ABUJA — Minister of Education, Prof. Ruquayyatu Rufa’i, has explained that 16,000 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, results were cancelledby the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, because of examination malpractices by the candidates.
Rufa’i spoke through Mr. Julius Ameh, yesterday, in Abuja, during the presentation of the Teachers’ Guide for the teaching of the National Values Curriculum, NVC, in Basic Education, which was funded by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.
She said: ”We shall be resolute in our decisions as there shall be no sacred cows. Nobody, no matter howhighly placed, will be allowed to get away with the breach of the law or perpetration of corruption and evil in our colleges and tertiary institutions.”
The minister said the inclusion of the guide into the numerous literature available in the education sector, especially on corruption and value orientation, was an indicationof the premium which the administration placed on education and transparency in the conduct of governmentbusiness.
She said: “It is also an eloquent testimony of the present administration’s determination to heal the wounds of the past quickly, put the ugly past behind anduse the new NVC to stretch hands of fellowship to aggrieved Nigerians for complete reconciliation.
“The Nigerian child must be encouraged and taught that integrity pays.”
His self respect must be restored and his growth process rewarded through mentoring and parental care.”
” she added.
Chairman of ICPC, Ekpo Nta, in his address, said that the NVC was applicable at all levels of education and was designed to expose the Nigerian child to a value-based curriculum that incorporates ethical values into academic studies from the early years to adulthood.
“The curriculum has been infused into subjects and courses at basic, post-basicand teacher-education levels. It has also been infused into the curriculum ofmass literacy and non-formaleducation,” he said.
Nta further pointed out the need for teachers to be trained and properly oriented on the methodology and behavioural imperativesfor imparting such values.
“We therefore, request commissioners for education and chairmen of SUBEB to order for more copies of the teachers’ guide such that every school in the basic education system in each state is given enough copiesfor the use of teachers,” he added.
The Executive Secretary of National Educational Research Development Council, NERDC, Prof. Godwill Obioma, explained that the NVC as approved by the National Council on Education, NCE, in 2004 wasto educate young Nigerians on their duties, rights as well as obligations to themselves and the society.
He added that ICPC and NERDC developed the Teachers’ Guide to assist teachers as implementers of the NVC, to acquire the knowledge as well as serve as a source of materials for the teaching of the new ideas.
“The Teachers’ Guide is expected to make the implementation of the NVC easier for teachers. It is meant to serve as a resource material for the effective implementation of the NVC,” Obioma further said.