Kenya School Shaves Off New Female Students’ Long Hair

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February 9, 2023

Some new first-year students reporting to a school in western Kenya have had their hair shaved off to comply with a strict dress code.

Escorted by their parents and guardians, the new learners queued at various desks to go through the admission process, those found to have long hair were directed to a group of barbers.

local media reported an announcer saying “Welcome Kereri Girls, to the girls who are here for the admission process and you have long hair, it is the school’s policy that you get shaved.”

“To my left, there is a barber please proceed there to get assistance. Thank you,” the announcer said.

Local NTV station shared a video of a student having her hair shaved off.

Some people commenting on the story have criticised the Kisii County boarding school, saying it should focus on more-important issues.

“Another problem with our Kenyan schools, instead of focusing on the mental health and welfare of students they focus on the physical issues – a head that is perfectly shaved but with poor mental health is like a 2023 model ranger over without an engine,” one tweeter posted.

Politician Robert Alai tweeted: “Students shouldn’t be shaved bald with the hot sun. The hair protects the skin. Sad that we still encourage this nonsense.”

Strict dress code rules are common in Kenyan education institutions, including some universities.

Printing Errors Found in Mozambique School Books, Govt Recalls

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 9, 2023

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Mozambique’s Ministry of Education and a private publisher have apologised after printing errors were found in a Portuguese language text book used in primary schools.

The page numbers in Ouvir e Falar, Ler e Escrever (Listen and Speak, Read and Write) do not follow a chronological order.

For example, what should be the first page is instead page 16 with the wrong content. Other pages are also upside down.

“We apologise to all those affected,” said publisher Textos Editores in a statement, adding that not the whole print run was affected by the error.

The education ministry has ordered a recall of the affected books.

Critics accuse the government of not taking children’s education seriously and want higher standards to be adhered to.

Last year, scientific errors were reported in a natural science book used by grade six pupils.

Despite an outcry from parents the authorities did not comment at the time.

U.S Indicts Man of Stealing Varsity’s $1.4m

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 9, 2023

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A Federal Bureau of Investigation’s agent, Ayotunde Solademi, on Tuesday told an Ikeja Special Offences Court how one Kolawole Erinle involved in a cybercrime allegedly defrauded Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in the United States of $1.4m.

The witness, a Foreign Service national investigator for the FBI, Office of the Legal Attaché in the US Consulate in Nigeria, said the university became a victim of spoofing, a form of cybercrime attack that targets businesses using forged sender addresses.

Erinle is standing trial alongside his firm, Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, retention of proceeds of criminal conduct, and obtaining money under false pretence preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The defendant however pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Solademi, the first prosecution witness, led in examination in chief by the EFCC counsel, Temitope Banjo, told the court that KCUMB underwent a major construction project with a construction company called J.E.Dunn in Kansas City sometime in 2019 and the university made a wired transfer of approximately $1.41m to an account that it believed belonged to J. E. Dunn.

He said, “On March 27, 2019, J.E. Dunn contacted KCUMB asking about the payment for the pending invoices and KCUMB replied that the payment has been made.

“On March 28, 2019, Dunn confirmed that they did not receive payment.

“It was later found out by both parties that somebody changed the wire transfer details for Dunn using a fake email domain jedunn.org whereas the real domain name for the construction company is jedunn.com.

“After this, the case was reported to the FBI and an investigation carried out showed that the email account of Dunn’s Chief Financial Officer was spoofed.”

He said the wire transfer of $1.41m made by KCUMB entered into a Bank of America account with an account number ending with 6843 on March 5 2019.

He added, “On that same day, somebody accessed that account and wired $850,000 to a Diamond Bank account (now Access Bank) ending with 4471.

“The next day which was March 6, 2019, somebody still accessed the same Bank of America account and wired $560,000 to the same Diamond Bank account in Nigeria.”

The witness told Justice Ramon Oshodi that the investigation showed that the BoA account had an account named Edada Autoparts and Machinary Spareparts Inc with an address in Texas.

He said the Nigerian end of the investigation traced the Diamond Bank account that the money was wired into to Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited, which belonged to the first defendant.

“It was also discovered that the name of the person who opened the Bank of America account is Edward Dada, who is still at large.

“Further investigation also revealed that the address that was listed in the account opening package of the Bank of America’s account was fake, and there is nobody with the name Edward Dada as a resident in the United States.

