Nigeria: JAMB Dumps Computer Based Test For 8-Keys Device

By Amos Tauna

Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, in Nigeria has announced its resolve to abolish Computer Based Test, CBT, method for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, due to low computer literacy level of candidates.

The board said it has in collaboration with a private institute resolved to set up dedicated UTME centres for visually impaired candidates in Abuja, Lagos and Kano in 2018.

Registrar of the board, Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, disclosed this in Kaduna on Wednesday, said the board would not revert to the old paper and pencil mode, but an eight-keys device.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Strategic Planning Retreat on Monitoring and Supervision of 2017 UTME in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria, Professor Oloyede said the eight-keys device would eradicate the challenge of computer illiteracy and phobia for mouse by some candidates.

According to him, “From the general feedback on the adoption of the Computer Based Test mode, we have noted the challenge of computer low level literacy of some candidates, especially with the phobia for the mouse. This has been responsible partly for the call by some people for reversal to the Paper and Pencil Test mode.

“In order to ensure equity and level playground for all candidates taking Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, the Board has designed a system that will allow candidates use only eight keys without the use of mouse.

“All the candidates need to do is to press the letters A,B,C,D for responses to questions and keys: P, N, S and R representing; previous question, next question, submit and reverse, respectively.”

Speaking on the new arrangements for the visually impaired candidates, the JAMB Registrar said, Digital Bridge Institute in partnership with the board had agreed to set up three dedicated centres in Abuja, Lagos and Kano in 2018, adding that, the board will support the centres with necessary inputs.

He explained that ahead of 2018, when the project of dedicated centres would come to fruition, the board has reached an understanding with the association for the blind persons in Nigeria and blind students in Lagos that an abridged approach would be used for the 2017 UTME.

He added that all prospective blind candidates would be invited to three centres in the country for special assessment in their subjects of choice and relevance to their desired courses and programmes.

Professor Oloyede while addressing the participants, most of whom are external Supervisors and other stakeholders drawn from various tertiary institutions and education sector, said all concerned stakeholders must take UTME as their own and make it a project.

He noted that the conduct of the board’s examination, which is a selection examination is the foundation of quality education, must see their involvement in UTME as a call to national duty and personal sacrifice.

The JAMB boss said, “It is not enough for Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) to visit examination centres with sirens and large entourage of government functionaries with very little impact to show for their participation, other than to be under television camera lights and beamed same to the whole world.

“Yet, the outcome of the examination is laced with stories of examination malpractice. This time around, the major players with requisite integrity, intelligence and appropriate knowledge of the assessment would be fully engaged to actively participate in the supervision of the examination.”

Nigeria: Students Of Kaduna State University Express Their Challenges After Matriculation

By Winifred Bulus

Vice chancellor of Kaduna State University, Northern Nigeria, Professor Muhammed Tanko, called on students of the University to be good ambassadors of the institution.

Making the call at the university’s 2016/2017 matriculation, he said, “As students of Kaduna state university, you have to be good ambassadors of the institution and protect the image of the school. Take your studies seriously and above all put God first.”

Some of the matriculating students of the University told AFRICA PRIME NEWS that they were facing serious challenges in the School.

One of them who seek for anonymity said, “I am very excited and glad to be a part of the Matriculation today. I also wish that the University would provide us with lecture theatres. During lectures, most of us have no place to sit and have to receive lectures standing or from outside.”

Another student observed, “I am so happy to be a student of Kaduna state university. I want the school to provide affordable accommodation for us. The hostels we have are owned by private organisations and therefore very expensive.

“Most of us cannot afford the hostels. If the government builds more hostels, it will benefit most of the students.”

Other students who made their challenges known explained, “The hall used for the matriculation was too small to accommodate everyone. Some people had to stay outside and others to sit on the ground.

“The school usually uses the convocation ground for matriculations but today, the multi-purpose hall was used. That ruined my celebration and disappointed me. The school can also do better in the area of sports. The sports here, is not organized. Aside this the school has academic excellence.

“The school is doing well but can do better. I know the hostels don’t belong to the government or the school. We have a major issue of light and water. The light is unstable and water is another major challenge we are facing. Most times, there is no light to study.”

Nomadic Schools Reopen In Northern Nigeria After Winning War Against Cattle Rustlers

By Muhammad Bello

Katsina (Nigerai) – Katsina State Government in northern Nigeria is reopening nomadic schools having loss two academic terms to activities of cattle rustlers, who took over the school buildings.

The region has suffered several attacks, and “you dare not go there before. But today, we entered here without any escort,” said Chairman, Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board, Lawal Buhari Daura.

