Direct entry registration to close by May 30 - JAMB

By Maryam Abeeb

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), says the 2023 Direct Entry (DE) e-PIN sales would close on May 26, while registration of candidates who obtained the e-PIN would end on May 30.

This is disclosed in a statement by the board’s Head, Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin in Abuja.

According to him, the 2023 DE registration, which commenced in February, 2023, was extended for all desiring candidates to register and was, at a point, suspended to facilitate the incorporation of certain safeguards designed to enhance the sanctity of the exercise.

He stated that the 2023 DE registration is unique among many others as it came with some features meant to enhance the Board’s capacity to permanently address those loopholes hitherto being exploited by some vested interests.

“It was, therefore, not at all surprising to witness the surge in the number of candidates in one or two of our offices. The new regime which has exposed the quantum of cases of falsifications and other infractions in the DE value chain as reported is one of the many gains of the regulated DE registration exercise.

“One good thing about the exercise is that the Board has been able to capture only deserving candidates with only pockets of outstanding candidates remaining in a couple of Board’s offices particularly in Lagos. Even here, the Board has adopted a scheduling system whereby candidates are allocated to specific days for their DE registration to preclude any further incidence of overcrowding.

“The Board has grant some registration access points to ETC/ JKK to ensure that all desiring candidates in Lagos are registered.

As such, all eligible candidates for the DE in Lagos can either visit our Ikoyi office to be registered or proceed to ETC/JKK Ikorodo road Anthony to registered before the closing date,” he noted.

“The attention of the Board has also been drawn to the unwholesome actions of some tutorial centres and some desperate parents, who are conniving with some A’ level tutorial centres to perpetrate acts prejudicial to the education sector and national interests.

He said the Board is restating its determination to always innovate means and ways of checkmating all acts of infractions and at the same time would not hesitate to impose appropriate sanctions on any A’level awarding institutions found wanting.

“All A’level institutions are enjoined to be vigilant as there are deliberate intention by desperate candidates to compromise their operations.

“All genuine aspiring DE candidates, who are yet to register for the exercise are, therefore, urged to come out now to register as the Board would not entertain any further extension.

Group says negative social norms promotes sexual harassment

The Hope for Community and Children Initiative, (H4CC), has said some negative social norms practiced in some communities encourages sexual harassment, and corporal punishment of students both in public and private schools in Kaduna State.

The Executive Director of H4CC, Hadiza Umar, asserted this during a one day validation exercise of research findings on the effects of Social Norms on sexual harassment and corporal punishment in public and private schools held in Kaduna yesterday.

According to her, some negative social norms include; the notion that teachers and parents must beat the children as a sign of authority, whether the child does wrong or not; reporting rape cases are viewed as shameful to the family of the victim, so the matter is swept under the carpet.

Others include, blaming the girl-child for gender-based violence against her because she did not respect the man, and when raped society quickly pointed fingers on her mode of dressing.

Hadiza who described social norms as the perceived informal, mostly unwritten, rules that define acceptable and appropriate actions within a given group or community, guides human behaviour, which sometimes result in negativity

She further explained that norms increased the risk of sexual violence and shape beliefs, attitudes, behaviours, and influence sense of what’s acceptable and not acceptable within a community or society at large.

“When we understand norms as a key factor that shapes the likelihood of sexual violence and harassment, we can see more clearly what needs to change and which strategies will be effective,” she said.

Hadiza stressed that H4CC started conducting the research in 2021 as a result of monitoring sexual harassment in the society. “What we did was that we selected five Local government

Areas - Makarfi, Kaduna North, Kaduna South Kajuru and Kauru.”

Speaking about the research, an Activist, Mallam Isa Suleiman, said the main objectives of study was to examine the nature, magnitude of how social normal norms impact on sexual harassment and corporal punishment in selected schools in the state.

He observed that the study provides evidence on the effect of social norms on School Related Gender-Based Violence, (SRGBV), and to understand the social norms that drive the heightened cases of sexual harassment and corporal punishment in schools, community, homes and its effect on education outcome.

Winners emerge at NSE talent hunt competition

By Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

The government Secondary Schools Bwari (GSS) has emerged the winner of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) 2023 Talent Hunt Competition for the Federal Capital Territory Secondary Schools.

The Government Secondary Schools Hajji camp came second position while Government secondary school Wuse 2 Abuja came third position respectively.

The 1st Position got N250,000 scholarship plus Plaque and Trophy (to the School) while 2nd Position,N150,000 Scholarship plus Plaque and Trophy (to the School) 3rd Position, N100,000 scholarship plus plaque plus trophy (to the School).

In his welcome address, the FCT chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Ben Osy Okoh disclosed that the Prizes shall be presented on the 6th of July, 2023 during the Charles Mbanefo memorial lecture.

Okoh explained that the NSE Abuja branch has organized this competition for FCT to offer the students an opportunity to discover their limitless potential and improve their capability and increases their team collaboration, develop their communication skills, improve their critical thinking skills, and boost their curiosity, utilizing the power of STEM.

He urged the students not to mind the outcome of this competition. It should not deter any of you but should be a springboard to discovering your potential.

While citing references from the notable leaders,he said “When Thomas Edison was reminded of the number of attempts he made before he discovered electricity, he responded-”I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Mark Zuckerberg, Jan Koum and others didn’t make it on their first attempts. The end is what always matters”.

He said the main objectives of the NSE is to promote the advancement of engineering education, research, and practice in all its ramifications with a view to maintaining and enhancing the professional capabilities of its members.

“In order to promote,protect,encourage, and maintain a high standard of engineering study and practice and to encourage greater efficiency therein”,Okoh said.

On his part,The president of NSE , Engineer Tasia S. GidariWudil said what we are doing today might look small but the reality is very big .

According to him, “When I was in Primary School, I put my hand in many things just to have enough skills and my teachers always call me white engineers,and today,I am the president of the Nigerian Society of engineers.

He, however, charged students to make use of this competition to discover their intellectual ability through invention, technical in order to promote the engineering sector that would enable them to compete with international best practice.