“Investigations in Nigeria also revealed that the owner of Rinde-Remdex Nigeria Limited was the first defendant and it was discovered that the only transaction that took place in the Bank of America account was this particular transaction,” he stated.

He added that after all the findings, the FBI sent a petition to the EFCC for further investigation.

The petition which was written by the FBI to EFCC was admitted as exhibit following no objections from the defence counsel, Lawal Pedro (SAN).

Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, the witness maintained that he carried out part of the investigation.

However, the judge adjourned the case until Friday for continuation of the trial.

Over 817 UTME Registrations Cancelled- JAMB

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 9, 2023

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board said it cancelled the registrations of no fewer than 817 candidates that registered to sit the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations and Direct Entry examinations.

The examination body said it made the decision owing to the discovery of certain infractions such as use of strange biometrics during the registration process.

The registrar of the examination body, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who cited some of the affected cases in a statement made available to our correspondent on Wednesday morning, stated that some registration officers in the affected 178 Computer-Based Test centres added their fingerprints to complete the registration process for the candidates.

Oloyede however, mentioned that the 817 affected students would be given another opportunity to re-register for the exam with the centres bearing the cost.

He said: “For the students who allowed other people to add their fingers to their registration procedure, we found that some of them were only naive, because you will hear them saying my finger was hot, and the man added his own. And you allowed him to add his own?

“Some of them did it deliberately for impersonation, but we can’t identify those who are genuine from those who are not genuine. We will cancel all of them, all the registrations, and we will ask them to re-register.

“The centres involved, we have just met with them, and they all confessed, nobody is disputing it, even students that were telling lies, they know we have the technology that won’t allow any lie to be accommodated.

“On their own (the CBT centres owners), they suggested the solution. We will cancel the registrations of those people concerned and we will send a message to them to go back to the very centres where they were registered and the CBT centres will pay to the board the cost of registration of the candidates.”

The JAMB boss revealed that allowing a registration officer or any other person to add his or her finger during capturing of a candidate’s biometric data could bring about impersonation in the exam as well as give such “strange” persons access to change vital details including exam centre.

“By adding his or her finger to your registration, it means he or her can change all your particulars when you are not there. You know your finger is what is used to identify you. The person can change your examination centre like say from Lagos to Ibadan, and on the exam day you won’t be able to write the exam.

“That is why we put in place a device that will throw up any strange finger that is not yours and that is why we were able to identify them.”

Speaking on the recent suspension of five CBT centres for selling UTME registration pins above the stipulated price, the JAMB boss said four of the five have been let off the hook.

He, however, said the excess payment would be refunded by the affected CBT centres to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for necessary action.

“Those who sold our pins to candidates beyond the approved limit, we have decided to lift the ban on four of the five after they have explained, and they have given us an apology and they have explained what happened.

“One did not come so we are not lifting the suspension. The four of them, one of them that came, we are still doing investigation (on the centre).

“As for those who overcharged, all the candidates who overpaid we are compiling the list. The overpayment will be paid by those vendors and those institutions to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

“They will pay the money to them and the law will determine what to do because I don’t believe the money should go back to the candidates because if you can pay N3,000, N5,000, N6,000 above the cost, you do not deserve any sympathy. I believe the money should not go back to them because we told them not to pay but now that they have paid we will recover the money and pay it to the appropriate government agency because if we retain it, they will say JAMB is looking for money. We are not looking for dirty money, we will therefore return the money to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, so as decided by the law,
they can even take it to a charity home and give it to those in need.”

Earlier during a virtual meeting with the candidates who had others donating their fingers (fingerprints) to them during their registration process, many of the students admitted to the act while others claimed ignorance.

Lagos Moves To Tackle Negligence Among School Officials

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 8, 2023

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The Lagos State Government on Tuesday vowed to step up its monitoring of schools in order to ensure that officials put in proper measures to ensure the protection of children.

Executive Secretary, Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi spoke at a Stakeholders’ Meeting for the 2022 Intervention Report on Safeguarding and Child Protection in Schools in Lagos State.

According to Vivour-Adeniyi, while in school, some children had been physically and sexual abused, saying that the state government really frowned at such.

She said: ”We had a couple of sexual abuse allegations made against teachers, school bus drivers, janitors. We had physical abuse, sexual abuse.”

