and other tertiary institutions.

The upper legislative Chmaber directed its committees on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND as well as Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to commence the probe of the allegation of admission racketeering in tertiary institutions.

Nwebonyi said authorities of tertiary institutions, in cahoots with some JAMB officials, have reverted to the practice of provisional admissions into prized professional courses like medicine and surgery, pharmacy, law, Engineering, nursing science, with view to shortchanging some students already offered admission in exchange for gratification.

He said, “The travails of one Miss Chinyere Ekwe and 290 others who were admitted to study medicine and surgery at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) but had their admissions truncated on the order of JAMB for no plausible reason, after they had completed the admission processes and resumed lectures.

“Miss Ekwe, in particular, scored 291 in the 2019 UTME and 300 in the university’s post UTME, which qualified her for the course and was subsequently admitted by the university.

“The said Chinyere Ekwe was transferred to the department of medical laboratory science on the ground that if her cumulative grade is up to 4.5 points after the first year, she would be transferred back to medicine and surgery.

“However, despite the fact that she surpassed the 4.5 threshold, her admission status is still not yet certain as to whether she is duly admitted in the department of medicine and surgery or medical laboratory science.

“The provisional admission practice is being used as a malicious tool to exploit and frustrate intelligent young Nigerians who are children and wards of ordinary people who seek admission into Nigerian universities.”

Such unwholesome practices, he added, put the country’s educational system in jeopardy, cause apathy on the side of ordinary Nigerians.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in his remarks, stressed the need to give fair hearing to the accused parties, saying JAMB and UNN were known to be a reputable institutions.

He said, “We are shaving the head of a man behind his back. The university of Nigeria has a reputation that spans decade and respected internationally. And JAMB has its own reputation.

“So discussing and particularising it could tend to give the international community that something is questionable about the certificate from university of Nigeria which we all respect. It has given birth to so many universities including the one I went to which is the university of Calabar.

“Let the other side be heard, so that we can do a holistic job and even invite the Minister of Education to find out whether this kind of practice is occuring in the tertiary institutions. So let us do a holistic job. I think it is important we correct any wrong that we see.”