The chairman added, “We thank Almighty Allah that peace has returned to the land and the Nation as a whole with the current set of leaders we have at the helm of affairs. The government are on their toes to tackle insecurity and ensure that day and night Nigerians are secured,”

Four of the reopened schools include, Kyabbo Nomadic primary school in Jibia Local government and Hamada Nomadic Primary School in Sabuwa Local Government, Ginginyu Nomadic Primary school and Garin Liman Nomadic Primary school in Batsari Local government area.

Daura called on the nomads to allow their wards to go to school to acquire western education, “we are not saying you should not send your children to farm, rear animals or send them to Islamic school, but what we are saying is, also send them to go to school,” he said.

The Chairman also tasked the nomads to encourage girl-child education in their communities to produce female doctors among others who will in turn play vital roles in the society and where necessary while also urging them to also enroll in adult education.

“You are not left out, you can engage in adult education and with that you can read because some Quran are written in English. Fight ignorance because ignorance is the root cause of the killings,” Daura stated.

Similarly, the Executive Secretary of SUBEB in Jibia, Dr. Salisu Mamman said he was forced to close down the school due to the high level of insecurity adding that the school was turned into a hideout for cattle rustlers.

He said five cattle rustlers including a teacher, who was involved in the activities of the rustlers were killed by soldiers who raided and liberated the area.

Head teacher of Kyabbo Nomadic primary school in Jibya Local government area, Abubakar Mohammed expressed delight to government for renovating and reopening the school.

The cattle rustlers were beleived to have come from northern states of Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, and Niger states.

Nigeria: Katsina Compels Parents To Send Children To School, Law Underway

By Muhammad Bello

Katsina (Nigeria) – Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, northwest Nigeria has announced plans by his administration to introduce a law compelling parents to send their children to school.

He described low school enrolment and poor educational development as detrimental to societal growth, acknowledging it as factor responsible for backwardness in northern Nigeria.

Masari decried lack of qualified teachers in schools and overcrowding in classrooms as major problems facing the educational sector, especially in primary schools.

He expressed dismay over the experience where children spend six years or more in the school but can’t spell their father or mother’s name, whereas a month in the Islamic school they can recite a verse in the Quran.

Masari warned parents and teacher not to solely depend on government, but tighten up their belts and ensure their children go to school.

Masari was speaking after receiving a presentation of school improvement grants to the tune of N48m made by UNICEF to the State.

UNICEF Chief Field Officer, Padmavathi Yedla said the grants was for the School Based Management committee, SBMC to provide conducive atmosphere of learning in the schools.

“we felt the community needs to get involved in… Because the community are close to the school and know what are the challenges and constraints.

“So the grant is to improve the quality of and learning. It is to bridge the gaps wherever it exists. Take for instance, the need for school clinics,” She said.

Nigeria: Over 65% Of Pupils In Kaduna School Quit schooling After Government Suspended Free Feeding Program

By Longtong Ibrahim

Pupils going out of the school compound after receiving their ration of food at UBE Primary School, Layin Biliya last year

“Where were these thousands of children that came up all of a sudden to enroll into school because of free feeding? I’m just imagining where these children will be in the next 10 to 15 years if they are not educated. They will become a big problem to our country and even be worst than Boko Haram.”

The above statement was a point of concern for the Chairman, School Based Management Committee (SMBC), of UBE Primary School Layin Biliya, Rigasa, (a community school in North-western Nigeria), Idris M. Sheriff, where over 65 percent of pupils stopped schooling after the Kaduna State government suspended the free feeding program it introduced to public schools in 2016.

In February 2017, school attendance in UBE Primary School, Layin Biliya has reduced to about 5,000 from 19,954 pupils who enrolled in February 2016 when the program began.

It would be recalled that the Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai during the flag-off ceremony of the program on 17th January, 2016, said, the feeding intervention was necessary to boost nutrition, health of the children, and also encourage school attendance; noting that, the free feeding program will expand access to education.

Tents provided by government as a result of an increase in school enrollment in the school

This development attracted lots of pupils and students’ enrolment, but the case is not the same now as the suspension of the program has led to a large drop in school attendance; one of such schools is UBE Primary School Layin Biliya.

Speaking with Africa Prime News, the SBMC Chairman said, before the commencement of the program, the school had a little above 2000 pupils, and it later rose to almost 20,000 when the program began but currently, it is declining because government suspended it.

He said, “Currently the pupils are not more than five thousand in both morning and afternoon session.”

“We believed it was the school feeding that attracted them if not why then did they stop coming because school feeding has stopped?” he questioned.

He however noted that after the school pled for school expansion in order to accommodate the increasing number of pupils, government heard and bought a house in the neighborhood, mounted a temporal tent within the school compound, but they have not started using them because number of pupils have drastically reduced.

While commending the Government for initiating the program, Sheriff tasked El-Rufai to resume the school feeding program so as to make the children return to school and be educated for the advancement of Nigeria.

“Education is important and any program that would attract students’ enrollment should be encouraged. These children are vulnerable to manipulations but when they are educated they become wise and difficult to be manipulated.

