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SSANU/NASU:FG to clear arrears of Minimun Wage by October

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By Gistflash News

Aug 28, 2021

The Federal Government says it will clear the arrears on the consequential adjustment on minimum wage owed to members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational an Associated Institutions (NASU) by October ending

The Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this at the end of a meeting between the Federal Government and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the two unions on Friday in Abuja.

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Ngige said this in a statement signed by Mr Charles Akpan, the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry.

The meeting was convened to examine the level of implementation of the memorandum of action it signed with the unions in February.

Ngige commended the unions for their understanding and maturity in cooperating with government to resolve their issues, emphasising that government did not take them for granted.

The minister said that the meeting was a continuation of an earlier one held on Feb. 25 at his instance, at which agreements were reached on various issues concerning members of the unions.

He said that the meeting agreed that the payment of the arrears be fast-tracked between now and the end of October, adding that arrears in salary and promotion had been captured in the 2021 Supplementary Budget.

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Ngige, however, noted that it was not government’s intention to owe that payment, but that the delay was caused by the difficulty in getting the actual number of people qualified for the arrears.

He said that a lot of people had joined the service from 2020 , while the period of the arrears spanned April  19 to Dec. 31,  2019.

On earned allowances by relevant organisations (universities, polytechnics, colleges of education), Ngige said the JAC would update the National Universities Commission (NUC) on the outstanding amount owed its members, while the NUC was given two weeks to do the appropriate reconciliation.

The meeting agreed to correct the anomalies in the payment of hazard allowance caused by an error in printing, which had seen all members collecting the same sum of money across board, with no distinction between senior and junior.

The minister said regarding the Responsibility Allowance, where Heads of Unit were omitted,   their employers had been given two weeks to rectify the anomalies to enable the affected people get the appropriate allowance due to them.

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He also noted that on the issue of the Renegotiation of FGN/SSANU/NASU 2009 Agreement that the unions and NUC would agree on a date to meet, as the Secretariat of the Renegotiation Committee was ready.

Ngige said on the issue of the Visitation Panels for Universities constituted by government that they had finished their work and would present their reports next week.

The minister said the meeting agreed that government should, as soon as possible, issue the appropriate White Paper for implementation.

Ngige also said that the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation reported that out of 293 claims received, all had been processed with 273 paid and the 20 outstanding would be paid as soon as possible.

The minister disclosed that the meeting stepped down some issues billed for discussion due to the unavoidable absence of the relevant officers on the inconsistencies in IPPIS payments.

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He also noted that others were update on reaching staff usurping headship of non-teaching units in clear violation of condition service and establishment procedures.

He said that the meeting was adjourned to the end of October, adding that meanwhile, all the complaints would continue to be handled administratively, as timelines had been put on some of the outstanding issues.

JAC spokesperson, Peters Adeyemi, who described the meeting as fruitful, however, said that the meeting with government would continue till the agreements were fully implemented.

He said that the meeting was essentially to take stock of the implementation of the agreements the unions signed with the Federal Government on Feb. 25.

NAN

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Education

SMEDAN introduces Entrepreneurship as a subject to primary, secondary schools

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By Gistflash News

Sept 22, 2021

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) began a capacity building workshop on entrepreneurship for primary and secondary schools teachers in Bayelsa on Wednesday.

Its South-South Coordinator, Mr Egbuna Iloba, said the agency was introducing  entrepreneurship to primary and secondary schools across Nigeria under the National Schools Entrepreneurship Programme known as “Mind Shift’’.

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He represented SMEDAN’s Director-General, Dr Dikko Radda, at the opening of the workshop.

Iloba said that the agency was collaborating with states’ Ministries of Education to prepare teachers to teach entrepreneurship as a subject.

He said inculcating entrepreneurship into schools curricula from the basic level was fundamental to redirecting the mind set of school leavers and graduates from being job seekers to entrepreneurs.

This would enable them to seize available opportunities to solve problems and create jobs, he added.

“Children are expected to unleash their innate wealth-creating potentialities by exploiting opportunities that abound in their respective communities as well as engage themselves in productive economic endeavours while in elementary school.

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“What we are doing at this stage is to enhance the capacity of teachers who will in turn prepare pupils and students and convert them into entrepreneurs.

“In addition, after the training, schools are expected to create entrepreneurship clubs and schools enterprises.

“The clubs will compete for laurels at the regional and national levels where cash prizes will be given to the best three schools that will represent the country at global youth entrepreneurship events outside the country in 2022,’’ Iloba said.

In his remarks, Director in charge of Secondary Education in Bayelsa, Rev. Jacob Osusu, urged teachers to take advantage of the opportunity to pioneer the programme and lay a solid foundation for youths.

