The National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced the release of the 2024 SSCE internal results.

This was made known by the NECO Registrar/Chief Executive, Professor Dantani Wushishi, during a press briefing on Thursday, September 19, 2024, in Minna.

Additionally, Professor Wushishi revealed that NECO had blacklisted 21 supervisors across 12 states, and de-recognized one school in Ekiti State due to widespread cheating in three subjects.

Steps to Check NECO 2024 Results Online:

1. Visit the NECO Portal: Go to https://www.neco.gov.ng, the only official platform for checking results.
2. Select ‘NECO Results’: On the homepage, choose the ‘NECO Results’ option.
3. This will direct you to the result-checking section. Alternatively, you can directly visit https://results.neco.gov.ng.
4. Enter Examination Details: Provide your exam year (2024), exam type (June/July or Nov/Dec), and your unique examination number.
5. Input Your Token: Purchase the result-checker token from the NECO website or authorised retailers. Enter the token in the appropriate field.
6. View Your Results: After entering the necessary details, click ‘Check Results’. Your results will be displayed within a few seconds.

Special Notes:

Tokens can be purchased from: a) The official NECO website for secure transactions. b) Authorised third-party retailers. Ensure they are officially approved by NECO.

A result-checker token allows you to check a candidate’s result up to five times. Any further checks will require using the NECO E-Verify Result Verification Portal.

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.

Nigeria has revealed that it aims to achieve no less than 70% digital literacy by the end of the year 2027.

The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, disclosed this on Friday.

Inuwa said this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu to discuss collaboration towards achieving President Bola Tinubu’s digital literacy mandate for Nigeria.

“During the meeting, Inuwa highlighted the goal of achieving 70% digital literacy in Nigeria by 2027 with NITDA’s Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) initiative aiming to train 50 million Nigerians,” the agency wrote on X.

Dr. Sununu expressed the ministry’s commitment to supporting the initiative, emphasizing the inclusion of in-service teacher training and utilising teachers in all the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across the country for wider outreach.

The minster, meanwhile, has directed that a Technical Working Group (TWG) should be established immediately and all relevant MDAs should be co-opted for optimal results.

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.”