A high school in Swaziland (eSwatini) has been closed indefinitely after pupils boycotted classes in protest at beatings that some had received.

Corporal punishment is banned in Swaziland.

Pupils at Nyamane refused to return to classes after lunch while singing political songs in protest until the police were called.

According to the Times of eSwatini, pupils objected to being beaten for not cutting their hair with some so badly injured they needed hospital treatment.

Shiselweni Regional Education Officer, Siboniso Gumbi, confirmed the incident adding that the school was closed pending a meeting with parents.

Adamawa State Government has closed 30 out of 34 junior boarding secondary schools in the state over insecurity.

A statement by the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Wilbina Jackson, said the closure took effect from September 6, 2021 till further notice.

According to the statement, the action was a proactive measure to ensure the safety of students in view of the insecurity bedeviling the country.

The state government’s action might not be unconnected with the escalating banditry in the country, leading to the kidnap of hundreds of school children in some parts of the country especially in the northern states.

The four schools that will remain open are the Government Girls Junior Secondary School, Yola; General Murtala Mohammed College, Yola; Special School Jada; and Special School, Mubi.

The statement read: “The Commissioner Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development wishes to announce that 30 boarding junior secondary schools out of the 34 schools in the state have been de-boarded with effect from 6th September, 2021. From now henceforth, all the 30 government junior secondary schools are now day schools.

“The remaining four that are not affected are Government Girls Junior Secondary School Yola, General Murtala Mohammed College Yola, Special School Jada and Special School Mubi.

“This becomes necessary due to the present incessant security challenges faced by the country and owing to students’ tender age, hence the need for them to study under the care of their parents.

“All students from the affected schools are to be placed in the nearest public junior secondary schools within their catchment or domicile areas. Stakeholders, PTA, ANCOPS and others are to ensure compliance with this government policy.”

The Federal Government says it would employ 38,700 educated but unemployed youths as part of a strong army of mentors for out-of-school children and other vulnerable people.

The government said the 38,700 youths would be drawn from the 774 local government areas of the country.

The Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Maryam Uwais, made this known during a joint press conference with the Northern Governors’ Wives Forum in Abuja weekend.

Uwais had earlier briefed the governors’ wives on what the federal government was doing to empower youths and protect those she described as “at-risk population”.

She explained that the engagement of the youths for the mentorship job was part of a strategic work plan by the Office of the Vice President designed to address the needs of vulnerable children and youths.

The presidential adviser said, “We are collaborating with the governor’s wives and other stakeholders to select 50 young educated but unemployed youths in every local government to empower them to mentor the young children and guide those that are out of school to live meaningfully.

“Fifty youths will be selected in each of the 774 local governments. They will be paid N30,000 which is the minimum wage. This will create capacity and jobs for them.”

In her remarks, the Chairperson of the Northern Governors’ Wives Forum, Hadiza El-rufai, who rolled out the forum’s agenda for 2021 and 2022, identified gender-based violence and drug abuse as major menaces the 19 First Ladies in the region would focus on combat.

Also speaking, the vice-chairperson of the forum and first lady of Kwara State, Ambassador Folake AbdulRazaq, said they were collaborating with government institutions and functionaries to ensure the sustainability of their programmes even beyond 2023.

Contractors who fail to meet project specifications and quality in their execution of ongoing UBEC/SUBEB jobs in Kwara State risk revocation of their contracts.

The chairman, Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board, Prof. Shehu Raheem Adaramaja, said this at the weekend in Gorobani, Kaiama Local Government Area of the state, during the inspection of ongoing UBEC/SUBEB intervention projects for from 2014 to 2019.

He said the board would not hesitate to apply appropriate sanctions against defaulting contractors.

Some of the projects inspected in Kaiama Local Government Area included renovation of four classrooms at Tunga Aboki LGEA Primary School, remodeling of five classrooms at LGEA Central Primary School and construction of four compartment of VIP toilet at Kamaji LGEA Primary School, among others.

Nigeria’s Communications and Digital Economy minister Dr. Isa Ali Pantami has been promoted to a Professor of Cyber Security.

Pantami is among seven Readers (Associate Professors) elevated by the Governing Council of Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) at its 186th meeting.

Others are Dr. Lawrence Ettu (Civil Engineering), Dr. Godfrey Emeghara (Maritime Management Technology), Dr. Okechukwu Onyelucheya (Chemical Engineering), Dr. Alex Opara (Geology), Dr. Conrad Enenebeaku (Chemistry) and Dr. Chikwendu Okereke (Geology).

Also, the Council approved the recommendation of the Academic Staff Appointment and Promotions Committee (Professorial) for the promotion of nine Senior Lecturers to Readers and two Senior University Librarians to Deputy University Librarians.

Pantami, who recently bagged the Security and Emergency Management Award (SAEMA) on Cybersecurity, had lectured on ICT at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi.

In 2014, he joined the Islamic University of Madinah as Head of Technical Writing. In 2016, he was appointed Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

A professorial title connotes leadership and exceptional contribution at national and international levels in research, scholarship, teaching/mentorship and learning.

A senior lecturer at the FUTO told PRNigeria that Pantami already indicated that he would not receive remuneration because of his current position.