Canada announced Wednesday it was slashing international student permits next year, and tightening foreign worker rules to further bring down the number of temporary residents in the country.

The move comes after several recent rounds of restrictions aimed at taming record immigration levels that pushed Canada’s population past 41 million earlier this year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has pointed to the high immigration as straining the country’s housing sector, jobs market and social services.

“It is a privilege to come to Canada. It is not a right,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller told a news conference.

In 2025, Ottawa plans to issue 437,000 study permits to international students, down from 485,000 this year and more than 500,000 in 2023.

It is also putting new limits on work permits for spouses of some international students and foreign workers. And it will be stepping up checks before issuing travel visas to stem a spike in fraudulent or rejected asylum claims.

Ottawa has already said it would reduce the number of temporary residents to five percent of the population, down from 6.8 percent in April.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced a delay in the disbursement of August stipends to students.

NELFUND, through its spokesperson, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, said in a statement that the delay is due to ongoing payment processing and security checks.

It also noted that the delay is necessary to protect public funds and ensure they are allocated to the right beneficiaries.

“NELFUND wishes to inform students that the delay in the August stipend is due to ongoing payment processing. The Fund is conducting necessary security checks to protect public funds and ensure that they are properly allocated to the right beneficiaries,” the statement read in part.

“While we acknowledge that this process may cause some inconvenience, it is an essential part of our commitment to maintaining transparency, accountability, and to continue to uphold the integrity of the student loan program.”

The fund, however, assured students that the disbursement process is being conducted with the same level of diligence as previous disbursements and that they are working to complete the process as soon as possible.

It also urged students to be patient and understanding during this period, as the delay may cause some inconvenience.

NELFUND stated, “We therefore ask for your patience and understanding during this period, as we strive to finalise the disbursement with the same level of diligence that has defined our operations thus far. We remain steadfast in our mission to empower students and enhance access to higher education across Nigeria.

“The fund is working diligently to complete the disbursements as soon as possible. We appreciate the feedback from students and are pleased to see the level of engagement and attentiveness in monitoring the progress of the upkeep disbursements.

“This level of involvement reinforces the significance of the student loan program, and we remain dedicated to supporting your educational pursuits, just as we have with previous disbursements.”

The House of Representatives has ordered the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to remit N3.602 billion to the Federal Government Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

Rep. Bamidele Salam, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who gave the order during an investigative hearing in Abuja, said that the remittance was demanded by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC).

Salam said that the remittance was not one that is subject to personal interpretation.

He said that it was a matter of law or regulation, and had nothing to do with the difference between the 25 percent and 50 percent as argued by JAMB.

The Committee unanimously ordered that JAMB should pay the sum to FRC and provide evidence of the remittance within 30 days.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FRC had dragged JAMB before the committee over unremitted operating surplus.

Mr Bello Aliyu, the representative of FRC, said that as of 2021, and in agreement with the record submitted to the Committee, the liabilities were N390.725 million.

According to him, after the submission of that report, JAMB has submitted their 2022 audited financial statement; we have computed the liabilities and duly informed them.

“The new liability as of 2022 is N3.602 billion. This we have notified them via our letter written on the  March 14, and another reminder, which we just submitted as of August 31.

“There was no response to the letter from the board,” he said.

Mr Mufutau Bello, Director, Finance and Administration, JAMB, while reacting to the allegation, said that the difference in remittances figure was that FRC wanted to move the board to 50 per cent of revenue.

“As an organisation in 2019, because of our commitment to revenue remittance, the Federal Government reduced the cost of our registration from N5,000 to N3,500.

This, according to him, is for the benefits of all Nigerians, as we have been following with passion a remittance of 25 per cent on a yearly basis, and we are in the education sector.

“We have not increased any of our charges in the last 8 years; rather, we reduced the fee from N5000 to N3500, which is 30 per cent of our revenue.

“The Accountant-General always gives us the concession to operate 25 per cent of remittances,” he said.

He said that the FRC bbelieved that the board should move to 50 per cent, as against the 25 per cent concession given by the Office of the Accountant-General, which is the area of difference.

“If you judge us on 25 per cent, we have overremitted over the years, and that’s what we have been doing,” he said.

The Federal Government has directed the exclusion of third-party research grant funds of federal universities and research institutions from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

The directive is contained in a letter signed by the Acting Executive Secretary, of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki, to Vice Chancellors, dated Sept. 6, 2024, and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday.

According to him, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has conveyed the President’s directive to the Coordinating Minister of Finance and National Economy, Wale Edun, mandating the exemption.

Maiyaki said the directive also grant universities and research institutions the autonomy to operate their endowment fund accounts in commercial banks.

He said the move was expected to enhance the financial autonomy of universities and research institutions, promoting research and innovation in the country.