The Executive Secretary stated that majority of the cases could had been avoided if relevant safeguarding measures were put in place in the schools.

Vivour-Adeniyi revealed how two children were killed in 2022 as a result of negligence from school officials.

She disclosed that the first death was a case of drowning at the school pool, while the second was a case of the child being ran down by a vehicle, after crossing the school gate, without vigilance from the school officials.

She said the Joint Task Force on Safeguarding and Child Protection, in the past one year, visited several schools where it received child protection and safeguarding concerns, saying that as a result of these visitations, the Task Force came up with the end of year report.

According to her, the agency deemed it expedient to have this roundtable meeting, which is a two-day programme, to conduct a postpartum assessment of these different cases, understand the trends, understand lessons that could learn and forge a way forward from a more preventive lens.

”So that it is not until these cases happen, that we have to respond and it is important that we learn from our mistakes or errors, or from history, from the past, with a view to knowing the way forward in issues that pertain to safeguarding and child protection in schools,” she said.

She said that findings during the visitations revealed that there was no level of awareness about the existence of the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy in schools.

Vivour-Adeniyi said there was a low level of awareness about support services that schools could take advantage of, with the unfortunate instance, that disclosure of safeguarding and child protection is made.

Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Toyin Oke- Osanyintolu, said that many school children were vulnerable to abuses, hence, they required protection.

Oke-Osanyintolu, who was represented by the Director, Social Welfare, of the ministry, Toyin Jaiyeola said that there was the need to review existing policies and fashion out new strategies to help protect children of school age, among others.

Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, stated that ensuring implementation of the Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy in schools should be a joint effort, of different ministries and agencies.

According to her, the “truth of the matter is children are dying, the truth of the matter is children are not safe.”

Nigeria’s Head Coach, Peseiro Tips Golden Eaglets For Glory

By

Emenike Agu

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February 7, 2023

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Peseiro in a pose with Golden Eaglets’ Head Coach Nduka Ugbade and his players.

Nigeria’s head coach, José Santos Peseiro has expressed his admration of the country’s U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets after attending their training session at the NFF/FIFA Goal Project pitch, Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.

The Portuguese tactician admitted he was very impressed with the performance of the players, and charged them to keep improving their game as preparations for the Africa U17 Cup of Nations in Algeria hot up.

He also admonished players that would eventually be dropped not to be dejected as that would not be the end of their football career.

“I am impressed with what I have seen with the performance of the players here. Nigeria is known for having very talented players, so I am therefore not surprised with the performance of these players,” Peseiro said.

“You have to keep working hard and keep improving your game. Unfortunately, not all the players here will be selected. You should not give up if you fail to make the final team,” he added.

The Golden Eaglets have been drawn in Group B of the Africa U17 Cup of Nations in Algeria, where the team will trade tackles with Zambia, Morocco and South Africa in the city of Constantine.

UTME 2023: JAMB Inspects Registration Centres, Apprehends 6 Suspects

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 7, 2023

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Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has apprehended six operators of Computer Based Test (CBT) centres in Kano State over alleged fraudulent registration of candidates for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The suspects used their fingerprints for the biometrics of the candidates they registered.

“Their intention is to sit for the examination on behalf of the candidates,” Oloyede said.

The registrar explained that examination malpractice starts at the point of registration, which is why the board is inspecting JAMB centers to nip it in the bud.

Oloyede, who inspected several UTME registration centers in Kano asked the affected centers to bring the suspects to Abuja on Monday, January 6 for prosecution, adding that failure to do so, the centers would be canceled.

“They will be handed to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for prosecution,” he said.

According to the registrar, any centre that fails to bring the suspects to Abuja would be closed.

He advised candidates not to allow CTB operators to use their fingerprints for their (candidates’) biometrics, “Otherwise they would also be apprehended as accomplices.”

He urged UTME candidates to report any suspicion, adding that the cost of registration is N5,700, while candidates writing a mock will pay N6,700 only.

The JAMB registration centres visited by Prof. Oloyede, who was accompanied by journalists, included: the JAMB state office, Federal College of Education, Trez Tech, Ruby and Butale Info Tech Ltd among others.

He said that the operators had compromised the registration process, and JAMB would not condone any infringement on its registration by the technical officials of any of its accredited centres.

Over 500,000 candidates have so far registered for the 2023 UTME, he said.

