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CcHUB, Consortium Secure €1.5m for STEM Online Labs

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By Dipo Olowookere

A funding package in the tune of €1.5 million has been secured by Nigeria’s leading social innovation centre, Co-creation Hub (CcHUB), and its European and African partners.

The financing package will enable the development of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) online laboratories in secondary schools across Africa.

The consortium will collaborate to adapt, validate, pilot and scale a contextually relevant portal across Africa to accelerate the creation of richer learning environments and outcomes.

The project will also work with existing teacher training organisations and networks to create an ‘Educator’s Network’ comprising of well-trained champions (Master Teachers) who not only deploy the materials in schools but also contribute to the creation of additional content and practices and mentor other teachers.

In a statement on issued on Tuesday by CcHUB, it was explained that the funding, secured through its EdTech practice (re:learn), aims to improve students’ participation in STEM subjects across Africa.

CEO of CcHUB, Mr Bosun Tijani, noted that, “Despite the growing availability of technology resources in schools, there remains a disconnect between resources available and impact achieved, with reviews generally showing that input-based policies on their own are largely ineffective in increasing learning outcomes in the absence of complementary initiatives to improve accountability or pedagogy.”

He said this can be linked to a lack of appropriate and engaging content to stimulate learning in STEM subjects, as well as appropriate know-how on the part of teachers.

“It is therefore important that we shift focus of our education systems from primarily input-based policy towards policies that focus on learning outcomes and this is what has got us excited about GO-GA,” he added,

GO-GA (Go-Lab Goes Africa) is a European Commission funded collaborative project under the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Funding Scheme.

GO-GA’s overall purpose is to accelerate the adoption of richer learning environments and improved learning outcomes in science and technology, through the deployment of contextually engaging digital Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in secondary schools across Africa.

GO-GA will create an outreach for, and adapt the successful Go-Lab Ecosystem (consisting of www.golabz.eu and www.graasp.eu) to the needs of teachers and students in Nigeria, Kenya, and Republic of Benin, with built in plans to scale across Africa.

Go-Lab is a leading portal with carefully curated and tested content on science and technology for secondary schools supported by a strong community of teachers, instructors and online laboratories.

Go-Lab (Global Online Science Labs for Inquiry Learning at School) opens up online science laboratories (remote and virtual labs) for the large-scale use in school education, encouraging young people aged from 13-18 to engage in science and engineering disciplines, acquire scientific inquiry skills, and experience the culture of doing science by undertaking active guided experimentation.

The GO-GA project beginning in January 2018, will address these challenges by adapting the Go-Lab ecosystem in schools across Africa. By adapting and localizing the existing Go-Lab portal, GO-GA will make available rich and engaging STEM content for students in secondary schools. This will be achieved by building on Teacher Communities, via the GO-GA inquiry spaces, further equipping teachers to deliver top-quality, engaging STEM education. This will involve the adaptation and localization of the existing Go-Lab platforms to suit the realities of African schools.

Coordinator of GO-GA, Célia Gavaud, while commenting on the development, stated that, “The international dimension of the European Commission funded Horizon 2020 programme supports innovation excellence and industrial competitiveness through collaboration between the best minds of Europe and partner countries all over the world.

“In that context, GO-GA will promote the mutual interests of EU and African partners by ensuring the global reach and adoption of an essential education technology development and market innovation. We are very excited by the prospects of the project!”

GO-GA will be implemented by a consortium of reputable European and African partners in technology, education and teacher training networks across Africa.

They include; École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), (Switzerland), University of Twente, UT (Netherlands), NUCLIO – Núcleo Interactivo de Astronomia (Portugal), IMC Information Multimedia Communication AG (Germany), MITO Technology (Italy), ELimu Elearning Company Limited (Kenya) and EtriLabs (Benin Republic) with CcHUB’s re:learn providing technical leadership.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via dipo.olowookere@businesspost.ng

Education

NELFUND Refutes N71.2bn Student Loan Disbursement Fraud

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NELFUND

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has denied claims of mismanagement in disbursing student loan funds.

