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JAMB Endangering Teenagers With ‘Reckless’ UTME Scheduling – Peter Obi

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Peter Obi

JAMB Endangering Teenagers With ‘Reckless’ UTME Scheduling – Peter Obi

JAMB endangering teenagers with ‘reckless’ UTME scheduling. Peter Obi has criticised the scheduling of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), saying the early start times are endangering the lives of young students.
The 2025 UTME started on Thursday, April 24, 2025, and will end on Monday, May 5, 2025.

In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, the former presidential candidate expressed concern over reports that teenagers, many aged between 15 and 17, were being required to arrive at UTME centres as early as 6:30 am.

“These are teenagers forced to travel in the dark, often across dangerous and unfamiliar areas, just to exercise their right to education,” he said.

Obi described the practice as “reckless” and cited reports of students being involved in road accidents, going missing, and suffering psychological trauma during the examination period.

“Who takes responsibility when a 15- or 16-year-old child disappears or is harmed while trying to access their right to education?” he asked.

The former Anambra state governor argued that the issue reflects deeper, systemic problems within Nigeria’s education sector, particularly a lack of adequate infrastructure.

“Nigeria has just about 200 universities for a population of over 200 million people. That’s one university for every one million citizens, a staggering and deeply worrying ratio,” he said.

Obi compared Nigeria’s gross enrollment ratio of around 12 per cent with Indonesia’s 45 per cent.
He pointed out that the Southeast Asian country, with a population of 280 million, has over 4,000 tertiary institutions.

“Indonesia has over 10 million students enrolled in tertiary education and a much more equitable spread of universities across its regions. This makes access to education safer and more democratic,” Obi noted.

Peter Obi called on the federal government to significantly increase investment in education.

He suggested that even reaching half of Indonesia’s infrastructure, around 2,000 universities, would improve access and reduce the risk to students.

“Education is not a luxury or an expense. It is the biggest contributor to national development. You cannot claim to want development while starving the youth of access to knowledge,” Obi said.

JAMB Closes 2025 UTME

JAMB

He urged a deliberate expansion of Nigeria’s education system to reflect the country’s growing population and protect the well-being of future generations.

“Our young generation should not be endangered because they desire education. We must do better,” the politician added.

In response to Obi’s scathing criticism, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) attempted to distinguish between pre-test verification and actual UTME start times.

The board did not, however, comment on concerns that students are being forced to set out very early, sometimes a day in advance.

Earlier, a teenage girl was reported to have gone missing during her commute to a UTME centre in Ajah, Lagos.

Economy

NTI Releases 13,710 Pending PGDE, NCE Certificates: Kaduna

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NTI Releases 13,710 Pending PGDE, NCE Certificates

NTI Releases 13,710 Pending PGDE, NCE Certificates: Kaduna

NTI releases 13,710 pending PGDE, NCE certificates: Kaduna. He said certificates for the Bachelor Degree programmes (BDPs) will also be available for collection next week.

The National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, has released 13,710 pending certificates for Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).

This is contained in a statement issued on Monday in Kaduna by Yusha’u Ahmed, the institute’s head of public relations and protocol unit.

He said, “Therefore, the Institute is calling those concerned to contact its offices in states across the country with the required documents and observed procedure for collection.
”The certificates for the Bachelor Degree programmes (BDPs) will also be available for collection next week.”

According to the break down from the Institute’s Academic Records Division of Registry Department, 6,954 PGDE certificates, covering the period 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, in affiliation with the National Open University of Nigeria(NOUN) had so far been released.

Mr Ahmed added, “There are also 445 PGDE certificates for Post-Graduate Diploma in Education, in affiliation with Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto; 119 PGDE certificates in affiliation with the University of Ilorin.
“The Institute had in addition, released 6,192 NCE certificates for the year 2023.

“The Director and Chief Executive of the National Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna, Prof. Sadiya Sani-Daura, has expressed commitment and determination to solve the lingering pending certificates issue once and for all.
“The delay in the issuance of the certificates was due to challenges that have now been resolved.

