NECO Announces 2015 Result

The National Examination Council (NECO) has announced the release of results of the June/July 2015 examination which saw improvements in students’ performance as against last year exams.

The announcement was made in Minna today by the NECO registrar, Prof. Abdulrashid Garba as he spoke on the general performance on this year’s exam results.

He went ahead to state that 68.5 per cent of candidates that sat for the examination scored more than 5 credits, which saw an improvement of 16.27 per cent from the previous year.

Again, according to the NECO boss, the results of fewer percentages of candidates that engaged in exam malpractice were cancelled and the lists of schools that were also involved in the malpractice were blacklisted.

This announcement is coming exactly 60 days after the final paper for this year’s NECO examination was concluded, signalling a remarkable improvement and achievement for the council.

The council has stated that candidates that had their result released after now can head to the website at www.mynecoexams.com for result check.

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PTDF Cancels 2015/2016 Local And Overseas Scholarship Programme But Invites Candidates Ahead For 2016/2017 Scheme

The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has recently announced the cancellation of its annual local and overseas scholarship programme for the 2015/2016 session.

This was detailed in the statement issued by the Fund head of external relations, Mr Kalu Otisi.

That in line with new policy direction of boosting local content development, PTDF is in talks with the officials of those foreign countries where Nigerians scholars are regularly being sent to, in order to find a common ground of either establishing those foreign institutions in 

Nigeria or collaborating with local universities in achieving the Fund’s main aims and objective on local soil.

However, PTDF on their local website is inviting suitably and qualified prospective scholars to apply for Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBT) that will give them access to the local and overseas scholarship program for 2016/2017 scheme.

It is noted that the Fund sends out Nigerian scholars annually to mostly the UK and newly included French universities, but the good news here is that they have expanded the numbers of foreign countries where they will be sending their prospective scholars for the 2016/2017 programme to include countries like US, Australia, Germany and off course that is in addition to the UK and French universities.

Application for the PTDF 2016/2017 scholarship scheme is on-going and qualified candidates are expected as usual to obtain the portal access scratch card at designated First Bank branches nationwide or obtain the scratch card PIN online.

The closing date for the application is on the 31^st October 2015 and the date for the CBT has not been specified but will be fixed in due course.

Access: PTDF

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ASUU to call off strike next week

There seems to be a breath of fresh air for both university students and their parents after the national president of ASUU Prof. Nasir Fage announced yesterday that ASUU will finally call off the five month old strike next week. This was coming after the Federal government invited lecturers and striking ASUU staff for an emergency discussion on how to resolve the on-going industrial actions embarked by ASUU since July this year.

There is no doubt that the meeting ended well, after a new memorandum of understanding was signed by both the Federal government and ASUU which listed in details the entire requirement from ASUU for the strike to be called off. Immediately after the meeting, the ASUU president made the pronunciation that the strike will be called off next week, most probably on Monday.

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Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) overseas scholarship aptitude test to be held on Saturday December 07, 2013

Prospective scholars for the PTDF overseas scholarship scheme are hereby notified that a combined aptitude test for the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 batches  is scheduled to hold on 7^th December 2013 by 8AM on their respective centres.

Candidates sitting for the aptitude test are hereby required to come with the following set of materials as form of identification

= => your set of credentials to include WAEC, BSC, and NYSC certificate

= => Local government identification letter/indigene certificate

= => proof of computer proficiency

= => writing materials

= => a copy of the invitation latter that is sent to you email box.

The candidates are also expected to arrive on time in their respective centres to enable the verification of their credentials before the text will begin. Other information that you will need such as your exam centre, seat number and your scratch card PIN are contained in the email that will be forwarded to you.

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Fear grips NYSC 2013 batch C members over place of primary assignment (PPA) posting

The NYSC 2013 Batch C members entered each of the various NYSC orientation camps spread across the country on the 5^th of this month, and as the saying goes that anything that has beginning must surely have an end. In less than 4hrs from now corps members that participated in the orientation program will be bidding farewell to their camps, as today being the 26^th of November marks the end of the supposedly three weeks of the orientation program.