“Because of this, El-Rufai should bring back this program so that the lives of this children and the future of our country could be secure,” he emphasized.

A typical classroom in the school

Sherif observed that the school is lacking facilities that will ensure effective learning.

“We have made little efforts and cemented the floor of some classrooms instead of sitting on the dust; some of the pupils stand while some sit on window walls during classes and that hinders effective learning.”

Corroborating what the SBMC Chairman said, a volunteer assigned to the school by the Parent Teacher’s Association, Mohammed Yunus, decried the state of facilities in the school. He said some of their challenges include; lack of toilets, chairs, classroom, windows, doors, and security, noting that six irons used in mounting the tents have been stolen because the school lacks a watchman

The state government began the school feeding program in January 2016 at the cost of N1.1 billion monthly.

The Education Commissioner in the state, Andrew Nok, said government has spent over eight billion naira within the first eight months of the program in 2016, explaining that, government is putting all the needed logistics to resume the feeding program.

According to him, “Under the arrangement, the Federal government will feed students from primary one to three, while the state government will feed students from primary four to six.

It was also agreed that the Federal Government would refund to the state 60 percent of the amount spent on feeding primary one to three pupils. However the program was suspended after eight months following the failure of the Federal Government to reimburse the state as agreed.

Nigerian Advocates Peace Education As Subject In Schools

By Winifred Bulus

Ramatu Tijani, a peace activist in Nigeria has urged Nigerian Government to introduce Peace Education in the country’s primary, secondary and tertiary institutions for the sake of promoting peaceful co-existence amongst citizens.

The peace activist in an interview with some Journalists in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria, stated the need for building young minds towards peace, which has become a vital issue in the country.

“Peace education refers to the process of acquiring values, Knowledge, and develop attitude, skills and behavior to live in harmony with one self, others and natural environment.

“The overall goal of the peace education is by no doubt to promote peaceful co-existence among learners, better understanding hence contributing to peace and national cohesion in the country and this is mainly achieved through equipping members of the school community with sound knowledge, skills, and attitudes for managing conflict, riot, crisis and demonstration without resulting to violence or any cause of alarm,” she said.

Ramatu revealed seven major ways of gearing peace education including; schools debate, human rights awareness, peace building, advocacy, leadership and learning to tolerate and accommodate each other.

She also added that peace education would go a long way in identifying early signs of conflict in young people and handling them the right way before getting out of hand and also enable young people communicate their feelings instead of bottling up anger that might be expressed through conflict.

“Peace Education helps children and young people discover the wonder and beauty within themselves ,nurturing inner peace, and it also supports the development of the attitudes, values and skills needed to respond to conflict creatively- encouraging inter-personal peace and unity among students of different faith base.

“It also encourages children to examine the root causes of violence and war and explore the possibilities for building peace at community,national and international levels through collective responsibility.” She says.

She appealed to the ministry of education and other stakeholders in the sector to invest in the future of the country’s education.

Angola Orders Closure Of Gulen-Linked Turkish School

Angola has ordered the closure of a school linked to the Gulen movement, which is blamed by Turkey for a July coup attempt, an official source said.

Luanda also expelled all of the Turkish staff working at the Colegio Esperanca Internacional (Coespi) and their families – 66 people in total – saying that the closure was for “national security reasons”.

News24 reported that, the Hizmet movement which ran the school is linked to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and operates schools across the world, including in Africa.

Turkish President Recep Tayipp Erdogan has rallied African leaders on the continent to help him fight Gulen’s influence, lobbying hard against his longtime rival’s African network during a recent visit to the continent.

The schools are popular among Africa’s middle classes and are often rated as some of the best performing where they operate.

Turkish officials accuse Gulen of using his vast private education network to build influence and of running a “parallel state” inside Turkey that attempted to topple Erdogan during a failed coup on July 15.

Gulen, a former Erdogan ally, vehemently denies the allegations. A reclusive figure, he has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999.

Hizmet describes itself as promoting Islam through charity efforts and educational work from Turkey to countries in Africa and central Asia as well as the United States.

In the decree signed by President Eduardo dos Santos and seen by AFP, Angola’s long-time ruler said that the closure was to “protect the well-being and security of the citizens… and territorial integrity”.

All of the Turkish staff linked to the school and their families have already been removed from Angola, an official source said.

Coespi was the only school linked to the Gulen movement in Angola and had 750 students aged between five and 14 years old.

Morocco has also closed all Gulen-linked schools in the kingdom since January.

Last week, Angolan Interior Minister Angelo de Veiga Tavares defended the closure during an interview on state TV, saying that it was a “sovereign” decision for Luanda to take.

News24 reported that the Minister said, “The Angolan government decision has nothing to do with pressure from other countries.”