“The National Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna remains steadfast in the discharge of its mandate as a teacher education Institute and once again reiterates its commitment to serving its clientele, which are primarily the students of the Institute.”
According to Mr Ahmed, the Institute assures all the stakeholders, students, both graduates and those undergoing its programmes at various levels.

NTI Releases 13,710 Pending PGDE, NCE Certificates

NTI Releases 13,710 Pending PGDE, NCE Certificates

He continued, “That it has renewed its responsibility of delivering quality and exceptional education through the distance learning technique and the use of modern technologies as obtained globally in similar institutions around the world.

“NTI wishes to appreciate all the stakeholders for their patience and support.”

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Ebonyi: Government Sends 47 Students To UK On Scholarship

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Government Sends 47 Students To UK On Scholarship

Ebonyi: Government Sends 47 Students To UK On Scholarship

Ebonyi: Government sends 47 students to UK on scholarship. The governor urged the beneficiaries to be good ambassadors of the state.

No fewer than 47 beneficiaries on Monday departed Ebonyi for the United Kingdom on scholarship with Governor Francis Nwifuru describing their sojourn as a bold step towards human capital investment.

Mr Nwifuru said during the beneficiaries’ departure from the Chuba Okadigbo airport, Ezza, that the prosperity of the state depended on deliberate commitment to youth development.
The governor urged the beneficiaries to be good ambassadors of the state to achieve the overall aim of the investment.
“This event is not just about boarding a flight but destiny taking flight.

“This is about hope leaving the shores of Ebonyi to soar into the future,” he said.
He noted that the scholarship scheme was one of the most financially demanding interventions of his administration, only next to major infrastructure projects.

“We faced strong opposition on it at inception due to its economic pressures.
“Several people called for its suspension, arguing that its resources should be channeled towards roads, hospitals construction among other pressing needs.

“We would however, be mortgaging the future of Ebonyi if we fail to invest in the youths,” he said.
Mr Nwifuru noted that that the programme aligned with his administration’s People’s Charter of Needs mantra which places human capital development at the peak of governance.

“This initiative is deeply personal as the beneficiaries are being offered opportunities I and many others never had.

Government Sends 47 Students To UK On Scholarship

Government Sends 47 Students To UK On Scholarship

“This venture is aimed at making the path easier for the next generation as every fund spent on it is a collective sacrifice of traders, civil servants, artisans and taxpayers,” he said.
The chairman of the Ebonyi Scholarship Board, Chaka Nweze, said the beneficiaries’ selection process was based strictly on merit.

“We concentrated on first class but due to prevailing developments, considered those with Second Class Upper classification (2:1) CGPA 3.0 and above.

“43 other beneficiaries would travel later as they are still awaiting visa clearance.
‘”The beneficiaries signed a bond to return to Nigeria and serve Ebonyi for five years,” he said.

He noted that the beneficiaries would work at the educational institutions being inaugurated in the state and can pursue personal sojourns after the five years.

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Education

Bandit Attacks: Government Reopens Schools In Kwara State

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AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq

Bandit Attacks: Government Reopens Schools In Kwara State

Bandit Attacks: Government reopens schools in Kwara state. The Kwara government has directed all schools that were closed due to insecurity in some parts of the state to reopen.

The Kwara government has directed all schools that were closed due to insecurity in some parts of the state to reopen.

The announcement was made in a statement by the commissioner for education and human capital development, Lawal Olohungbebe, on Sunday.
Mr Olohungbebe said school authorities had been notified of the decision amid continuous security operations to neutralise marauding bandits in the state.

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq

AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq

“The government deems the situation now to be a lot better than it was before. Even so, we continue to maintain vigilance,” the commissioner stated.

The development came amid recent operations by the troops of the Nigerian Army against the terrorists in Ifelodun, Edu and Patigi local governments.

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