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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said the sale of application forms for the 2018 United Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), has been postponed.

This was revealed in a statement on Tuesday, signed by the Board’s Head of Media, Dr Fabian Benjamin.

According Benjamin, the sale of the application documents, which was scheduled to start on November 22, suffered delay due to the publishers’ inability to print the 1.8 million copies of the forms before the deadline.

“This postponement was due to the delay in meeting agreed deadline by the publisher of the Compulsory Reading Text meant for prospective candidates for the 2018 UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations). “The publisher had promised to deliver all the texts for the 2018 candidates on or before November 7 but as at close of work today, the publisher has not provided the 1.8 million copies required. This development has painfully forced the Board to shift the date from Wednesday, November 22 to a date to be announced soon,” he said.

Benjamin added that a new date would be announced soon and urged intending applicants to visit its website and familiarise themselves with the application procedures.

“All reforms and the process of registration have been made very friendly and easy for candidates desirous of applying for the 2018 exercise. The advertisement when out will explain step by step the processes of obtaining the application e-pins and registration,” Benjamin concluded.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has said the University of Ilorin ‘has become a terrorist organisation as far as industrial relation is concerned.’ after the institution reportedly sacked the ASUU chairman in the school, Dr. Kayode Afolayan, for allegedly exposing corrupt practices of the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali.

In a letter signed on behalf of the union by the chairman of the University of Ibadan chapter of ASUU, Dr. Ayodeji Omole, and the Zonal Coordinator, ASUU Ibadan Zone, Dr. Ade Adejumo, the lecturers said that Unilorin under Ambali devised all means to suppress legitimate industrial activities in order to avoid exposure of his misdeeds.

The letter partly read,

Indeed, the university prides itself in its ability to kill off (members of) staff and students that are connected in any way to ASUU leadership. This hate crime on the part of the university is usually carried out under the guise of uninterrupted academic calendar.

The non-teaching staffs of Nigerian universities have agreed to call off their strike following a successful meeting with the federal government.

Premium Times reports that Samson Ugwoke who is the national president of the Joint Action Committee of Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologist (NAAT) spoke after the meeting with representatives of the federal government.

They accepted the federal government’s proposal but asked to be given time to call off their strike.

Mr. Ugwoke said:

“The three page agreement was signed and endorsed by all of us. “We are taking our document and we will make our pronouncement soon.”

Chris Ngige who is the minister of labour and employment said they had come to an agreement and ended deliberation on the matter.

This great news comes after 12 hours, 30 minutes of a closed door meeting between ASUU and a government delegation in Abuja which started 1:38pm on Thursday, September 7 and ended 2:15 a.m. on Friday, September 8.

According to Premium Times, the leadership of ASUU, however, said though it accepted the proposal presented by the government, it will take the proposal to its members and get back to the government in a week.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) suspended its five-week long strike on Monday.

This was after ASUU President Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi told reporters Monday night that they decided to conditionally suspend the strike in view of the timeline of October for the implementation of the signed agreement with the government.

The meeting was a long one with the Federal Government delegation, led by Minister of Labour and Employment Dr. Chris Ngige.

Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi assured the public that the union would not hesitate to resume the suspended action should the government renege on the newly signed agreement, which he called Memorandum of Action.

Here are the five demands requested by the Association:

1. Areas of agreement include funding for revitalization of public universities and the issue of Earned Academic Allowances;
2. The issue of University Staff Schools;
3. The implementation of the judgment of the National Industrial Court, National Universities Pension Management Company and guidelines for pension matters for professors;
4. The exemption offered by the government regarding the issue of TSA, which included the issue of grants, endowment funds as well as salary shortfall, which is already being implemented by the government;
5. The union also promised to submit a position paper to the Federal Government on their observation with a view for government to advise state governments.

The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, ASUU, has officially suspended its one month, six days strike. ASUU said it was suspending the strike till end of October for government to fulfill its pledges.

The union directed university lecturers to resume duty from tomorrow, Tuesday.
The suspension of the strike was announced on Monday evening after a meeting with the government delegation.

At the meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the federal government delegation led by the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige.
Mr. Ngige had earlier said both parties produced “collective agreement of action” after the meeting.

ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike on August 13, following government’s failure to implement the agreement reached with the union in November 2016.

Details later….

Source:- Premium Times

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso chapter has vowed not to resume work.

This declaration followed yesterday’s announcement by the school management.

In a statement by the Secretary, Dr Toyin Abegunrin, ASUU advised its members to ignore the resumption notice.

“Comrades, we believe that our members are fully informed and clear about the issues that led us into the crisis,” he said. “None of the issues has been addressed and the Governing Council that promised to get back to us after their meeting with the Union but up till now we haven’t gotten any response from them. 