He represented Mr Gentle Emela, Bayelsa’s Commissioner for Education at the occasion.

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Osusu also urged teachers to look beyond the immediate benefit of the workshop to embrace entrepreneurship and propagate same to their pupils and students.

He noted that the benefits of the training were life-long and would also prepare them for retirement life after the classroom.

Mr Tiamiu Ibrahim, a SMEDAN resource person at the workshop explained that the curriculum had 12 modules and was developed by the agency and the state’s Ministry of Education which is expected to take the programme to all schools in the state.

Mrs Lilian Kakiri, a participant and Head Teacher at Ebisam Group of Schools, Yenagoa, applauded the policy for involving private and public schools and hoped that it would contribute to tackling youth unemployment.

Also Mr David Singabelle, a teacher at Government Model School, Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa said the programme was long overdue and would lay a foundation for refocusing the school system beyond issuing certificates.

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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that100 teachers drawn from private and public schools in the eight local government areas of Bayelsa are participating in the three-day workshop.

NAN

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Education

Zulum wields big stick, suspends Ramat Poly Rector, others

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By Gistflash News

Sept 21, 2021

Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno has suspended the Rector of Ramat Polytechnic, Dr Modu Kyari and other management staff of the institution.

Zulum wielded the big stick when he paid a surprise visit to the institution on Tuesday in Maiduguri.

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He expressed disappointment with the condition of things in the polytechnic, where he served as  rector from 2011 to 2015.

“As far as I am concerned, this polytechnic is dead, nothing is working.

“The workshops are not in existence, the mechanical workshop is not working, the agricultural workshop is not working, likewise the entrepreneurship centre is not working.

“The school is facing myriads of problems, ranging from lack of funding and commitment.

“As a former student and rector of this polytechnic, I have moral stakes in it and will not allow this institution to rot during my era as Governor of Borno State,” Zulum vowed.

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He directed the Commissioner of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Babagana Mallumbe to take over the affairs of the institution for the next six months.

The governor also directed the ministry to put all the workshops and laboratories in the polytechnic back to proper use, as soon as possible.

Zulum further ordered the Ministry of Water Resources to drill two deep boreholes and carry out reticulation of the water to address the dearth of potable water in the institution, to prevent spread of waterborne diseases.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor later addressed students of the polytechnic, where he assured that the payment of their scholarship grant would commence soon.

NAN

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Education

Dettol to introduce hygiene education curriculum in Lagos schools

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By Gistflash News

Sept 20, 2021

Dettol Nigeria says it will be introducing hygiene education curriculum in Lagos schools to encourage good hygiene among students and their families.

The General Manager, Reckitt Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Akbar Ali Shah, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

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He said that the initiative was part of the 2021 Dettol School Hygiene Education Programme, a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 initiative under the Dettol Clean Naija campaign.

Shah said that the campaign was aimed at creating awareness, educating and encouraging primary school students to inculcate hygienic practices in their daily lives.

He said that the Dettol School Hygiene stakeholders’ workshop was held last Thursday to intimate the Lagos State education sector on the 2021 programme vision and implementation.

According to him, the 2021 edition will feature the specially developed Hygiene Curriculum created by the Dettol international team, consisting of comics and worksheets that aims to convey the hygiene message to pupils in a fun and engaging manner.

The general manager said that the programme would also involve impact assessment, using scientific measurement tools to determine the impact of its hygiene education on the students, their teachers and parents.

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He said that Dettol had partnered with the Lagos State office on SDGs, Dean Initiative, World’s Largest Lesson, and Slum and Rural Health Initiative (SRHIN) to help drive the programme implementation and adoption.

“With Dettol, our purpose is to protect life by making good hygiene simple to adopt. Since 2015, we have directly reached over five million primary school children in Nigeria with our hygiene education.

“However, with the need for an intensified hygiene consciousness due to COVID-19, we are evolving from a model where we had just a one-off contact with the students, to one where there would be repeated interactions based on lessons from the hygiene vurriculum.

“Our aim is to emphasise on the need to enable a sanitised environment and to create the importance of water, hygiene and sanitation in preventing the spread of infections amongst children,’’ he said.

Shah commended its partnership with the Lagos State Office on the SDGs, Dean Initiative, World’s Largest Lesson and SRHIN.

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Mr Lekan Fatodu, Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on SDG, commended Dettol Nigeria for its efforts to ensure the overall well-being of pupils.

He urged stakeholders and school executives to help ensure the success of the Dettol initiative.

The Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr Wahab Alawiye-King, said that the state government would collaborate with Dettol Nigeria to ensure workability of the hygiene curriculum.

Alawiye-King said that the Dettol School Hygiene Education Programme would tackle the challenge of making the schools Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)-friendly.

NAN

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