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ADEA commends Ghana’s, Seychelles’ for strong Higher Education Management Information System.
THE Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) congratulated Ghana and Seychelles for having well-developed management information systems for their higher education institutions.
This was at a technical workshop on Higher Education Management Information Systems (HEMIS) benchmarking organized by ADEA’s Working Group on Education Management and Policy Support (WGEMPS) and that of Higher Education (WGHE), in collaboration with the Association of African Universities (AAU). The technical workshop took place in Accra (Ghana) from 29th to 30th of June 2017.
The workshop attracted 25 participants, among them Prof. Mohammed Salifu, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), who was the Chairperson during the opening session. Other key delegates included Dr. Yohannes Woldetensae, Senior Education Expert, African Union Commission (AUC); Ms. Rachel Ogbe, Principal Programme Officer for Education, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); Mr. David Blaise Ossene, Education and Culture Expert, Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS); Ms. Nodumo Dhlamini, Director of ICT Services & Knowledge Management, AAU; several senior HEMIS experts from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mauritius, Senegal; senior Educational Management Information Systems (EMIS) experts from the University of Moundou in Chad and from five universities from Ghana (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; University of Cape Coast; University of Ghana; University of Mines and Technology and University for Professional Studies of Accra). ADEA’s WGEMPS and WGHE staff as well as different media representatives were also in attendance.
The workshop aimed to build a strong HEMIS to provide quality information that supports informed decision making in leadership, governance and management of higher education institutions, and for facilitating sound sector planning, monitoring and evaluation, financing and quality assurance. This will be done by identifying best practices, and needs in terms of capacity building and strategy development with specific areas that the universities would provide.
Higher Education is one of education sub sectors in Africa where it is very difficult to get comprehensive and reliable statistics
The opening session included key note speeches from representatives of AAU, AUC, ECOWAS, ADEAWGEMPS and NCTE. All the speakers lamented on the numerous challenges in the collection, compilation and analysis of statistical data in higher education sub sector in particular at institutional level in Africa. They also mentioned the lack of clear and comprehensive indicators to underpin the monitoring and evaluation framework for the Higher Education sector. These indicators are critical for tracking the implementation of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016 – 2025 (CESA 16-25), Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 4 on “Quality Education”.
Mr. Makha Ndao, WGEMPS Coordinator, speaking on behalf of Ms. Oley Dibba-Wadda, the ADEA Executive Secretary, stressed the difficulty of obtaining comprehensive and reliable statistics for the higher education sub sector. “Higher Education is one of education sub sectors in Africa where it is very difficult to get comprehensive and reliable statistics. Only 2 out of 23 countries (i.e. Ghana and Seychelles) in Sub-Saharan Africa completed the Higher and Tertiary Education questionnaire to UNESCO Institute for Statistics in 2015”, said Mr. Ndao. He cited coordination of the fragmented and parallel systems in place as one of the biggest challenges in many countries: the monitoring of education systems is the responsibility of multiple ministries, agencies and departments across different levels of government. Mr. Ndao reiterated ADEA’s and AAU’s commitment to support countries to systematically examine and strengthen the performance of their HEMIS using the country led Norms and Standards tools.
Prof. Mohammed Salifu, Executive Secretary of NCTE, in his opening statement agreed that access to basic information in the higher education sub-sector was a challenge. However, he expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the HEMIS workshop and also acknowledged the fact that Ghana was one of the two countries that have been consistent in reporting and providing higher education data. “We know that African universities are the sources of data on higher education and we are keen to strengthen their capacities to capture and provide information for national, regional and continental needs”, Ms. Nodumo Dhlamini, AAU’s Director of Information and Communications Technology Services and Knowledge Management and ADEA’s WGHE Coordinator stated during her intervention. In addition, she reminded the meeting that this workshop was a follow up from the AUC recommendations that ADEA would use the lessons learnt based on the EMIS Norms and Standards to help strengthen the African Universities’ HEMIS.
In his remarks, Dr. Yohannes Woedetensae, AUC’s Senior Education Expert also emphasized that benchmarking of HEMIS would be supportive and complementary to the African Quality Rating Mechanism. He said robust management information system were essential for effective policy development based on sound, accurate, timely and meaningful statistical information.
