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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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US Opposes Palestinian State Recognition, Says It’s Reward For Hamas

Published

13 hours ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

United States President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where they discussed differing views on the future of Gaza and Palestinian statehood.

CNN reports that Trump rejected the two-state solution to the crisis in Gaza, saying the idea portrays “reward” for Hamas.

France recently joined the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal to officially recognise the Palestinian state.

Trump opened the Tuesday bilateral meeting by praising Macron’s diplomatic efforts, claiming the French leader had helped him prevent global conflicts.

“Emmanuel has actually helped me with a couple of the wars,” Trump said, in response to Macron’s recent remark that if the US president wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he should “put an end to the war in Gaza.”

When asked about Palestinian statehood, and his latest remarks, it would be a “gift to Hamas,” Trump again pushed back strongly.

“Well, I think it honors Hamas, and you can’t do that because of October 7. You can’t do that. But we want our hostages back,” Trump said.

“You always have to remember, people forget October 7 was one of the most savage days in the history of the world,” the US president said.

In response, Macron, seated beside Trump, emphasised that recognising a Palestinian state does not mean ignoring Hamas’ October 2023 attacks on Israel.

The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas militant group attacked Israel, which has since launched offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation.

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Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Is Dead

Published

1 day ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz, has died at the age of 82.

According to a statement from the Royal Court, the revered cleric passed away on Tuesday morning.

Born in Mecca in November 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz rose to become one of the most influential religious authorities in the Kingdom.

He served as head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, as well as the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League.

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Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.

Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.

Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.

Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.

Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

AFP