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Registrations for InterswitchSPAK 3.0 Commence

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airing of InterswitchSPAK 2.0

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Registrations for the 2021 edition of a prestigious science competition organised by Interswitch Group called InterswitchSPAK 3.0 have commenced.

With this development, secondary schools can visit the InterswitchSPAK portal, https://www.interswitchspak.com/, to register their best science students in Grade 11 or Senior Secondary 2 (SS2) for the competition. The registration portal will close on Thursday, May 27, 2021.

Each school is required to present its best science students in SSS2 and can register a minimum of six and a maximum of 10 students.

However, for mixed schools, at least two female students must be among the selected students.

Every registered student will participate in the qualifying examination online, from their schools, homes or any convenient space. The top 81 students will proceed to the finale to battle for the crown of Nigeria’s Best Science Student.

For the qualifying examination, there are two choices of days to pick from between Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29, 2021, any time between 8am-6pm.

The InterswitchSPAK national science competition is an annual Pan-African contest aimed at re-igniting and incentivizing the study of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects among secondary school students.

The Group Chief Marketing and Communication Officer at Interswitch, Ms Cherry Eromosele, expressed her excitement about the new edition.

She stated that the competition was back, bigger and better after the one-year hiatus occasioned by the disruptive impact of the global pandemic. She also encouraged more girls to participate in this third edition of the on-going registration.

“At Interswitch, we are committed to inculcating knowledge, aptitude and confidence, with a focus on improving the standard of education in Nigeria.

“We are very passionate about encouraging more students, especially girls, to take up STEM subjects. The good news is that we have seen an increase in the number of girls participating in the competition.

“We encourage teachers, school administrators, parents and guardians to ensure their students are registered. I also want to encourage the students to take hold of this opportunity to pursue their dreams. It is our belief that the year ahead will be very exciting,” she stated.

The coveted prize is N12.5 million worth of university scholarship for the top three winners. The first prize winner gets N7.5 million tertiary scholarship spread over 5 years, a laptop and monthly stipends. The second prize is N4 million spread over 3 years and a laptop and the third prize is N1 million for 1 year.

The last edition saw Oyindamola Aje, a 16-year-old student of Jesuit Memorial College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, emerging as winner, while the duo of 15-year-old Oluwatobi Ojo and Onyekachi Madumere (both of Apt Scholar Universal College, Ogun State) came second and third, respectively.

Aduragbemi Omiyale is a journalist with Business Post Nigeria, who has passion for news writing. In her leisure time, she loves to read.

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Education

8 Best Editing and Proofreading Services in 2026 for Academic Researchers

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Editage Proofreading Services

The top editing services for academic researchers in 2026 include Editage, Wiley Editing Services, Taylor & Francis Editing Services, Sage Author Services, and Scribbr. In this article, we’ll look at the key features of each of these, and some others, to help you choose the best proofreading service for your own research paper. We’ll also share the 4 key aspects you must consider when choosing a proofreading service.

Top 8 Editing & Proofreading Services for Academic Researchers

1. Editage

With over 23 years of experience in academic publishing, Editage has edited over 2 million research papers and is trusted by 40+ publishers, 500+ universities, and 1000+ research societies. Editage employs over 3,000 subject matter experts as editors. It offers comprehensive publication support, including services such as journal selection, statistical review, and figure preparation. Most service packages include free journal formatting. Editage also provides a specialized service designed to help prevent the desk rejection of your paper.

2. Wiley Editing Services

Wiley Editing Services has edited over 25,000 manuscripts in the past 3 years, with an acceptance rate of 62% (the acceptance rate of Wiley journals in general is around 28%). Wiley Editing Services offers authors slab-based pricing with clear turnaround times. Another feature of their editing service is free word count reduction by 10-20% depending on service package. It has a specialized academic translation team and offers authors design support in creating graphical abstracts and infographics.

3. Taylor & Francis Editing Services

Designed to support Taylor & Francis authors, Taylor & Francis Editing Services has a no-questions-asked quality guarantee and commits to re-working your manuscript until you are satisfied. Clients can choose from three levels of English language editing, and the company also offers you a free language scorer tool to help you choose the right level of editing for your manuscript. After your paper is accepted for publication, you can also avail of services to help you create lay summaries, video abstracts, etc. to promote it. Taylor & Francis also offers a range of live webinars for researchers to acquire new skills.

4. Sage Author Services

Realizing that 76% of authors find writing a paper for publication most difficult of all the research stages, Sage Author Services offers clients a range of editing services with easy tools to compare them and select the one suited for your paper.  There is also a combination translation + editing service geared towards ESL authors, and a plagiarism check support service. You can get unlimited Q&A with your editor after your paper is edited. Their website also has an easy-to-use calculator for you to choose pricing and delivery speed.

5. Cambridge University Press Author Services

Cambridge University Press, a part of Cambridge University, has a long-standing commitment to advancing research and human knowledge. Their author services offers 24/7 support and a certificate guaranteeing the quality of English in the edited manuscript. Besides offering three levels of editing service, Cambridge University Press also has translation support available for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. There is a separate manuscript formatting service and a specialized “video shorts” service to make your published paper easy to share on social media.

