Significant activities of education ministry in 2016
Several important activities and controversial decisions were taken by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2016 under the watch of Malam Adamu Adamu as minister and Professor Anthony Anwukah as minister of state. The ministry had also implemented broad activities and major structural transformation in the year under review. The decision by the ministry […]
Several important activities and controversial decisions were taken by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2016 under the watch of Malam Adamu Adamu as minister and Professor Anthony Anwukah as minister of state. The ministry had also implemented broad activities and major structural transformation in the year under review.
The decision by the ministry to terminate the appointments of 12 vice chancellors and the governing councils of some universities on February 12 generated many controversies. The VCs were sacked in a letter signed by Malam Adamu Adamu which said President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the termination of appointments of the VCs. Despite the fact that the tenures of nine VCs out of those affected were to end on February 15, civil society groups said the action was rather unconstitutional. They said while the president had the power to dissolve any council found wanting, he hasn’t got the powers to remove any VC from his position; only the councils have the right to dismiss a vice chancellor from work after being found guilty of misconduct.
Coalition of civil society groups later filed a case at the National Industrial Court in Abuja and asked the court to declare as illegal the sacking of the vice chancellors and reinstatement of the governing councils of universities. The suit was however, withdrawn after President Buhari apologised publicly over the sack of the VCs.
The post Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) screening, conducted by the universities continued to be in the media spotlight before it was cancelled. While universities regarded post UTME screening as veritable means of selecting competent candidates for admission into various degree courses, parents saw it as additional burden because candidates were made to pay between N2, 000 and N60, 000 as post UTME fees depending on the course of study and institution. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), charges only N5, 000 for the computer based UTME on the contrary.
However, following many serious problems associated with the post UTME screening and huge public outcry, Malam Adamu Adamu issued a statement in June cancelling the exercise saying “The ban is with immediate effect and under no circumstance should any institution violate the directive.”
Later, the ministry agreed that institutions could screen candidates seeking admission and could charge a fee of not more than N2, 000.
The federal government was said to have suffered deep embarrassment after an alleged letter of sexual harassment against a JSS 2 female student of Queens College, Lagos, written by her mother was circulated by a blogger in March.
The mother allegedly said in the letter that one of the male teachers sexually assaulted her daughter and the school authority remained adamant. She said the teacher who was under the influence of alcohol attempted to coerce the girl to have sexual contact with him. Police later detained the teacher. But when the ministry constituted high level panel of inquiry to determine the matter, it was found out that the letter was fake and both the mother and the student could not be traced. It was later revealed that the letter was planned by officials in Abuja to discredit the school authority.
The Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) of federal government colleges otherwise referred to as unity schools were directed by the ministry to seek clearance from it before undertaking any developmental project in the colleges sometime in August. Government also cancelled the payment of PTA levies in the schools by parents which ranged from N3, 000 to N75, 000 and said such fees must not exceed N5, 000.
As the ministry works to achieve its aim over the period of the administration, President Buhari made new appointments affecting 17 agencies of the ministry in August. The appointments were for the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, Nigerian Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Prof. Lilian Salami, Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB), Dr. Hameed Bobboyi, National Library of Nigeria (NLN), Prof. Lanre Aina and National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Charles Uwakwe. Others were National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NCMLA&NE), Prof. Abba Haladu, Nomadic Education Commission (NEC), Prof. Bashir Usman; National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), Prof. Ifeoma Isiugo-Abanihe, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Sunday Ajiboye, Computer Registration Council of Nigeria (CRCN), Afolabi Aderinto, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Prof. Bappah Aliyu and Tertiary Education Fund (TETFund), Dr. Abdullahi Bichi Baffa. The rest were: National Teachers Institute (NTI), Prof. Garba Dahuwa Azare, Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN), Prof. Michael Afolabi; National Mathematical Centre, Sheda (NMC), Prof. Steven Ejugwu Onah; Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Olarenwaju Oloyode and National Institute of Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Prof. Chinyere Ohiri-Aniche. Four Chief Executive Officers retained their positions including Prof. Samaila Junaidu of Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Prof. Raauf Adebisi, Nigerian French Language Village, Badagry, Lagos (NFLV), Dr Mas’ud A. Kazaure, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Prof Muhammad Mu’az of Nigeria Arabic Language Village, (NALV) Ngala, Borno State. The ministry launched a three-year education strategic plan for the country known as ‘Education for Change: A Ministerial Strategic Plan 2016-2019,’ in August. The plan was meant to among other things reduce the number of out-of-school children, improve quality teaching and learning and raise the welfare of teachers.
In an effort to allow universities, colleges of education and polytechnics to admit the candidates of their choices, JAMB Registrar told the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education in November that the board planned to cancel the uniform cut off marks of 180. He said institutions would be allowed to specify their own cut off point.