Education
CDHR, CACOL Seek Minister’s Intervention in College of Education Crises
By Emmanuel Udom
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) have called on the Minister of Education, Mr Tahir Mamman, to decisively address the lingering crisis rocking the Federal College of Education, Technical (FCET), Akoka, Lagos, before it snowballs into a national disaster.
The president of CDHR, Mr Debo Adeniran, who doubles as the chairman of CACOL, in a press statement, alleged that some disgruntled workers of the college locked up their Provost’s office and issued him a quit notice from his official residence.
According to him, led by a few members of the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education (SSUCOEN), FCET chapter, the protesters insisted that with the amendment of the Educational Colleges Act 2023, which introduced a five-year single term of office for provosts and other principal officers of the colleges, the tenure of Dr Wahab Azeez ended on May 26, 2024.
However, the provost asserted that he was appointed for the first term of four years in 2019 and that having been duly reappointed by the institution’s governing council in 2023, he already resumed his second term in office on May 27, 2023, before the amended act was signed into law on June 12, 2023.
Following letters by the unions seeking clarification on the tenure of office of the provost based on the amended act, the Minister wrote the unions in May, affirming the legality of Dr Azeez’s second term of four years.
But the protesters ignored the minister’s verdict and continued to stage unjustified daily protests on the campus, denying management members access to their offices.
It was reported by some sections of the media that the minister had invited the provost and the warring factions, especially the leaders of staff unions on the campus, to a reconciliation meeting scheduled to hold at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
The gathering was chaired by the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, who represented Mr Mamman, and it was reportedly agreed that the provost should be allowed to operate under the supervision of the Chairman of the Governing Council of the college while all staff must stop the demonstration.
In the statement, Mr Adeniran expressed shock that the Minister did not make further enquiry about the outcome of his intervention in the matter which is still lingering and jeopardizing the academic activities of the students and thereby denying them the benefits of full-fledged tutelage that they deserve from the college.
“We are worried that if the crisis lingers further than it presently is, and the provost is not allowed to perform his official duties optimally, it is the tax payers money that is being wasted since both the provost and the staff that are spearheading the crisis will still be entitled to their salaries and allowances even when the aggrieved staff were only representing personal interests as they are not in any way duty bound to do what they are doing that’s disrupting academic and other activities of the college against the advice of the Ministry of Education and other legal authorities.
“We do not expect the Minister to allow his wise counsel to be thrown overboard just as the security agencies are not expected to allow such illegality to continue unchecked, especially when the ministry, backed by extant legal instruments, has confirmed it that the Provost still has a term of office to execute.
“It is against this backdrop that we caution that the security agencies would not claim that they do not know what has been going on in that college for some time now and we would like to use this medium to call on them not to allow the skirmish degenerate into full blown violence which may lead to bodily harm, loss of limbs or even lives before they react to douse the attendant damages to lives and public property.
“The minister should realize that it will be a negative advertisement and record as well as a stain on his CV if he fails to resolve the dispute immediately.
“He should brace himself up, put all arsenals in place to call all warring factions to order and iron out grey areas that all parties would agree on as the opposite will be an ill-wind that blows no one any good,” the human rights activist said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, with 61.54 per cent of candidates obtaining credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
The Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Mr Amos Dangut, announced the results at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday.
Mr Dangut said 1,200,514 candidates met the benchmark for admission to higher institutions, out of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination nationwide, held between April 24 and June 19.
He said 102,708 examiners were engaged in the marking exercise held at 88 marking venues across the country between 2 July and 20 July.
“Today, I am happy to inform you that all the processes leading to the release of results have been completed. It is now my pleasure to announce the release of the results of candidates who sat the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2026 in Nigeria,” he said, directing candidates to the agency’s portal to access their results.
“UPDATE: 2026 WASSCE (SC) results have been released. Generate your PIN at waec.org and check your results now on waecdirect.org,” the examination body said, noting that candidates must obtain their Serial Number and PIN before they can check their results.
To generate the required credentials, candidates are expected to visit WAEC’s official website and select the “Serial Number and PIN” option at the top of the page.
They are then required to select the appropriate examination year and diet, enter their examination number and National Identification Number (NIN), and ensure that the NIN provided is the same one used during registration for the examination.
Candidates must also provide their email address and phone number to receive a One-Time Password (OTP).
After entering the OTP, candidates can recover their Serial Number and PIN, which they can subsequently use to check their results through WAEC Direct.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Over 200 senior students of Cleggs Girls High School, Surulere, Lagos, were on July 23, 2026, engaged in practical knowledge about the risks associated with smoking, vaping, and shisha.
This engagement was made possible through a collaboration between Breathe Life Foundation and Teach Nigeria Fellow.
Participants were students aged 15–19 years. They were also informed about the misconception that shisha is a safer alternative to cigarettes or other substances.
Through an engaging and interactive discussion, students explored the influence of peer pressure and learned practical strategies for making healthier, more informed lifestyle choices.
They also gained a better understanding of common environmental triggers of asthma and other respiratory conditions, including cigarette smoke, generator fumes, bush burning, mosquito coil smoke, candles, charcoal, and firewood.
The session highlighted an important reality: young people may not always recognise how seemingly routine lifestyle choices and environmental exposures can gradually affect their respiratory health, quality of life, and long-term wellbeing.
For Breathe Life Foundation, this reinforces the importance of shifting the conversation from treatment to prevention through awareness and education.
By equipping young people with the knowledge to identify risks and make healthier choices early, the foundation is helping to build a generation that is more conscious of – and better prepared to protect – its respiratory health.
The organisation said it is dedicated to advancing respiratory health, an often-neglected public health priority. Healthy lungs are essential to life, yet respiratory diseases remain among the world’s leading causes of death and disability, even though many are preventable and treatable.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) schemes, the Obajana Plant of Dangote Cement Plc has distributed some educational materials to some pupils in Kogi State.
The items shared to the beneficiaries included school bags, exercise books, writing materials, water bottles, and other essential learning aids aimed at enhancing the learning experience of the pupils and preparing them for the next academic session.
The General Manager for the Social Performance Department of Dangote Cement at Obajana Plant, Mr Ademola Adeyemi, said the materials were donated days after Dangote Cement distributed similar education materials to pupils in public schools in its catchment communities of Oyo, Iwaa, Obajana and Apata; and commissioned a multi-million-naira hospital in Obajana, which added to the growing list of social investments that includes an earlier hospital project in Iwaa and Oyo Communities.
He noted that, over the years, the company has invested billions of naira in a wide range of social programmes for host communities, including empowerment programmes, road construction, and potable water projects, and it remains resolute in its commitment to sustaining and expanding its interventions.
He noted that the company’s corporate social responsibility programmes are aligned with government development priorities and are implemented through sustained, mutually beneficial partnerships.
“The intervention was informed by findings from a needs assessment conducted by Dangote Cement. During the assessment, it was observed that several pupils attended school without school bags, while others carried their books by hand. It was also discovered that many students lacked essential learning materials such as exercise books, pens, pencils, and other basic learning materials,” the cement firm said.
The Head Teacher of UBE LGEA School, St. Luke Model II, Adankolo, Lokoja Local Government Area, Mr Abubakar Sanni, expressed profound appreciation to the management of Dangote Cement for the gesture.
The Head Teacher expressed gratitude to the Group President of the conglomerate, Aliko Dangote, for extending the company’s educational support programme beyond its host and impacted communities to schools located at the state headquarters.
The beneficiaries, school management, parents, and community stakeholders expressed gratitude to Dangote Cement for the timely intervention and prayed for the continued growth and success of the company in its efforts to improve lives and support sustainable community development.