6. Scribbr

Scribbr, a trusted brand in edtech, has a network of over 700 editors and writing coaches for students. All editors have passed through an in-house training program called Scribbr Academy. Scribbr offers clients access to free AI-powered tools and an extensive Knowledge Base for university students (especially undergraduates). Scribber also has a rapid turnaround time of just 5 minutes for AI-powered proofreading. The company offers specialized proofreading services for capstone projects and essays.

7. Scribendi

Established in 1997, Scribendi has processed over 800,000 manuscripts and has a team of over 400 native English-speaking freelance editors. The company is highly rated on Google Reviews and offers specialized services for ESL students, including dissertation proofreading with a 10% student discount. Another specialty of Scribbr is field-aware editing for humanities and social sciences researchers.

8. PaperTrue

PaperTrue works with students, authors, and businesses around the world to create error-free documents. New customers get a free 300-word sample. The company follows a rigorous 3-step checking process for every assignment. PaperTrue is rated 4.6 on Reviews.io and offers specialized editing services for college assignments, admissions essays, and personal statements. The company also has a large bouquet of solutions for book authors: typesetting, cover page design, etc.

How to Choose a Proofreading Service for Your Research Paper

Here are 4 things that you need to consider when you are choosing a proofreading service:

Quality:

Everyone will claim to be the best. How can you tell which proofreading services are really good? Look for services that have many subject matter experts, those backed by scholarly publishers, and those that transparently disclose whether their services are powered by AI or not.

Turnaround time:

A rapid-fire editing service isn’t always better. You need to budget time even after your paper is edited to check the editor’s changes and respond to any queries. Look for a service provider with a reasonable turnaround time, and one that is flexible with turnaround time if you have budget constraints.

Price:

Instead of thinking that cheap equals good, look for proofreading services that have transparent pricing that is easy to follow. Check what is included in your service package, especially re-editing support and manuscript formatting.

Additional support:

Look for a provider who can assist you at every stage of your publication journey and even with post-publication promotion. Such providers will care more deeply about your article and your publication success. Also, such providers will likely have editors who are experienced in academic research and who understand the challenges authors face during the publication process.

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Education

Again, NELFUND Extends Deadline for 2025/26 Session Loan Applications

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By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has granted another extension for its Student Loan Application Portal to accommodate institutions that requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session.

According to the statement signed by NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Ms Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Thursday, the extension applies only to institutions that submitted formal requests, allowing eligible students extra time to complete their applications.

“The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has approved an extension of its Student Loan Application Portal for institutions that have formally requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session,” the statement read.

Business Post reports that at the beginning of March, NELFUND announced an extension to the deadline by a week for its student loan application portal following a notable rise in nationwide interest driven by ongoing awareness campaigns.

Speaking on the development, NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, reiterated the Fund’s commitment to ensuring that eligible students at participating institutions can access the student loan programme.

“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that eligible students across participating institutions have the opportunity to access the student loan programme,” he said.

The Fund urges students in affected institutions to take advantage of the extension and submit their applications through the official portal.

It also emphasised its dedication to transparency, accountability, and providing sustainable financing solutions to remove financial barriers to higher education in Nigeria.

Established to administer the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, NELFUND was enacted into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024.

The initiative provides interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions to cover tuition and living expenses.

Beneficiaries are required to repay the loans after completing their education and securing employment, aiming to increase access to higher education for students from low-income backgrounds.

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Education

NRS to Boost Tax Education in Nigerian Institutions

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tax education

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has inaugurated a Curriculum Review Committee aimed at strengthening taxation education in Nigerian academic institutions and improving the country’s tax administration system.

According to a statement, the committee was inaugurated on February 24, at the NRS Academy in Durumi as part of the agency’s broader efforts to modernise tax education and align academic training with the evolving demands of contemporary tax administration.

Speaking during the inauguration, the Director of the NRS Academy, Mr Adeolu Akinyemi, said the review exercise would involve collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) to develop a more structured and relevant curriculum for the academy.

He emphasised that the initiative seeks to ensure that taxation programmes taught in Nigerian institutions reflect current developments in tax policy and practice, while also equipping students with the practical knowledge required in today’s tax administration environment.

The committee has been tasked with examining existing taxation curricula across Nigerian institutions and proposing updates that incorporate modern tax policies, recent legislative changes, and emerging areas such as digital taxation and global tax practices.

Officials say the review is also designed to close the gap between theoretical classroom instruction and the practical realities of tax administration.

By strengthening the link between academic learning and professional practice, the revised curriculum is expected to better prepare graduates for careers in the tax sector.

The effort is further expected to enhance tax awareness among citizens, encourage voluntary tax compliance, and support the development of skilled tax professionals who can contribute to national revenue generation and economic growth.

The committee is chaired by Mrs Aisha Hamman Mahmoud, Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman of the NRS on Research and Statistics. Its membership includes representatives from the service as well as academic experts in taxation and fiscal policy, alongside professionals with experience in tax administration, policy formulation, and tax education.

The committee will work with relevant educational regulatory agencies and professional bodies to ensure that the proposed curriculum aligns with national academic standards while addressing the practical needs of Nigeria’s tax system.

The NRS stated that the initiative forms part of its ongoing commitment to expanding tax knowledge, strengthening professional capacity, and promoting responsible tax practices across the country.

The curriculum review exercise is expected to be completed within 60 days, after which the Service plans to provide further updates on the implementation of the revised programme.

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