“JAMB’s target this year was 1.8 million candidates. So far, 500,000 have registered. Registration will close on February 14 and we don’t intend to extend the deadline,” the JAMB registrar said.

No Extension of 2023 UTME Registration Over Naira Crisis— Registrar

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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February 7, 2023

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The Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Is-haq Oloyede has said the board is not considering an extension of registration for the 2023 registration of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) over the Naira redesign.

The board had announced in December 2022 that UTME registration would commence on Saturday, 14 January 2023, and end Tuesday, 14th February 2023.

Meanwhile, Oloyede during inspections of Computer Based Tests centers in Osogbo, Osun State, on Friday declared that the Naira redesign and its withdrawal policy would not force the board to shift the deadline of February 14th, 2023 for registration.

He explained, “We are not considering any extension of the registration deadline because anybody who is withdrawing money is the one not following our instructions. You transfer money, when you do that, you get the pin, we are not selling physical pins.

“We also negotiate with CBN for E-wallet and the E-wallet is interacting with all the agencies, you don’t need to touch money to buy or procure the pin, it is not an excuse at all because we are E-compliant.”

This is just as the registrar warned impostors to stay clear from activities of the board because checks have been put in place to tackle the malpractices.

According to him, “I go round the country to monitor the registration exercise and particularly call the attention of those committing infractions, we receive reports about what is going on in the state, we have intelligence on the ground, so when we have information we now go to such places.

“We have deployed both human and technological means of detecting violations, you can see that the issue of no signal is not happening this year, so what we are doing is improving what we did last year and that is why we are available in every part of the country to monitor strict compliance with the regulation.”

Turkey Earthquake: Aleppo Among Worst-Hit Areas In Syria, Many Buildings Destroyed

By

Angel Gimalo

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February 7, 2023

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Syria’s war-torn city of Aleppo is one of the places to have borne the brunt of the deadly earthquake, which also devastated parts of southern Turkey.

More than 1,600 people have been reported dead so far in northern Syria following the quake.

Emergency rescue teams said many buildings were damaged or destroyed and that people were trapped under the rubble.

The region is home to millions of refugees displaced by the civil war.

Control of northern Syria is divided between the government, Kurdish-led forces and other rebel groups. They remain embroiled in conflict.

Even before the earthquake the situation in much of the region was critical, with freezing weather, crumbling infrastructure and a cholera outbreak causing misery for many of those who live there.

Much of Aleppo was destroyed in the civil war, which broke out in 2011 when a peaceful uprising against President Bashar al-Assad turned into violence.

While there have been efforts to rebuild the city – Syria’s pre-war commercial hub – there is dilapidated infrastructure, plus destroyed buildings, and power outages are common.

According to separate figures from the Syrian government and the White Helmets rescue group, which operates in rebel-controlled areas, more than 1,600 people have died in the region so far after the earthquake.

A video published on social media, and verified by the BBC, showed a building in Aleppo crashing to the ground as onlookers rushed to safety.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the Turkish city of Gaziantep. Twelve hours later, a second quake, which was nearly as large, struck 130km (80 miles) to the north.

Some Aleppo residents told correspondents they have nowhere to go, either because their homes have been destroyed or because they are afraid of further quakes.

Turkey Earthquake: Pres. Erdogan Announces 3-Month State Of Emergency In 10 Provinces

By

Angel Gimalo

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February 7, 2023

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces worst-affected by an earthquake that has killed thousands.

Erdogan said that the death toll in Turkey has risen to 3,549 people. More than 1,600 people are reported to have died in Syria.

In a televised address, Mr Erdogan said the state of emergency is to ensure that rescue work can be “carried out quickly” in the country’s south-east.

He said the measures would allow relief workers and financial aid into the affected regions, but did not give further details.

The state of emergency will end just before elections on 14 May, when Mr Erdogan will attempt to stay in power after 20 years.

Turkey last imposed a state of emergency in 2016 after a failed coup attempt. It was lifted two years later.

Rescuers in Turkey are battling heavy rain and snow as they race against the clock to find survivors of the earthquake that struck in the early hours of Monday.

The World Health Organization has warned the toll may rise dramatically as rescuers find more victims.

Heavy machinery worked through the night in the city of Adana, with lights illuminating the collapsed buildings and huge slabs of concrete, in scenes repeated across southern Turkey.