Updated: Hijab: Lagos withdraws Eletu-Odibo Junior High School principal, investigates case – Newstrends
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Updated: Hijab: Lagos withdraws Eletu-Odibo Junior High School principal, investigates case

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1 year ago

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Lagos State Government has recalled the principal of Eletu-Odibo Junior High School, Abule-Oja, Yaba, Mrs Christiana Sofuye, for allegedly disobeying the Supreme Court judgement on hijab.

The principal was reported to have compelled a female Muslim student to remove her hijab in the school, in disobedience to the widely shared circular issued by the state government, urging compliance with the apex court judgement.

The state government has also restated its warning to principals and other personnel of various public schools in the state to desist from assaulting students because of the hijab.

This was contained in a circular issued by Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary Education District IV, Osinaike Olusegun Olawale, stressing that anyone found violating the Supreme Court judgement on hijab in schools would you face dire consequences.

The Supreme Court had ruled in favour of the hijab, upholding the constitutional rights of Muslim students to wear it in schools.

The Tutor-General said the Lagos State government strictly frowned on disobedience against the Supreme Court judgement.

He said other officers involved in the violation at the school had also been recalled alongside the principal.

The statement read, “Consequent upon the Supreme Court judgement on the use of hijab in Lagos State shools delivered on 17th June, 2022 and the Head of Service circular No. 068, dated 5th December, 2022 which was made available to all principals through the Information Platform *(E34 Notice formation)*, available information at our disposal alleged that the principal of Eletu-Odibo Junior High School, Abule-Oja, Yaba, decided to violate the judgement of the apex court and the H.O.S Circular, which is tantamount to misconduct and punishable under the Lagos State Public Service Rule (PSR).

“However, the principal and other officers involved have been recalled from the school with immediate effect, while investigation is ongoing.

“For the avoidance of doubt, henceforth, any principal or staff member caught assaulting students on the issue of hijab or in one way or the other contravenes the hijab judgement will face dire consequences.

“It should be of note that the Lagos State Government strictly frowns on disobedience and will be viewed seriously.”

Background

On Tuesday 13th December, 2022, Mujeebah AbdulQadri, a JSS 2 student of Eletu Odibo Junior High School, Abule Oja, Yaba, wore her hijab to school in conformity with the Supreme Court judgement and the circular of the Head of service. As soon as she entered the school premises, Mrs Oshinjowon, the Business Studies teacher, asked her to remove her hijab or return home with her mother who accompanied her to school that morning, despite the fact that exams were ongoing.
Mrs. Abdulqadir insisted that she wanted to see the principal, but she was informed by Mr. Babafemi, the Vice Principal that the principal was not around and that he could not attend to her on the matter. She went further to see Mrs. Akintola another Vice Principal who also informed her that the principal was not around and that she could not also attend to her on the Hijab issue.
Mrs. Abdulqadir waited for several hours to see the principal and had to leave when she was continuously told the principal was not around. She later found out that the principal was available all along, but because she did not recognize her ( as she was a new principal), Mrs Abdulqadir was constantly lied to that the principal was not available and the said student was not allowed to put on the Hijab.
On Thursday 15th of December, while assembly was on going, the principal Mrs. Christiana Sofuye, signaled the said student to remove her hijab, when she failed to do so she called on a male student F.A , to assault Mujeebah by forcefully removing the Hijab from her head on the assembly ground, which he did successfully.
The hijab matter in Lagos state has gone on more than 12 years, with the Muslim community being peaceful and using legal means to exert their Rights. Despite the Supreme Court Judgement and the Head of Service Circular six months after, Muslim girls are still being assaulted and harassed for exercising their God given Rights are Guaranteed under the 1999 constitution as amended.
We call on the Lagos State Government, particularly the Head of service and the Commissioner of Education to call all those concerned to order and met out befitting consequences for this act. Lagos has been a state of peace and religious tolerance, Let us work together to keep it that way. The Muslim community is watching and waiting!
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FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

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2 days ago

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May 17, 2024

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FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

The Federal Government through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says the application portal for students’ loan scheme will open on 24th May 2024.

This is contained in a statement signed by Nasir Ayitogo -Media and Public Relations Lead of NELFUND, on Thursday.