“In the light of the above, our strike is still in full force. The national body of our Union is fully briefed on the state of Things in LAUTECH and is on the same page with us. Let us remain resolute, we shall overcome, Dare to struggle, dare to win.

Speaking, ASUU chairman, LAUTECH, Dr Biodun Olaniran, said “We are not concerned with the reopening of the varsity but as a union we are still on strike. In the Congress we had yesterday we all came to a conclusion that we would not resume any work because our needs are not addressed”.

“Our demands are; Earned academic allowances, Pension and gratuity, national health insurance, conditions of service, promotion arrears, budget monitoring committee, payment of salaries and arrears”, he said

The Governing council of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho has finally come to a decision to reopen the school on Friday, September 15, 2017 after months of total shutdown

This was contained in a statement by the University registrar, Jacob Agboola.

Mr. Agboola said the leadership of the university has “approved resumption of activities on the institution’s campuses with effect from Friday, September 15, 2017,” while “students are expected to return to school on Monday, September 25, 2017.”

However, Agboola made it clear that academic activities will not commence, until after the Independence day holiday on October 1.

“Council thanked the governors of Oyo and Osun states, Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi and Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola respectively, for agreeing to support the university with necessary funds to enable the university to return to its normal work schedule and reinvigorate its latent capacities for accelerated and sustainable growth and development,” he said.

In conclusion, he said, “concerted efforts should, therefore, be geared towards ensuring that nothing is allowed to disrupt the normal work of the university again.”

LAUTECH had been on shutdown since June, as various workers’ unions had embarked on indefinite strikes, to press home demands for payment of about 10-month salary arrears.

Following ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, strike, the University of Ibadan, UI, has terminated the first semester, shifting activities left in the semester, especially examination, to second semester.

According to the University, whatever was left in first semester examination will hold in second semester, to bridge the time wasted.

It was gathered that students mostly affected by the decision were those under the institution’s Open Distance Learning, ODL, centre.

The centre in a statement signed by its communication officer, Dayo Olajide, said that a separate time table would be designed for the outstanding papers.

He said:

All outstanding 2016/2017 first semester examinations would concluded a week before commencement of second semester examination. “Apparently, the basis for this new arrangement is to save learners the hassle of coming down to complete examinations whenever the strike is called off.’’

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has fixed minimum cut off marks for Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

The minimum cut off marks for admissions into universities in Nigeria was set for 120, polytechnics and colleges of education pegged at 100, while that of innovative enterprising institutes was pegged at 110.

Institutions are, however, at liberty to raise their cut off marks for admission above the minimum set by JAMB.

Also, admissions into public degree awarding institutions for the 2017 UTME examination will end on January 15, 2018 while for private institutions, it ends on January 31, 2018.

Also, decisions on first choice candidates by universities will end on October 15, and second choice candidates will end on December 15; after which the remaining students will be available in the market place for other institutions till the January closing dates.

These decisions were taken at the 2017 Combined Policy Meetings on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria which ended on Tuesday.

The Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, said a Central Admission Processing System, CAPS, will be used to streamline admission processes among institutions, as it addresses challenges associated with the former approach.

Mr. Oloyede also said that Institutions could conduct dual mode system which involves both manual and the newly introduced CAPS.

He advocated a dynamic educational policy as related to admissions.

All over the world, there is agitation for dynamic educational policy,” he said. “JAMB only admits for National Diploma, not Higher National Diploma; so why should we use the same requirement for ND and BSC, that is unreasonable parity.” We should not be sentimental in fixing our cut off mark; we need not over-dramatise issue of cut off mark.”

He said candidates’ applications to study agriculture was very low while applications to study medicine and health sciences increased.

Speaking on illegal admissions, he said the process is now automated because the Registrar of JAMB must approve all candidates.

About 17,160 students were admitted without JAMB across institutions in Nigeria,” he said.

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, also formerly announced a lift of the ban on the conduct of Post-UTME examination as a prerequisite for admission into tertiary institutions.

“Cancellation of Post- UTME is a mistake,” he said.

He noted that banning of post-UTME led to a lot of irregularities by candidates and some institutions.

The minister explained that with the lifting of the ban on the conduct of the examination, institutions are now at liberty to conduct, while adding that fee for the examination should not exceed N2000.

He explained that the 2016 admission process was a huge success, while expressing optimism that government is working assiduously to make that of 2017 better.

Mr. Adamu noted that government is also making efforts to expand access and ensure equality in the education sector.

He expressed optimism that a substantial number of candidates who sat for the 2017 UTME would gain admission into tertiary institution.

“Over 1.6 million candidates applied for degree courses, over 17,000 for ND as well as NCE,” he said.

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