This development comes after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it was investigating alleged corruption in the disbursement of the funds.

In a statement by the fund’s Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, NELFund said ICPC’s comment was taken out of context.

“These reports, which suggest misappropriation and mismanagement of funds, are entirely false, grossly irresponsible, and deeply damaging to the integrity of an institution established to deliver financial hope to millions of Nigerians,” Mr Oluwatuyi said.

“All institutional fees are paid directly to verified institutions, while upkeep allowances go into the verified bank accounts of eligible students,” she said.

“The reports circulating in the public space are based on outdated figures and previous interventions that predate our operations.”

Equally, the ICPC has clarified its earlier statement on the student loan.

The institution’s spokesman, Mr Demola Bakare, said the agency’s move to investigate the disbursement of the funds was due to claims that 51 schools were involved in illegal deductions and exploitation related to the NELFund scheme.

“The ICPC confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients,” the agency’s statement partly read.

In an update, Mr Bakare clarified that: “Unintentionally, the word ‘NOT’ was missing in the second to the last paragraph of our earlier press release in respect of an ongoing investigation regarding the Student Loan Scheme. The missing word created an erroneous impression that the alleged discrepancies or diversion had been established.

“We admit that this is not the case, indeed, we accept that the same part of the sentence also contradicted the whole paragraph. The paragraph ought to read: ‘The ICPC confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has NOT been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.’

“For avoidance of doubt, the commission has only established the total amount of funds received and disbursed so far by NELFUND. The impression of diversion and the issue of discrepancies do not exist at this stage; the investigation would have to move into the receiving institutions and persons before any reasonable deductions could be made.”

It was claimed that out of the N100 billion approved for disbursement, about N71.2 billion was unaccounted for, prompting an investigation by the ICPC.

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Education

NELFUND Scheme: N71.2bn Student Loans Not Missing—ICPC

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Student Loan Programme

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has clarified that it has not affirmed claims that about N71.2 billion of the N100 billion disbursed as student loans under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme were unaccounted for.

Recall that there were reports that no fewer than 51 tertiary institutions were implicated in illegal deductions and exploitation related to the NELFUND scheme.

The schools were accused of making unauthorized deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from each student’s institutional fees received through the loan fund.

The ICPC had commenced a probe into the matter and in a statement on Thursday, it said investigation revealed that the total money received by NELFUND as of March 19, 2024, was N203.8 billion, with N44.2 billion disbursed to 299 institutions, covering 293,178 students.

In the statement, ICPC said it “confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.”

Some hours later, after the revelations raised dust, the agency clarified that it made an error in the statement, noting that, “The paragraph ought to read The ICPC confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has NOT been established in the administration of the student loan scheme and announced that its investigation will now extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.”

“The general public is urged to exercise patience as thorough investigations require time and ample resources,” the new statement signed by its spokesperson, Demola Bakare, said, stressing that, “Our investigations are still ongoing, and there are no indictments yet.”

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Education

NIJ to Hold 2025 Convocation Ceremony May 6

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NIJ Ogba

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Lagos, has announced that its 2025 convocation ceremony would take place on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.

According to the official schedule, the convocation lecture will hold on Monday, May 5, at 11 am at the Kesington Adebutu Media Resource Centre, located within the institute’s premises.

The main convocation ceremony is slated for Tuesday, May 6, also at 11 am, and will take place at the NIJ premises.

The convocation will cover graduating students from the classes of 2022 through 2024 across its National Diploma, Higher National Diploma, and Post Graduate Diploma programmes.

Business Post gathered that students who excelled during their academic pursuits at the monotechnic would be recognised and awarded for their feats.

Graduating students are expected to receive their certificates immediately after the convocation.

The event is expected to bring together the management, academic staff, students, alumni, and dignitaries from the media and communication sectors to celebrate the achievements of the graduating students.

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