No fewer than 49 Higher National Diploma final-year students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic are on the verge of expulsion following a result verification process that exposed the alleged use of fake National Diploma results.

It was learnt on Thursday from a result verification update released by the polytechnic that the students had allegedly presented fake ND results while seeking admission into the HND programmes of the institution.

In a two-batch result verification list released by the polytechnic, the affected students cut across Mass Communication, Pharmaceutical Technology, Marketing, Science Laboratory Technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Accountancy among others.

Some of the fake results were reportedly obtained from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa and Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo State.

The institution had on Monday announced the indefinite closure of the polytechnic over a planned protest by the students.

Speaking with newsmen on Thursday, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, ‘yemi Ajibola, noted that the verification was part of the institution’s process of authenticating documents submitted by admitted students.

Ajibola noted that the delay in the release of results was occasioned by the verification process, and after due diligence, the affected students were found to have submitted fake ND results.

He said, “We have our internal mechanisms for verifying results submitted by every student of the polytechnic. Some of the results had yet to be verified because the schools they came from had yet to confirm their results, while some of the results were found to be fake.

“We had a backlog of results to verify because of some administrative issue which necessitated the delay, and we are working on getting them resolved as soon as possible.”

He added that the students with fake results would not be immediately expelled but would be allowed to come and defend the results before final action was taken.

“They will not be expelled immediately. The institution will write each of the affected students to come and defend the result they presented, and in a circumstance where we detect an error in the verification process, we will rectify it.

“However, anyone who could not substantiate his/her results will be expelled,” Ajibola said.

The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the Ogun State Government and the students of MAPOLY disagreed over an alleged attack by the students on the state’s Deputy Governor, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele.

While the government claimed that the deputy governor narrowly escaped an attack by the protesting students, the students, on the other hand, alleged that the deputy governor’s security detail fired shots at them during a confrontation.

Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has approved the employment of an additional 2,000 teachers for schools in the state.

The Governor revealed this during a meeting of the executive council at the Government House, Gusau.

A statement on Thursday by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, explained that the planned recruitment of teachers is in fulfilment of some of the pledges made during the governorship campaigns.

The statement noted that education, being second on the government’s priority list of projects has received significant attention and already yielding desired results under the administration.

In his remarks at the council meeting, Governor Lawal said, “The government will employ 2,000 qualified teachers to help improve and revitalise the education sector.

“The teachers are to be employed in phases to ensure that the right people of quality are employed to address critical areas of need in our schools.

“The recruitment is part of the AGILE programme and aims to completely reverse the rot in the education sector and improve the quality of teaching and students in our schools throughout the state.

“We are starting with the employment of 500 teachers in the first quarter of this year. In the first instance, emphasis should be placed on teachers in critical subjects like English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, ICT and Entrepreneurship studies,” Lawal said.

As part of the government’s commitment towards revamping education in Zamfara State, Governor Lawal had on November 14, 2023, declared a state of emergency in the education sector.

According to the statement, “The emergency response by the Zamara government under Governor Lawal includes the construction and renovation of more than 400 schools across the 14 Local Government Areas.

“Provision of two-seater desks for pupils and students, with a total of over 12, 000 across schools in the 14 Local Government Areas and equipping the constructed and renovated over 400 schools with over 700 tables and 1,000 chairs for teachers.”

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that registration for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) has not yet begun.

In a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday, JAMB assured candidates that the registration process details would be announced soon.

The post reads: “Attention prospective 2025 UTME/DE candidates! Kindly note that registration has not commenced. However, details on the exercise would be announced soon.

“You can get your NIN ahead and a phone number that has not been previously used to register on our platform to generate your profile code prior the time.”

In another development, JAMB revealed that The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba will be the recommended text for the 2025 UTME Use of English examination.

“Attention prospective 2025 UTME candidates! This is to inform you that The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba has been approved as the reading text for the Use of English,” JAMB said.

“Details on the UTME/DE registration shall be released shortly. Kindly be on the lookout for updates.”