He said the move marks a significant milestone in the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to fostering accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.

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The statement reads in full : “The management of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) led by its Managing Director, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr are thrilled to announce 24th of May, 2024 as official date for the opening of portal for student loan applications.

This marks a significant milestone in the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) to fostering accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.

Through the portal, students can now access loans to pursue their academic aspirations without financial constraints.

The portal provides a user-friendly interface for students to submit their loan applications conveniently.

We encourage all eligible students to take advantage of this opportunity to invest in their future and contribute to the growth and development of our nation.

Students can access the portal on www.nelf.gov.ng to begin application.

For more information and assistance, please contact NELFUND via email on info@nelf.gov.ng or contact us via our social media handles.”

FG fixes May 24 to open student loan portal

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Education

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2024

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Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

The Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, said foreign universities like Lead University and Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom have reached out to the council for information on its examinations.

He said these universities are considering admitting Nigerian students based on their NECO results, indicating a level of credibility and acceptance of NECO’s outcomes by international institutions.

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Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja Wednesday, Prof. Wushishi said NECO has met the demands of Birmingham City University, and they are currently working on fulfilling the request from Lead University.

Regarding digitalisation and the potential migration to Computer-Based Testing (CBT), Prof. Wushishi acknowledged the complexity of NECO examinations, particularly with close to 1.5 million students taking exams in 76 different subjects and over 150 different papers annually for admissions into tertiary institutions.

This complexity, he said, poses challenges for an immediate shift to CBT, unlike other examination bodies like JAMB that primarily use multiple-choice formats.

UK varsities considering NECO results for admission – Registrar

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Education

JAMB releases another 36,540 UTME results

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3 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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JAMB releases another 36,540 UTME results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released additional 36,540 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results withheld for further investigation.

This was in addition to the 531 results released the previous week, bringing the total results released to 1,879,437.

This is contained in a statement by the Public Communication Advisor of the Board, Dr Fabian Benjamin on Tuesday in Abuja.

The Board also dismissed a letter by an alleged fraudster the outstanding 2024 UTME results, subjected to scrutiny by experts, had been compromised on account of a cyber security breach for which it is considering rescheduling the examination.

The statement reads: “In another development, the attention of the Board was drawn to a fictitious letter concocted by a fraudster and circulated on social media purporting to emanate from the Board stating that the outstanding 2024 UTME results, currently being subjected to intense scrutiny by its team of experts, had been compromised on account of a cyber security breach and that it is considering rescheduling the examination.

“This is far from the truth as the said letter did not emanate from the Board. In fact, a closer look at the letter, which was not signed by any person, lacked every ingredient of a letter from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. The letter is, therefore, from those, who wish to destroy the integrity of the Board, by compromising its unassailable operational processes to mislead hapless candidates with the sole aim of extorting them.

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“The Board reiterated, for the umpteenth time, that the results of its 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and other previous years are intact, not in any cloud storage and can, therefore, not be hacked by anybody.

“It is to be recalled that at the release of the 2024 UTME, the Board had announced that some results had been withheld as they were being subjected to further investigation. Out of these, 531 results were released recently. Others found to be involved in any examination misconduct are still undergoing investigation as the Board would want to review all the footage of all CCTV cameras placed in all its accredited centres to ascertain the candidate’s culpability or otherwise.

“At the conclusion of this exercise, the Board would publish its findings. Therefore, the public is urged to be wary of misleading information emanating from sources not linked to the Board be it religious or other sources.

“Equally disturbing is the misleading comments of some functionaries of some private institutions, who are linking the Board with “the prevailing low ‘cut-off marks’when in practice, it was their institutions that had submitted lower minimum minimum admissible scores marks, even lower than what other institutions had presented.

“For the purpose of clarity, minimum admissible scores are first presented by individual institutions before such are debated to arrive at a benchmark agreed upon by all Heads of Institutions across the country at its annual Policy Meeting on Admissions and which no institution would be allowed to compromise.

“Also, the Board would also like to urge religious organisations to stick to their primary roles and not dabble into areas outside their calling as there are reports of some religious organisations making false representation to government at various levels for selfish ends.”

JAMB releases another 36,540 UTME results

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