NECO charges media on digital reporting

The National Examination Council (NECO) has charged the Nigerian media on digital reportage in line with global practices.

The Acting Registrar of NECO, Mr Abubakar Gana, said this at a one-day capacity building workshop organised for education correspondents, in Keffi on Friday.

Gana was represented by the Acting Director, Examination and Administration of the council, Mr Mustapha Abdul.

He said it was important that journalists keep themselves abreast of happenings in the ICT and apply it in reporting their beat.

Gana also noted that education was critical to the developmental progress of any nation, saying that the amount of material resources of a country does not guarantee the greatness of a Nation.

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“The population of Nigeria should be an encouragement to us, if we get education right, then everything will be right for us as a nation.

“Education correspondents are so relevant to get involved in the examination reporting in the digital age.

“There should be change with the way teaching and learning is done as the world is also turning to digital,” he said.

He said that in the past, technology was not as developed as it is now and parents were able to monitor their children friends.

“But because of social media interventions, it is virtually difficult to monitor the children.

“Therefore, it is critical for education correspondents to follow suit and come along in the same way of reporting how assessments are done,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of Media, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dr Fabian Benjamin, noted that education was fundamental in the life of any nation.

Benjamin said that Nigeria had the resources to be greater than China and the other developed countries.

He said that the biggest challenge of the Nation was the lack of confidence and belief in our personal abilities.

He, however, said that JAMB was working so hard to get things done right while allowing institutions to grow.

On the recent minimum cut-off mark of 160 by the board, Benjamin said it was just a benchmark.

He said that institutions had the right to choose their cut-off mark for admission, adding that institutions should be allowed to grow according to their strengths.

Benjamin also said most institutions cannot fill 50 per cent of their capacity, saying that the minimum benchmark was necessary to avoid the collapse of many institutions.

He, therefore, urged education correspondents to make sacrifices in their reportage to allow Nigeria gets to where it should be.

Similarly, Dr Austin Maho, former Editor at the Nigerian Pilot Newspapers, urged journalists to work with examination bodies to get things done right.