Education
Don Urges Proper Utilisation Of Educational Funds
The Dean, College of Business and Management Studies (CBMS), Kaduna Polytechnic, Malam Musa Mshelia, has urged academics and other relevant stakeholders to properly utilise funds meant for the development of education in the country.
Mshelia made the call last Saturday, in Kaduna, at a gathering of members of the 1989 class of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), to honour his emergence as the 19th Dean of the college.
According to Mshelia, education is the bedrock of development, as such, funds meant for academic activities should be used solely for the purpose and not diverted.
“We have serious challenges in the educational sector, alot of money is being voted for the academia which, however, is not up to UNESCO standard.
“But the little being disbursed, if properly utilised, would have made us go far from the present level,” the Dean said.
He described corruption as a major challenge in the education sector, but noted that a lot was being done to address the menace by the Federal Government.
Mshelia pledged to move CBMS to higher level and build upon the legacies of the previous leadership of the college.
“When the current Rector, Prof. Idris Bugaje came, he established the policy and transparency unit which had gone a long way in addressing sexual harassment and extortion in the polytechnic and we will make sure we monitor the abuses in our departments.
“We will give the Rector all the necessary support to improve on his mandate towards making sure Kaduna Polytechnic remains an institution of standard and good morals,” he said
He thanked the management of the polytechnic and BUK set of 1989 for the honour, and promised to maintain the standards inculcated in him for the development of the CBMS.
Earlier, Deputy Corps Commandant (DCC), Stella Numan, also an alumnus of BUK, said the gathering was meant to celebrate and honour Mshelia on his appointment.
She described Mshelia as a humble and hardworking man and urged him to continue the good work, which would project BUK in a good manner.
Also speaking, Dr Ja’afar Dabai, a lecturer at the Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina, described Mshelia’s victory as the result of his good rapport with his colleagues, friends and the entire Polytechnic community.
“Mshelia won the election which brought him to be Dean of the CBMS as a result of his good behaviours and hardwork, that was how he had been since our days in 1989 at BUK”, Dabai said.
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Corps Members have been urged to use the rich cultural heritage of Nigerians to promote peace in the state and country at large.
The Rivers State Coordinator of NYSC Mr. Moses Oleghe gave the charge during the inter-platoon cultural carnival competition for 2025 Batch C Corps Members deployed to the State orientation camp, Nonwa-Gbam Tai held over the weekend.
Oleghe while addressing the Corps Members, further charged them to be a “source of light in their host communities,” noting that the “symbolic lighting of the cultural carnival torch means that every Corps Member must be the light that dispels darkness.”
He urged them to integrate and internalize the culture of the people of their area where they serve, strengthen cultural practices that promote human dignity, rights, and respect.”
The radiant and colorful event witnessed the regeneration and rebirth of various ethnic cultures by the Corps Members.
At the end of the competition, 4 platoon was adjudged the overall best, 9 platoon 2nd and 6 platoon 3rd.
Miss Chukwuka Christabel Chidnma, one of the best overall graduating students of Rivers State University (RSU), Nkpolu/Oroworukwu, Port Harcourt, has advocated for the retention of the best graduating students of the institution to fill the gap in teaching staff in the institution.
Chidnma, who was adjudged the overall best graduating student of the class of 2023/2024 academic session in the just-concluded 37th and 38th combined convocation ceremony of the university, had a CGPA of 4.88 from the Department of Theatre and Film Studies in the Faculty of Humanities.
She made the call while delivering her valedictory speech at the awards of the first degree on Saturday, saying the call becomes imperative to ensure that the department and the university at large continue to thrive and maintain academic standards.
She opined that she and her colleagues would be eager to contribute to the workforce of the development and the school in general, in whatever capacity the institution may deem appropriate, to bring their skills, training, and passion to support its continued growth and excellence.
The overall best graduating student decried the enormous challenges lecturers of the department and the university as a whole are facing due to limited manpower and appealed to the university management to also employ professional producers and technical personnel.
She recounted the experiences and challenges she faced during her years of academic studies, noting that resilience, hard work, determination, and being focused were the bedrock of her success.
She dedicated the award to her parents for their untiring efforts in ensuring that her academic fortunes were not cut short.
By: Akujobi Amadi
The Federal Government has reaffirmed that senior secondary school students whether in arts, commercial or science classes are free to register any approved subject of their choice for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), as confusion over the revised curriculum continues to generate debate across the country.
The clarification came in a press statement issued on Saturday and signed by Boriowo Folashade, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, following widespread misinformation circulating on social media and within some schools.
According to the ministry, contrary to claims that students must strictly remain within their designated subject tracks, “there is no restriction or exclusion attached to the selection of any approved subject under the Senior Secondary School Curriculum.”
Officials said the curriculum was intentionally designed to be flexible, student-centred and supportive of diverse academic and career interests.
Under the guidance, science students may select subjects traditionally grouped under the arts or social sciences, just as arts and commercial students may choose science-designated subjects provided such choices are supervised by school authorities, parents or certified counsellors.
The ministry also clarified public concerns surrounding the subject formerly known as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), confirming it has been renamed Digital Technology.
The statement emphasised that the change is purely in nomenclature and does not alter the curriculum content or disadvantage students who previously took ICT in school.
Regarding Trade Subjects, the ministry noted that six trades have been approved under the curriculum.
Students may register any of these trades only if the subjects are offered by their schools and they have been taught them. However, the government stressed that students who have never been exposed to any of the six trade subjects are under no obligation to register one as a third subject.
This clarification comes as WAEC registration for the 2026 examination cycle continues nationwide. WAEC recently urged schools to ensure accurate subject entries before the January deadline, warning that mistakes in registration especially in subject combinations have increasingly led to withheld or invalid results in previous years.
The announcement also aligns with ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s education sector. Earlier this year, the ministry began rolling out teacher retraining and digital learning initiatives aimed at boosting performance in core WAEC subjects, following several exam cycles that showed inconsistent pass rates in mathematics and English.
Nigerian universities often require specific subject combinations for competitive courses such as medicine, engineering, law, accounting and mass communication.
The ministry urged the public to rely solely on verified information, noting that misinformation remains a major challenge during examination cycles. It said further updates will be issued as reforms continue across the senior secondary school system