“The National Universities Commission received the directive from the Honourable Minister of Education, Ref. DE/HE/37/VII/324 and dated Sept. 4, 2024.

“Forwarding the correspondence from the Principal Secretary to the President, State House, also vide PRES/87/MF/71/198/MBEP/15 and dated 23rd July 2024, on the above subject.

“The letter communicates Mr President’s directive to the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy to exclude third-party research grant funds of federal universities and research institutes from the TSA.

“And to grant universities and research institutes autonomy in operating their endowment fund accounts in commercial banks.”

The Kano State Government has postponed the resumption date for both primary and secondary schools for the 2024-2025 academic session till further notice.

The Kano State Commissioner of Education, Umar Doguwa announced the postponement of the new academic year in a statement on Sunday night.

Doguwa in the statement said the government made the decision due to some urgent reasons that will help improve the learning environment for students.

“The initial resumption dates of September 8 and 9, 2024 are no longer valid and a new date will be announced soon,” he said.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the postponement and appeal to students, parents and guardians to bear with the situation. A new resumption date will be announced in due course.”

According to the Director of Public Enlightenment in the State Ministry of Education, Balarabe Kiru who signed the statement on behalf of Doguwa, the Kano State Government understands the importance of starting the academic session on time.

Kiru added that the government must, however, prioritise the welfare and safety of students in Kano State.

He explained that the postponement is necessary to ensure that the state provides a conducive learning environment for students.

Kiru also made an appeal to parents, guardians and students to bear with the state government.

Babcock University in Ilisan Remo, on Friday, introduced the first comprehensive and functional statistical data analysis software called VSP (ValueStats Statistical Package), developed by the university’s Professor of Accounting and programmer, Prof. Enyi Patrick Enyi.

The institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ademola Tayo, expressed his overwhelming excitement about this groundbreaking achievement, calling the unveiling of Africa’s first homegrown statistical package a source of immense pride and a significant milestone for the continent.

Tayo made these remarks during the historic event where the software was unveiled, alongside the launch of a book titled Financial Modeling, authored by the same Professor of Accounting. The ceremony took place at the Babcock Business School Auditorium.

Represented by former Deputy Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sunday Owolabi, the Vice-Chancellor also mentioned that this locally-developed statistical package would help the country save an enormous $1 billion annually.

He said, “This is no doubt a historical event, a great moment of pride for Africans because this kind of product is the first on this continent.

“The VSP statistical package is special and peculiar in its own way. All the ones we had been using before Prof Enyi Patrick Enyi came up with this innovation are foreign, imported from China, Japan, and India among others but this VSP statistical package is produced in Nigeria and it’s far better.

“There are several modules that this statistical package contained which are not in those foreign ones. And using this accounting statistical package invented by this great scholar will save Nigerians at least $1bn because the users will be buying these packages in naira which is the equivalent of $40 and so it will help ease a lot of pressure on our forex.

“People should use this package, the students, lecturers, they can even go to the YouTube to learn more about the package and they should give us feedback to know what else to add in the next version.”

The Vice-Chancellor praised Enyi as an exceptional academic and respected educator, encouraging him to stay committed to his mission of making a positive impact on the world.

The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Davidson Alaribe, who served as the special guest of honour at the event, praised Enyi for positioning both the institute and the accounting profession on another global stage for excellence and innovation.

Alaribe, represented by Prof. Godwin Oyedokun from Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, commended Enyi for his academic achievements, noting that the institute will not only offer its support but also continue collaborating with those advancing excellence in the accounting field.

During his speech at the event, Enyi explained that the drive to develop an accounting statistical package tailored to Nigeria’s unique environment and African practices was his main source of inspiration.

“This is the first time an African is producing a statistical package. Those we were using before like SPSS from America, EV from India, and Stata too from India, we have R among others but none ever developed in Africa.

“And we are doing this to make a difference, as an academic I have always been researching and most of my research is African but many times some of these foreign packages won’t give me the result that I want, so I began to think of that statistical package that will take our peculiarities into consideration
“In those other packages you have to learn how to code them to use them but this is our own, VSP has been made to be user-friendly. We have made it menu-driven such that the menu can suggest what you want to do and you pick it up and do whatever you want to do.

“For instance after doing your analysis in the VSP, it will automatically produce your graphs for you but in others like SPSS, EV or Stata, you will have to select the graph that you want.

“It took me two years to get the software developed…and talking about cost, an average SPSS which I was using before coming up with this innovation cost me about $280 then which must be renewed annually but this one is $40 which is about N60000 and you will continue to use this until maybe we develop another version. We shall be saving our country millions of dollars with this newly developed statistical package”, he mentioned.

Enyi stated that this achievement demonstrates that with sincere and united efforts, Africans possess the ability to address their socio-economic issues.