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Collaborations Between NSSEC, SSEB Will Improve Qualities Of secondary Schools- Executive Secretary

Published

4 years ago

October 21, 2021

Mr Benjamin Abakpa, the Executive Secretary, National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) says collaborations and synergy between the commission and State Senior Secondary Education Boards (SSSEB) would improve the qualities of Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.

Abakpa stated this in Bauchi on Thursday, during National Advocacy and Sensitisation Forum on the Establishment of National Senior Secondary Education Commission for Education Stakeholders from the North-East Geo Political Zone.

He explained that in order to bring all the relevant stakeholders on board, NSSEC had embarked on a national advocacy and Sensitisation Forum in the six Geo-political zones of the country so as to keep all abreast of its mandate and functions.

“I have no doubt in my mind that the collaboration and synergy between the new NSSEC and the SSSEB would undoubtedly improve the quality of our Senior Secondary Schools, especially in the areas of Science, Technical, Vocational and entrepreneurial education.

“The commission in its resolve to bring all the relevant stakeholders on board, has embarked on a National Advocacy and sensitisation forum in the six geo-political zones of the country to keep all abreast of its mandate and functions.

“To achieve this goal, we have invited experienced resource persons to educate us on the journey towards the actualisation of NSSEC, its mandate and functions as well as the various sources of funding available to the commission and our Senior Secondary Schools,” he said.

The Executive Secretary further said that only the Senior Secondary Education has no functional regulatory and intervention agency, hence the establishment of NSSEC with the effort of the Minister for Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.

He explained that basic education comprising both primary and Junior Secondary Education has the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) as its regulatory and intervention body.

He added that the National Commission for Colleges of Education, National Board for Technical Education and the National Universities Commission regulate the Colleges of Education, Polytechnics and Universities respectively.

“From this analogy, only the Senior Secondary Education has no functional regulatory and intervention agency.

Cross session of Secondary school students dancing as part of activities to grace the occasion

“Consequently, the Honourable Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu in his resolve and determination to reposition the Education sector, sought and obtained the approval of President Mohammadu Buhari to establish the National Senior Secondary Education Commission.

“This gesture was actualised with the appointment of myself as the Executive Secretary of the commission and the appointment of the Governing Board.

“The Commission serves as a Regulatory and Intervention Agency for Senior Secondary Education in Nigeria,” he said.

In his speech, Mr Aliyu Tilde, Bauchi state Commissioner for Education, said NSSEC would be the UBEC of senior secondary schools, adding that Its subordinate organs such as SSSEB would soon be formed in states to take care of the activities of senior secondary schools.

He said the commission would take over 95 per cent of the work of State Ministries of Education (SMEs) in senior secondary Schools, adding that SMEs would henceforth not be involved in running secondary schools but SSSEB.

Tilde, who lamented the roles of corrupt officials and politicians in handling contracts, said “But as far as contracts are concerned, many officials and politicians will smile at the banks.

“Unfortunately, this is the same money that has overwhelmed SUBEBs with unnecessary attention from politicians, corrupted its officials and diverted it from critical education management work, thereby leaving our basic schools unattended to.

“For the politicians and corrupt officials, a new portal is open. Rush there to seek for posting and grab all manna of contracts that will fall as they do in SUBEBs,” he said.

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UK Links Nigeria, Others To Poisonous Alcoholic Drinks

Published

4 hours ago

October 22, 2025

Editor

Nigeria and seven other countries have been added to a UK Foreign Office list warning of the risks of methanol poisoning from counterfeit or tainted alcoholic drinks.

Other affected countries that have warned of potential risks include Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Uganda, and Kenya.

The countries are included in the updated travel guidance following incidents involving Britons in those countries.

The advice previously covered Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, Costa Rica and Fiji and followed a number of high-profile incidents, including the death of six tourists in Laos last year.

The UK foreign Office warned travellers to watch out for signs of methanol poisoning such as blurry vision and confusion, which could lead to serious illness and death.

Methanol is an industrial chemical found in antifreeze and windscreen washer fluid. It is not meant for human consumption and is highly toxic.

With instances of unscrupulous backyard brewers adding methanol to drinks to extend their reach, and some bars and street vendors mixing it with spirit-based drinks and cocktails to cut costs, the Foreign Office has said it is crucial to be cautious.

The Foreign Office advised British nationals going abroad to purchase sealed drinks from licensed establishments, avoid homemade alcohol and pre-mixed spirits, cocktails and drinks served in buckets or jugs.

Travellers are advised to watch out for warning signs of poisoning, which include nausea, vomiting, dizziness and confusion.

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Mosquitoes Discovered In Iceland For First Time

Published

15 hours ago

October 21, 2025

Editor

Mosquitoes have been discovered in Iceland in a first for the island nation, which has long been one of the world’s mosquito-free places, a researcher told AFP Monday.

Three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes, two females and one male, were sighted around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital Reykjavik, according to Matthias Alfredsson, an entomologist at the Natural Science Institute of Iceland.

“They were all collected from wine ropes… aimed at attracting moths,” the researcher said in an email, referring to a method of adding sugar to heated wine and dipping ropes or strips of fabric into the solution, which are then hung outside to entice the sweet-toothed insects.

Along with Antarctica, Iceland has long been one of the few places on earth without a mosquito population.

“It is the first record of mosquitoes occurring in the natural environment in Iceland. A single Aedes nigripes specimen (arctic mosquito species) was collected many years ago from an airplane at Keflavik airport,” Alfredsson said, adding that “unfortunately, that specimen is lost”.

Their presence could “indicate a recent introduction to the country, possibly via ships or containers”, he said, but further monitoring in spring would be necessary to determine their further spread.

Rising temperatures, longer summers, and milder winters, all brought on by climate change, create a more favourable environment for mosquitoes to thrive.

But Alfredsson did not believe that a warmer climate explained the discovery.

The species “appears to be well adapted to colder climates”, which “allows them to withstand long, harsh winters when temperatures drop below freezing”, he said.

He added that its “diverse breeding habitats… further enhances its ability to persist in Iceland’s challenging environment”.
AFP

Headline

Trump Urged Ukraine To Give Up Land In Peace Deal Talks — Official

Published

15 hours ago

October 21, 2025

Editor

United State President Donald Trump pressured Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to give up the eastern Donbas region in exchange for peace during “tense” talks last Friday in Washington, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

The source added that the talks with Trump were “not easy”, and that diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war felt like they were being “dragged out” and “going in circles”.

Zelensky met Trump at the White House last week, hoping to capitalise on the US leader’s growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reluctance to accept a ceasefire.

But he instead left empty-handed after Trump — who spoke with Putin the day before — denied his request for long-range Tomahawk missiles and pressured him into making a deal.

When asked if Trump urged Zelensky to pull out of land Ukraine still controlled — one of Putin’s key demands — the Ukrainian official told AFP: “Yes, that’s true.”

Following his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said on social media that their talks were “very interesting and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing and make a DEAL!”

Trump promised to end Russia’s three-and-a-half-year invasion within “24 hours” of his inauguration in January, but has failed to extract any concessions from Putin.

His position on the war has repeatedly shifted following his conversations with both Putin and Zelensky.

AFP