South African Education Department Urges Learners to Go Back to Class

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August 15, 2023

The Western Cape Education Department in South Africa has called on parents to ensure their children go back to school after the taxi strike, which on day one saw 71% of learners miss classes.

Western Cape Education MEC, David Maynier said the province cannot afford to lose one more day of teaching and learning at our schools after the taxi strike in the province.

He said that teachers would evaluate the impact the taxi strike had on their classes, which would inform catch-up plans.

He added that the department will provide the support needed to do so.

Last week, learners, including matric pupils, were forced to go home after being chased from a taxi rank by people who threw stones at commuters hoping to catch public transport to work and school.

He said the second day of the taxi strike, 287,420 learners (24%) were absent from school, 8 August, the peak of the strike, 852,259 learners (71%) were absent from school and 11 August, the first day after the strike ended, 739,569 learners (61%) were absent from school.

Maynier said the metro education districts were most affected

Reps Query JAMB Over Secret Recruitment

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Nzubechukwu Anodo

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August 15, 2023

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An ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives has queried the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for recruiting about 300 staff without advertising the vacancies.

The paneĺ noted that by the documents made available to the committee, JAMB had been recruiting without following the due process of advertisement, shortlisting and interview of job seekers.

The committee is investigating ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs), parastatals and tertiary institutions on personnel recruitment, employment racketeering and the mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS).

While appearing before the committee, the Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, told the panel that the board conducted the recruitment using a waiver granted to it by the government.

He explained that the board could not afford to go through the process of advertising the vacancies because of the exigencies of time.

While responding to the presentation, the Chairman of the Committee, Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau), rejected the explanation, noting that the process of recruitment adopted by JAMB would have denied several qualified people the opportunity of applying.

He noted that by the documents available to the committee, JAMB had been recruiting without following the due process of advertisement, shortlisting and interview of job seekers.

Once Upon A Time – August 15 – 1620 – Mayflower Sets Sail From Southampton, England With 102 Pilgrims

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Angel Gimalo

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August 15, 2023

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1461 Empire of Trebizond surrenders to forces of Sultan Mehmet II – last Byzantine Empire remnant to fall. Emperor David exiled and later murdered.

1620 Mayflower sets sail from Southampton, England, with 102 Pilgrims

1900 The Boxer Rebellion: In China, the Empress, her family and court retainers flee while foreign troops move through Peking in an attempt to quell the rebellion

1947 India gains independence from Great Britain, remains a dominion until 1950

1998 Omagh Bombing in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles, kills 29 people and injures about 220

2021 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees the country as Taliban forces enter the capital Kabul and take control

Historical Events Today Events in 2023

Today in Film & TV

1918 Longest work of animation then produced – “The Sinking of Lusitania” by Winsor McCay

1939 “The Wizard of Oz”, American musical fantasy film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s book, premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood; directed by Victor Fleming and King Vidor with cast featuring Judy Garland (Dorothy), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Jack Haley (Tin Man), Bert Lahr (Cowardly Lion), Frank Morgan (Wizard), Billie Burke (Glinda), and Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch); songs by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg

Today in Music

1969 Woodstock Festival opens in Bethel, New York on Max Yasgur’s Dairy Farm; performers include Richie Havens, Tim Hardin, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Arlo Guthrie, and Joan Baez

Today in Sport

1903 New Zealand’s All Blacks play their first Rugby Test Match against Australia’s Wallabies at the Sydney Cricket Ground; New Zealand win 22-3

MORE FACTS…

1635 1st recorded north American hurricane hits the Plymouth Colony

2015 North Korea creates its own time zone -moving its clocks back half an hour to GMT+8.5

Famous Weddings

1515 King Christian II of Denmark marriage ratified to Isabella of Austria, granddaughter to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I at Copenhagen Castle (married by proxy 1514)

1958 American rock singer-songwriter Buddy Holly (21) weds Puerto Rican-American record company receptionist María Santiago (25) at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas

1985 Anti-apartheid lawyer Bulelani Ngcuka marries in South Africa

A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer – August 15, 1936

Students Tackle Varsity Over Withheld Results

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Nzubechukwu Anodo

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August 15, 2023

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Former students of the Olabisi Onabajo University have called on the management of the institution to release the results of their examination without further delay.

