Makerere University is currently facing scarcity of printing materials for academic transcripts seven days to its 71st graduation ceremony that will see at least 13,000 students graduate.

A highly placed source at the university informed this publication that the university management has not procured the paper blanks that are used to print transcripts.

The source said the materials are imported from abroad but the transcripts are printed locally which meant that students of the 2020/2021 academic year will not be able to go home with their transcripts next week.

According to the source, students who are slated to graduate next week and need their transcripts are being given provisional transcripts.

Makerere University Academic Registrar Alfred Masikye Namoah said though the materials that were procured from UK’s Smith and Ouzman Company are slated to arrive soon at the university and the printing of the academic transcripts will commence immediately, he was not certain if all the transcripts would be ready by Monday next week.

The university secretary, Yusuf Kiranda, said: “We print transcripts from here. The only thing we procure from the UK is a transcript paper. We always want to promote the credibility of that transcript.”

Makerere University is set to hold its 71st graduation ceremony virtually due to the Covid-19 fiasco. Only students who have scored first class in various programmes will attend the function physically.

The event will last for five days starting May 17 to May 21.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) say that mock examination slips for its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) can now be printed out in preparation for the exercise.

JAMB made this known in its Weekly Bulletin of the Office of the Registrar.

The board said candidates who had registered for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and indicated interest to sit for the optional mock examination are to print their mock notification slips from Sunday, May 9.

This is in preparation for the mock examination scheduled for Thursday, May 20.

The optional mock notification slips can be printed from anywhere candidates find to be convenient, provided they have access to the internet.

Candidates are to visit https://www.jamb.gov.ng then click on e-facility and print their slips.

The board added that the slip contained candidates’ details such as registration number and the centre to which they are to sit for the examination within their chosen examination town.

The slip, it further said, also contained the expected time the candidates were to be at the centre.

It further urged candidates to study the contents of the slip after printing it out in order to know the location of their examination centers on time, to avoid confusion on the scheduled date of the exercise.

JAMB also said that a total of 845,517 candidates have so far registered for the 2021 UTME and a total of 38,886 candidates have registered for Direct Entry (DE) as of Sunday, May 9.

In a similar development, the board cautioned the public against falling victims to scammers whom it said have continued to use its name to commit illicit acts.

The board said that its attention had been drawn to the activities of criminal elements who claim to be recruiting invigilators on behalf of the Board for the 2021 UTME/DE.

According to the board, they do this while also requesting the payment of acceptance fee of N5,000 payable to the syndicates.

The board states unequivocally, that it is not recruiting any invigilator or any official in that capacity for that matter.

The board added that it had in place a transparent and foolproof process of recruiting ad-hoc staff or any other officials it needed to make progress.

JAMB said it has become necessary to notify the public of the development so that people were not scammed and parted with their hard-earned resources on the premise of securing non-existing jobs with the board.

The board also stated that it has commenced series of meetings with its critical stakeholders to consolidate on its preparations for the 2021 UTME/DE exercise.

According to new interim guidance on restraint and seclusion in schools issued by the Department of Education (DE), parents should be told if their child is restrained in school and the incident should be recorded.

However, there is not yet a legal obligation on schools to record when they restrain a pupil.

The children’s commissioner, Koulla Yiasouma, has also previously called for laws on when a child can be restrained or isolated in school to be strengthened.

Some parents have led a campaign to change the current guidance, which is more than 20 years old, and social workers have also warned that the practices could have damaging effects on children.

The department has now sent interim guidance to schools while a review takes place on the use of restraint and isolation in Northern Ireland.

The interim DE guidance said that restraint or reasonable force should only be used as a “last resort” and should “never be used as a form of punishment or to make a child behave; and never deliberately cause pain/injury to a pupil”.

However, until the law changes, schools are not legally obliged to record when they restrain a child.

The Children’s Commissioner in Scotland defined seclusion as “shutting a child somewhere alone and not allowing them to leave”.

However, the interim guidance said that no such definition exists in Northern Ireland.

The DE guidance said current guidance does not seek to define seclusion or indicate what forms of seclusion, if any, are permissible, and in what circumstances.

The issue of seclusion, including Deprivation of Liberty, is being considered as part of the department’s review and, subject to ministerial approval, guidance will follow once that process has been completed.

But the interim guidance to schools said that children should never be locked in a room or left unaccompanied and must be able to leave when they want to.

DE also said it expected to provide full new guidance on restraint and seclusion in the 2021/22 school year.

Wrexham College will begin training a new generation of electric and hybrid car mechanics in what it described as a “revolution”.

Coleg Cambria’s Bersham Road campus in Wrexham will teach students to service and repair the ever-increasing fleet of greener vehicles from September.

According to the RAC, just 5% of the UK’s 202,000 vehicle technicians are qualified to work on electric cars.

Course tutor and an automotive trainer mentor, Alex Woodward, said the motor trade will need to be prepared.

He added that like with a petrol or diesel car, when the warranty runs out, motorists will be looking to take their vehicle to an independent garage.

There are 239,000 electric vehicles and about 900,000 hybrid vehicles on UK roads and the numbers will rise as the car industry moves towards zero emission travel by 2030 and sales of new petrol or diesel cars are banned.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last year that some hybrids will still be sold.

The Covid-delayed course at the college’s automotive centre will offer an Institute of the Motor Industry hybrid/electric vehicle repair level three qualifications.

Woodward said the college was at the forefront of a revolution.

He said safety was top priority when training technicians to work on electric cars due to the dangerous voltages involved, so the college has bought a simulator where students can learn to work on an engine without any risks.

Apprentice mechanic Sam Conway who works at a garage in Llanferres, Flintshire, while studying diagnostics at Coleg Cambria and hopes to start the new course in September, said: “I’ll be a fully-qualified mechanic by then so hopefully I can go on to do the electric and hybrid course. It’s the way the future’s going. We need to know this kind of stuff.”

Fellow apprentice, Liam Jackson, who works at a garage in Chirk, Wrexham, said the course was a good opportunity.

Prof Peter Wells, director of Cardiff University’s centre for automotive industry research, said more electric car technicians would benefit consumers as there was currently a struggle to find mechanics outside of the dealer network.

Woodward said the college hoped to initially train about six automotive students in electric and hybrid technology, but anticipated that would increase.