No doubt that at this moment that the corps members have participated and endured the gruelling military tasks and training that characterized the entire process. In addition to that, they also must have participated in other various camp activities which includes be not only drama presentations, sporting activities, skill acquisition training, boring and exciting lectures, “mammy market visitation” etc.

But this point in time the entire corps members in camp should be packing up their belongings as they all prepares to exit the camp today to report to their places of primary assignments. One might say that camp activities tension has been doused but another tension has arisen, which is the ultimate fear of the unknown for corps member; fear of place of primary assignment posting.

This is because any moment from now they will all be receiving their posting letters and will be sent out just the way Jesus sent out his disciples in groups to both unknown and known destinations to go and complete the second and third phases of the NYSC program (PPA and community development services)

I just spoke with a friend now that is currently in one the camps somewhere in Ondo state, and he told me that the atmosphere in camp right now is quite tensed and that many of them are gripped with fears concerning PPA posting. He went further to tell me that most of the discussion right now at every corners of the camp centres on their unknown fate on where they will love to be heading to if they  depart the camp for their PPA in no time.

No doubt that some of the corps members will be heading to some very remote areas of the state while some that consider themselves lucky will be posted in urban areas. For those that will be posted in the interior villages where there are no power supplies, good roads and other basic infrastructure to carry out their NYSC primary assignment, I have some words of encouragement for them because it is now that we know where their fears must be coming from. “take heart if that be the case because in now becomes a most that you serve in those villages, and do know that the best way to reduce fear is to be ready to confront fear or danger, so no cause for alarm as the villagers in such communities will take care of you’’

Finally, it is important to note that NYSC is a call to duty and not a place of real or permanent employment as can easily be seen in NYSC motto: “Service and Humility”. So corps members are hereby urged to go and work diligently in their PPA to complete the remaining phase of their service year that is meant to last just for one year. 

Wishing all the corps members all the best in their current and future endeavours.

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Ebonyi State University (EBSU) pulls out of ASUU, to resume academic work today 26th November 2013

The authorities of the EBSU has said to publicly made their decission to pull out from the current Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike and have set an official resumption date of 26^th November 2013.

The management of the institution hereby stated that all concerned members of the school should be informed that teaching and learning activities commence immediately on Tuesday being today.

According to the intitution registra Mr. Sam Egwu  that the decision reached by the intitution was as a result of the failure of the union National Executive Council meetings held last weekend to halt the lingering industrial action by its members.

So if you are a student or teacher in the above mentioned institution, you should have dusted your teaching and writing materials and headed to the classroom by now to enable you cover all that you have lost during the strike.

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Latest update on ASUU strike; ASUU vows to continue strike even as coordinating minister of the economy begs

The ongoing strike action embarked by the Academic Union of Universities (ASUU) entered its 146^th day as of today. The strike which started on the 1^st of July this year by ASUU to protest the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement signed between ASUU and the federal government of Nigeria has again currently hit a brick wall as when the strike will be called off.

The first recent set back which we all know by now was the postponement of the ASUU members National Executive Council (NEC) meetingsthat was to be held in Kano to work out modalities and see if they will end the current four and the half month old strike. But as the result of the death of one of the illustrious members of the union in an auto crash, in the person of Late Prof. Festus Iyayi, the NEC meeting scheduled to hold was postponed abruptly and indefinitely, thereby tending to aggravate the already tensed situation in the educational sector and also dashed the little hope seen amongst students and parents who are looking forward to the end of the industrial action embarked by ASUU.

The second and most recent incoming set back with regards to the striking union members was that information recently gathered revealed to us that there was an undisclosed NEC meeting that was held by few members of the union and that the submission they came out with is that the strike should continue. They made mentioned that unless the federal government pays the outstanding four months allowances owed their staff members and in addition to that implement the 1.2trn Naira promised to be pumped into the university system that the strike should continue. They went ahead to request that the sum of 100bn Naira should be released first to them this year, and then the remaining 1.1trn Naira is split and paid to the quarterly, spanning 5 years period.

This was coming in in the heels when even the coordinating minister of the economy who also stands as the minister of finance Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is pleading to the union members to call of the strike in an event held at Oduduwa University, Osun state where the minister together with the central bank governor Sanusi Lamido were later conferred with an honorary doctorate degree of science in accountancy and economics 

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