By: Fabian Apechihin

The Kaduna State House of Assembly (KSHA) has passed a bill to establish the Tertiary Institutions Regulatory Agency and Other Related Matters, 2025.

The bill, passed during plenary on Tuesday under the leadership of Speaker Yusuf Dahiru Liman, is aimed at strengthening oversight of public and private tertiary institutions in the state.

Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Deputy Chief Whip, Hon. Muhammad Lawal Ismail, told journalists after the session that the agency would serve as a “data bank” for student enrolment, programmes, and institutional compliance with state regulations.

“Before now, there was no body monitoring the relationship between teachers and students or ensuring institutions adhered to state rules and labour regulations,” Ismail said. He added that, unlike the National Universities Commission (NUC) which enforces national academic standards, the new agency would focus on Kaduna-specific requirements.

According to him, the agency will regulate both public and private colleges of education, including their fees, environment, and overall operations. “We believe His Excellency will assent to this for the betterment of our people because Kaduna is leading in terms of education,” he said.

In a related development, the Assembly also adopted a motion to regulate the activities of metal waste vendors across the state. The motion, sponsored by Aminu Lawal, member representing Doka/Gabasawa Constituency, seeks to promote environmental sustainability, protect public health, and enforce compliance with existing waste management laws.

Lawmakers unanimously backed the motion, warning that unregulated scrap metal trading has contributed to theft of public infrastructure and private property, endangering communities and costing the government millions of naira in repairs.

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By: Fabian Apechihin

Starting October 6, Nigerian graduates will not be allowed to participate in or obtain exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) without complying with the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).

The directive, confirmed in a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, is backed by provisions of the NYSC Act.

The NERD databank, introduced by the Ministry of Education, aims to combat academic fraud and certificate racketeering by requiring students and institutions to upload verifiable academic outputs such as final-year projects, dissertations, and theses. Each submission must include the student’s full name, supervisors, head of department, and sponsoring institution.

“This serves as both a quality assurance measure and independent proof of genuine academic enrolment,” the circular stated.

The policy applies to all higher education institutions — federal, state, private, military, agricultural, and nursing colleges — as well as Nigerians who studied abroad and seek NYSC enrolment or exemption. Serving corps members and those mobilised before October 6 are exempt.

To support implementation, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other agencies have been directed to provide seamless data exchange. From March 30 every year, all institutions and relevant organisations must file compliance reports with NERD.

The initiative also features a reward system, enabling students and lecturers to earn lifetime revenues from their academic uploads.

According to the federal government, the policy is intended to restore credibility to Nigeria’s education system and ensure only graduates with verifiable credentials access the NYSC scheme.

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▪︎ Parents laud Gov for pro-masses initiative

Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Kwara State Education Trust Fund (Kwara-ETF) has awarded its first scholarships to 12 outstanding pupils from public schools who would have their secondary school studies fully bankrolled under the Fund.

The development brought immeasurable joy to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who saw it as a dream come true for him and the people — barely two years after the Fund took off.

Established via a 2021 legislation to run under a trustee drawn majorly from the private sector and community concerns, the Education Trust Fund has attracted considerable support from philanthropists and other bodies.

Speaking at a brief orientation programme for the inaugural beneficiaries who met the thresholds, Governor AbdulRazaq said the task of developing the education system in Nigeria is expensive and should be a collective business.

He called on well-to-do individuals and foundations to support public school funding in the area of infrastructure or fund students who meet certain criteria of exceptional brilliance and commitment to academic excellence.

The lucky 12 were picked based on excellent performance at various screening stages conducted by the Kwara ETF. The scholarship will cover their school expenses for their secondary school education.

“We urge members of the public to also donate and adopt students. Don’t just leave the responsibility to the government and the PTAs (Parents Teachers Associations). Educating our children is our collective responsibility,” the Governor said.

“Education belongs to all of us. It is our business. But we have seen over the years that governments alone can’t fully fund education. We need to engage through other means.

“We have, therefore, gone through the education trust fund to fill in the gaps. What you have seen here today is a module where some students were selected through a very rigorous and transparent process to benefit from scholarship.”

AbdulRazaq hailed the selection process and congratulated the winners.

“I am truly excited that these pupils are from humble backgrounds. They did not cut corners to make the list. They were chosen through a transparent process. This is just the beginning. We will keep tracking them to the university level,” he added.

“Our government will also donate more funds into this Trust Fund.”

Executive Secretary for Kwara ETF, Oluwadamilola Amolegbe, said the 12 pupils emerged from the initial shortlist of 640 pupils based on merit.

“We started the selection process by setting exams for all the primary six pupils who were beneficiaries of the digital literacy programme of KwaraLEARN. And we got 640 top performing ones, out of whom we first selected 180 pupils,” she explained.

“After sponsoring them for the NCEE exams (National Common Entrance Examination), we selected twenty per cent of them (36 pupils) who performed well. Then, we picked the top performers among them, cutting from across the local government areas, and who also got admission into unity school.“

Zainab Abdulsalam, the programme manager for the office, said they are committed to the vision of Kwara ETF to build the future of the state through sustainable investments in quality education.

“These are our pupils, who, we believe, represent the face of an average Kwaran. They are here having this opportunity to get amazing exposure that leads to unlimited opportunities for them,” she said.

“We intend to track them, monitor their performances, and make sure that at the end of the day all the investments that Kwara has made in education through KwaraLEARN, Kwara ETF and Ministry of Education are paying up in tangible ways that we can see, not just in numbers but by the success of the students.”

Maxwell Kolawole, one of the parents of the lucky pupils from Ekiti Local Government, said the pick means that the government has taken off his burden of paying the school fees and other expenses, commending Governor AbdulRazaq for the gesture.

He lauded the selection process which he described as transparent and impressive.

“This is truly a pro-masses initiative, and we are grateful to the Governor and his administration.”

End