Some of the students said the result of the courses they wrote since 2006 had yet to be released.

The students claimed they had taken the necessary steps and written the examination again in the year 2015 but all efforts were to no avail.

One of the students identified as Babatunde Kotun, who was admitted in 2002 in the Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education said all efforts to get his results released after completing his degree in 2007 proved abortive.

He said he completed the programme at Olabisi Onabajo University in 2007 and result is yet to be processed for collection since 2007 till date.

A student identified simply as Emmanuel, said he was supposed to graduate in 2008/2009. Immediately after he graduation, he commenced the process of our result collection but could not get it.

NBTE Launches One-Year Programme For HND Conversion to BSc

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Nzubechukwu Anodo

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August 15, 2023

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The National Board for Technical Education has unveiled a one-year online top-up programme for Higher National Diploma holders HND to convert their certification to Bachelor’s Degree.

According to the Board, the online top-up programme would be done with foreign accredited universities.

Head of Media Unit, NBTE, Fatima Abubakar, in a statement made available to newsmen, said this would facilitate the progression of HND holders to higher degrees instead of the postgraduate diploma programme.

She said the Board said this would also end the unwarranted prejudice, where HND holders after undertaking PGD to enable them to enrol for a Master’s degree would still be queried after proceeding to do PhD and wish to migrate to a Nigerian University, adding that such affected persons were usually asked by the University authorities to produce their first degree, even when they have acquired doctorate degree.

She said attempts in the past to get the National Universities Commission (NUC) to approve a two-year Master of Technology for HND holders in some Polytechnics did not see the light of the day.

She also noted that NBTE has created an HND admission portal for use by all Polytechnics for ease of mobilisation for the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Scheme.

The Board has accordingly appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assent into law the Bill removing the HND-BSc Dichotomy in the public service as passed by the last National Assembly.

Only accredited Programmes shall be visible on the portal, and NYSC shall have viewing rights to know the admitted candidates to be mobilised.

This will hopefully bring an end to illegal HND admissions from unaccredited Programmes and, at the same time, ensure carrying capacities are adhered to for quality assurance.

Algeria Pulls Barbie Movie From Cinemas For Violating Morals

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faith Jegede

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August 15, 2023

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Algeria has reportedly pulled the Barbie movie from national cinemas, joining many countries in the Middle East and North African region to ban the American blockbuster for allegedly “violating morality”.

“(It was banned) because it promotes homosexuality and other Western deviances that do not comply with Algeria’s religious and cultural beliefs,” according to local media Algerie24H.

After being screened for over three weeks, Algerian authorities have reportedly restricted national cinemas from withdrawing the American movie considered controversial by many politicians across the region.

Without officially communicating the ban decision, the Barbie film vanished this Sunday, 13 August, from the schedules of various cinemas around the North African country.

Scheduled for the opening of the new cinemas in the Garden City shopping centre in the capital, the film was discreetly withdrawn from the program.

Films are often delayed in the region to allow time for production companies to censor them or gather committees to review them.

Kuwait has already banned “Barbie” outright, saying that the film promotes “ideas and beliefs that are alien to Kuwaiti society and public order.”

Meanwhile, Lebanese officials who were in back-to-back meetings to decide on the movie ban have finally agreed to ban it.

FG Sacks Advertising Standard Panel Over All Eyes On The Judiciary Billboard

By

faith Jegede

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August 15, 2023

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The Federal Government has dissolved the Secretariat of the Advertising Standard Panel (ASP) over its approval of billboards which it claimed is blackmailing the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal with the title: ‘All Eyes on The Election Tribunal Judges.’

One of the billboards with the hashtag, #AllEyesonTheElectionTribunalJudges, was sponsored by a group, Diaspora’s For Good Governance.

The ASP is the Statutory Panel under the Council charged with the duty of ensuring that advertisements conform to the prevailing laws of the Federation as well as the Code of advertising ethics of the advertising profession.

