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UBEC and Nigeria’s Misconceptions

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By ABUBAKAR YUSUF

The Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC established by an act to regulate and coordinate the deployment of not only quality Education and provision of infrastructures, but ensured the activities of the States Universal Basic Education Boards SUBEB’s, through counterpart fundings and other numerous activities at the States and Local Government Levels achieved it’s desired results in all ramifications before and post COVID-19.

It is to the public knowledge that as part of it’s statutory functions to support State Governments with counterpart fundings for it’s basic Educational programs on yearly basis, it was no longer news that on many occasions, the Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC, had clamoured over non assessment of capital funds by state governments running into Billions.

The counterpart funds known as matching grants to state governments had remained unaccessed which had led to series of public statements and engagements by the management of UBEC, urging the state government not to allow the funds meant for their programs continue to lie idle.

As at the time of the last public awareness by UBEC management in May , 2023 , over 45B was lying idle in the States Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB’s account unaccessed, with a plea and the need to nil the account by the state governments.

It is also on record that out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory FCT, only few states like Lagos among others had assessed to the fullest the already provided funds set aside by the Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC to States Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB’s.

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The reasons behind non- assessment was obvious and glaring, as the previous order of releasing funds to state governments without the provision of counterpart funding by the state governments was prone to embezzlement, diversion, fraud and sharp practices on the part of the state governments.

This was also worsened by the non functioning of Local Government Administration virtually in all the states of the federation, because of the interference or usurp of the functions of the councils by state governments, under the guise of joint allocation between the States and local governments.

The adamance of most state governments to access the “free funds” provided by UBEC statutorily on a yearly basis has become a source of worry that was militating against the Educational development in the country, including erratic payment of salaries and allowances, lack of training and employment of teachers to Primary and Basic schools in the country.

The glaring anomaly and Educational backwardness created by the state governments through non -assessment of available funds, non- employment of teachers, lack of commensurate emoluments including training had not detered the Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC from executing it’s statutory functions across all strata.

UBEC had sustained the provision of qualified teachers to complement the state governments through the recruitment of teachers with the application of Federal Teachers Scheme (FTS) to complement the provision of manpower at the States Primary and Junior Secondary Schools in the country.

The commission had embarked on its series of statutory programs including the specialized ones, with training and retraining of teachers at the front burner.

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It had disbursed a whopping 57B to ensure not only training, but also retraining of teachers for over a decade to enhance and encourage professionalism across the teaching strata.

Aside sustaining it’s statutory and other programs, both locally and internationally, the commission introduced many programs both specialized and for the general improvement of Basic Education too numerous to mention.

This was away from the debilitating effects of COVID-19, an emergency scourge that ravaged the entire world with Nigeria not in exception, through the introduction of “Smart Schools” across the six geo political zones, as well as assisting and coordinating the global digital program across states.

Determined to avoid reoccurrence of the experience of COVID-19 and post COVID-19, which heralded series of emergencies, job losses and lockdowns, the commission had invested billions into solidifying it’s investments on “Smart Schools” were school pupils and teachers can both function with both teaching and learning un-interrupted.

The commission in alliance with both local and international bodies took a bold step towards addressing Out of School Children OOSC, through enumeration, providing immediate, medium and long term solutions across the country.

In line with the commission’s mandate and determination, concerted efforts had been put in place to address the OOSC scourge through proactive decisions and articulation of needed requirements that will address permanently the problems of out of school children OOSC in Nigeria.

The commission over the years had not reneged on its statutory functions, and will rather advocate for more rejig of it’s activities, through provision of more funds, among many other requirements to expand the scope of Educational development in the country.

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Efforts and new template must also be developed to support the states and local governments, through the constitutional review of the commission’s mandate to provide more supports to the elementary education at the state levelt, that will detach it from the domination of state governments.

This alone will bring about achieving universal education in Nigeria with the commission at the driver’s seat.

Written by ABUBAKAR YUSUF on yus.abubakar3@gmail.com.

Education

2025 UTME begins April 24 – JAMB

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The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said its 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will begin on April 24 and not April 25 as earlier announced.

JAMB spokesman, Dr Fabian Benjamin, announced this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

Benjamin said that adjustment had been made to accommodate essential commitments by the board and its partner agencies.

He said that prospective candidates could now print their notification slips, which contain vital information regarding their exam details.

He added that the notification slip indicates the examination date, venue (centre), time and other essential details necessary for success of the examination

“Candidates are encouraged to print their notification slips beginning from today, April 19.

“This will provide ample time for logistics arrangements to access their assigned centres within the chosen examination towns.

“To print the notification slip, candidates should visit www.jamb.gov.ng, click on “2025 UTME Slip Printing”, enter registration number and click on “Print Examination Slip”, he said.

The spokesman advised candidates to familiarise themselves with their examination centres after printing their slips, at least one or two days before the examination date.

According to him, this preparation will help ensure a smooth experience on the examination day.

Benjamin further said that candidates would be assigned to centres within their chosen examination towns as no candidate would be placed in a centre outside their selected town. (NAN)

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FG Directs Tertiary Institutions to Publicly Advertise Job Openings

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The Federal Government has mandated all tertiary institutions that have received waivers for staff recruitment to publicly announce their job vacancies.

In a statement released on Thursday, Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa emphasized the importance of transparency in the hiring process. The statement was issued by Folasade Boriowo, the Director of Press in the Ministry.

Dr. Alausa encouraged these institutions to advertise positions in at least one national daily newspaper, on their official websites, and in pertinent academic and professional journals.

This directive is intended to foster an open and competitive recruitment environment, ensuring equal opportunities for all eligible Nigerians.

“This initiative follows the waivers granted to federal tertiary institutions based on their submissions regarding manpower needs,” he explained. “It reflects the ministry’s commitment to strengthening the capabilities of our higher education institutions.”

He reminded all federal tertiary institutions to submit their recruitment requirements to the ministry for evaluation by the Committee on Waiver and Recruitment.

“The ministry has established effective mechanisms to ensure compliance and will not hesitate to impose penalties on any institution that fails to follow this directive,” he stated. “The Federal Ministry of Education is steadfast in its commitment to upholding integrity and fairness within the Nigerian higher education system.”

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JAMB: 585 Fake A-Levels Uncovered In Q1 Sweep

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has uncovered at least 585 forged A-Level certificates so far in 2025.

Is-haq Oloyede, the registrar, was at a virtual meeting with JAMB staff on April 2.

The meeting was to discuss operational procedures ahead of the 2025 mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the main UTME.

Oloyede said JAMB discovered 585 forged A-Level certificates, 13 of which originated from the Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB).

He said the professional registration centres (PRCs) that uploaded the results are now under investigation.

Of those 13 cases, Oloyede said four suspects have so far been arrested.

He said the forgeries were among the reasons for the creation of the Nigeria Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (NIPED).

NIPED is a platform designed to collect and manage data related to post-secondary education in Nigeria.

Oloyede alleged that some institutions may have internal collaborators aiding the syndicates behind the forgeries.

He said the board is working closely with police and other authorities to apprehend the ringleaders.

In 2023, JAMB also uncovered 1,665 fake A-level results during a DE registration season.

The board said its NIPEDS lagged multiple cases of forgery, with 13 additional A-level certificates recently identified as fake.

JAMB said some institutions had already processed admissions for candidates using these forged documents before they were detected.

It urged its staff to remain committed to their duties and to avoid any actions that could compromise the integrity of the board.

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