[Jingle] Nigerian Government Overseas Scholarship – Kaduna

Use Mosque For Primary Education, Nigerian Emir Urges Northern Leaders

Muhammad Sanusi II

One of Nigeria’s Northern Emirs, the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has advised states in Northern Nigeria to use Mosques to offering primary education instead of constructing more classrooms in the midst of scarce resources.

According to him, since there are many Mosques in the region and across local government’s areas, they could function as primary schools during the day time while in between afternoon and evening obligatory prayers can be observed.

Sanusi who spoke during the combined graduation of 2,000 in-service teachers under the Kano state Teacher Upgrade Training Programme, maintained that the idea was feasible and cost-saving.

A statement by the Director General, media and Communications, Government house, Kano, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, quoted the Emir to have said:  “By so doing, we can limit the amount we spend on school infrastructure and devote the funds to training of teachers, which is among the critical factors that lead to positive leaning outcomes.”

As proof that the idea will work, he stated that during a visit to Fez, a city in Morocco some time ago, he visited a mosque which, besides its traditional function as a place of worship, was also conveniently serving as a university with a structured course outlines and lecturers.

The Emir noted that the separation of mosques from teaching of formal education contributed significantly to the notion among misguided people, that Islam is against western education. He, however, expressed happiness that for the first time, the government of Kano state has understood that, the problem of education is not principally about infrastructure and teaching materials, but placed emphasis on teacher capacity building for better leaning outcomes.

While making his remarks, the Kano state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje told the gathering that Kano has over 3 million pupils in public primary schools, with over 52,000 teachers and 6,000 public basic education schools, but confronted with multiple challenges, including that of infrastructure.

Ganduje noted that, despite the current economic hardships, there are still ongoing construction of new schools, more school renovations, procurement and provision of essential teaching and learning materials.

“We are surely obliged to continue to demonstrate our commitment to the development of education in the state.

“By the end of year 2017, all unqualified basic education teachers in Kano State will become professional teachers through Teacher Upgrade Program and other in-service Training opportunities,” he stressed.

Nigerians Kick Against Government Plans To Teach Mathematics and Science In Indigenous Languages

By Winifred Bulus

Kaduna (Nigeria) — Some Nigerians have criticized recent announcement by their Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu on plans to teach science subjects and mathematics in indigenous languages.

The Minister recently says in order to make children interested in mathematics and science, Nigerian schools would teach pupils in various indigenous languages.

According to him the act would also prevent local languages in the country from going extinct.

The Minister said, “These pupils grow up with their indigenous languages at home before they start going to school, where they are now taught in foreign languages. So, we have observed that there is a challenge to understand the foreign languages first before they could even start understanding what they are being taught.

“We believe that this plan will help our students to understand mathematics and the science subjects, and also promote the application of science and technology for national development. Our ministry has looked around the world how nations attained greatness and all the countries that are doing very well use indigenous languages at very early age in the teaching of science and mathematics.”

Reacting, a Nigerian, Dorothy Galadima said, “It is a very wrong idea because the public who learn in their dialect will have to interact with other people from other tribes. If I learn with ‘Jaba’ how then do I interact with a ‘Jju’ or ‘Kataf’ person?

Also speaking Godiya Esther says: “That is almost impossible. It will take too much time for the different languages to introduce new mathematical terms to their vocabulary. How do you say integer in ‘Jju’ language? How do you say equation and calculus, how about logarithm? Words have to be derived or formed. That would take ages.”

A lawyer, Florence Hassan said, “Although it is a welcomed idea, however it should be noted that students will be restricted to understanding these subjects in the languages being taught and may find it hard to relate to it internationally.

“Recognised languages such as English and French and as such knowledge, ideas and invention or development of such knowledge may however be restrictive as the students can only pass the knowledge to only those who understand the language.”

To Bodam Gwani, “The poor quality of education in Nigeria is not because of the language being used, but because we have neglected the sector.  I didn’t have any problem with English, simply because I was taught well.

“I attended all government schools, and no one can tell me I got inferior education, even those that studied abroad. I can say now, the same schools I went to, can’t provide the same level of education. This has nothing to do with English language as the medium.”

“We shouldn’t create a new problem, when looking for a short cut, we should address the real problem. The problem is the Quality of education, medium used is not the problem.”

A school girl who hails from Jaba in north central Nigeria told AFRICA PRIME NEWS that she does not understand her language and would rather have her teachers teach her these subjects in English, “My teacher teaches me mathematics in English and I understand the subject.”

Nigeria has over 400 indigenous languages and dialects with several others gone extinct. The plan to teach mathematics and science was to find a way of preserving some of these languages.

But there is currently no definite plans with timelines put on ground to actualise the announcement. There is also no idea on how many of the 400 languages would be used to teach the primary school pupils.

To achieve the lofty idea, content and curriculum must also be designed in the chosen languages to make it work.