A statement by the Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, confirmed the dissolution of the panel.

Fadolapo said the Council has also suspended its Director and Deputy Director in charge of Regulations to allow investigations into the issue.

It said: “The attention of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria [ARCON) has been drawn to the “All Eyes on the Judiciary” advertisements exposed on some billboards across the country.

“The Advertising Standards Panel of the Council also erred in the approval of one of the concepts as the advertisement failed to vet guidelines on the following grounds:

“The cause forming the central theme of the campaign in the advertisement is a matter pending before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Hence, it’s jus pendis.

“A matter being jus pendis and awaiting judicial pronouncement is, by virtue of the Nigerian legal system, precluded from being a subject of public statement, debate, discussion, advertisement, etc.

“The advertisement is controversial and capable of instigating public unrest and breach of public peace.

“The advertisement is considered blackmail against the Nigerian Judiciary, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, and particularly the Honourable Justices of the Tribunal who are expected to discharge their judicial functions without fear or favour over a matter that is currently jus pendis.”

The ARCON DG said the Council would set up a committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the “erroneous approval” of one of the concepts of the advert and the breach of the vetting guidelines.

Niger Coup Leaders Form New Govt

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Mana Balagbogbo

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August 15, 2023

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Bayero University Kano Redesigns 30 Percent Of New Curriculum

By

Precious Obazee

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August 15, 2023

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Bayero University Kano (BUK) says it has redesigned 30 percent of its new Core Academic Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) for Nigerian universities to boost the skill acquisition of students and the employability of graduates.

The Vice Chancellor, Bayero University, Prof. Sagir Adamu-Abbas disclosed this when he received in audience a delegation of Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) at the Main Campus of the University in Kano.

Prof. Adamu-Abbas revealed that the university authority had introduced various measures aimed at cushioning the effect of fuel subsidy removal on the part of the staff, and ameliorating the impact of the recent registration fee hike on the part of students.

He added that apart from establishing Skill Acquisition Centre within the Students Welfare department where students go to learn trade of their choices, experts were also hired from outside the centre to train students on specific entrepreneurial skills not provided at the centre

In his remarks, the Chairman, Education Correspondents of Nigeria (ECAN), Chuks Ukwuatu, however, commended the Vice Chancellor for ensuring the visibility of the University, especially as BUK was ranked as the fourth best University in Nigeria in a recent global ranking, coming after the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Covenant University.

Recall that the National University Commission (NUC), while unveiling the new curriculum, announced that it only developed 70 percent of the CCMAS, leaving 30 percent for each university to develop in line with its peculiarities.

NBTE Launch On-Line Top-Up Program Portals To Ease NYSC Data Collection

By

Precious Obazee

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August 15, 2023

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The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has launched two portals, one for HND Holders who wish to acquire Bachelor’s Degree through online Top-Up for one year, with foreign accredited universities.

This is to facilitate the progression of HND holders to higher degrees. Attempts in the past to get the National Universities Commission (NUC) to approve a two-year Master of Technology for HND holders in some Polytechnics did not see the light of the day.

HND Holders have been forced to go for a one year Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) before they could be admitted into the Master’s Program in Universities.

The disadvantage of the PGD is that holders who continue to do Ph.D. and wish to migrate to a Nigerian University will always be queried to produce their first degree, even when they have Doctorates.

To end this unwarranted prejudice, NBTE has now created this progression pathway for HND holders.

This can be accessed at https://topup.nbte.gov.ng.

Another challenge facing many Polytechnic HND graduates is mobilization for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Many are admitted into non-accredited programs and after the HND, they are not mobilized for the NYSC. NBTE has now created a HND admission portal for use by all Polytechnics.

Only accredited Programs shall be visible on the portal and NYSC shall have viewing rights to know admitted candidates to be mobilized.

This will hopefully bring an end to illegal HND admissions of unaccredited Programs and at the same time ensure carrying capacities are adhered to for quality assurance.

The Board appealed to the President to please sign the Bill removing the HND-BSc Dichotomy in the public service as passed by the last National Assembly, to end the perceived discrimination against graduates of the Polytechnic system.