Lastly, Ms. Rachael J. Ogbe, Principal Programme Officer, ECOWAS, expressed her delight for the timely august gathering. She pointed out that EMIS was a key priority for the ECOWAS region. She also praised ADEA for being a very reliable partner in developing the EMIS Norms and Standards since the process of strengthening the management information system in the region started in Lomé in 2010. The joint collaboration between ECOWAS and ADEA has also resulted in the useful EMIS Peer Reviews in Ghana and Mali. To this end, she was hopeful that this collaboration would continue to ensure that a lasting solution is found for EMIS in general.
Mr. Youssouf Ario Maiga, WGEMPS Programs Manager and Mr. Alpha Bah, WGEMPS resource person led the facilitation of the workshop with technical backstopping thanks to Mr. Kwesi Acquah Sam from the AAU Secretariat and member of ADEA/WGHE.
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Alleged KGB Infiltration: Police in Dilemma as Senator Natasha Abandons Petition, Snubs Summons
The Nigeria Police Force appears to be in a quandary over its investigation into the alleged infiltration of the National Assembly by Russia’s KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), the former Soviet security agency.
Checks revealed that the police had invited the Senator representing Kogi West, Sunday Karimi, for interrogation following a petition filed by his colleague, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central.
In the petition dated March 5, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently serving a six-month suspension from the Senate, urged the police to investigate Karimi’s claim that the KGB had infiltrated the National Assembly, posing a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
She specifically alleged that Senator Karimi had circulated a report titled “KGB Agent Group Warns Senate: A Call for Vigilance Amidst Threats to Democracy” on the official WhatsApp group of the 10th Senate on February 23, 2025.
Describing the claim as a matter of national security, Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted that the alarm raised by Karimi should not be taken lightly. “No nation can afford to ignore the presence of such a group within its legislative body,” she emphasized in her petition.
Karimi Appears Before Police, Natasha Recoils
Further investigations revealed that Senator Karimi honored the police invitation on Monday, appearing at the Force Headquarters in Abuja to clarify his position.
Sources within the police described his session as “positive and insightful,” revealing that he admitted to sharing the report in question. However, the police were reportedly taken aback when Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan distanced herself from the petition and ignored requests to appear for questioning.
“We reached out to her after our session with Senator Karimi, expecting her to provide further clarification, but she has continuously ignored our invitation,” a senior police source disclosed.
“What is disturbing is how she suddenly abandoned such a serious petition against her colleague. First, she claimed to be outside the country, but a viral video has since surfaced showing her in her constituency. It is difficult to reconcile her claims with the information available to us,” the source added.
The police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, further hinted at possible political undertones behind the petition.
“We do not want to meddle in the ongoing power play within the Senate. However, it would be scandalous if she attempted to use the police as a tool in her political battles.”
When asked about the possible next steps, the source stated that his superiors would determine the fate of the petition, which he described as “frivolous.”
Twelve inmates have escaped from the Federal Correctional Centre in Kotonkarfe, Kogi State, following an early morning jailbreak on Monday.
Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, described it as “unfortunate” and assured the public that the government, in collaboration with security agencies, was taking measures to prevent a recurrence.
According to Fanwo, law enforcement officers have already re-arrested one of the escapees.
“The theory that the inmates escaped through the tower without causing any structural damage raises serious concerns. This calls for a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the escape, arrest the fleeing inmates, and identify possible saboteurs within the system,” he stated.
The commissioner further disclosed that Governor Usman Ododo has directed security agencies to ensure that such breaches do not happen again.
“We call on the public to report any suspicious individuals in their communities. Anyone found harbouring an escaped inmate will be held accountable,” Fanwo warned.
Reassuring residents, he added: “There is no cause for panic. We encourage citizens to go about their daily activities as normal, knowing that the security of lives and property remains our top priority.”
Authorities have yet to disclose further details about the escapees or ongoing efforts to apprehend them.
The United States has announced the termination of legal status for over 500,000 immigrants, ordering them to leave the country within weeks, as President Donald Trump pushes forward with what he calls the largest deportation campaign in American history.
The sweeping directive, issued on Friday, affects approximately 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who arrived under a programme launched by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, in October 2022 and later expanded in January 2023.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the affected immigrants will lose their legal protections 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. This means they must leave the United States by 24 April, unless they secure another immigration status permitting them to stay.
Welcome.US, an organisation that supports asylum seekers, has urged those impacted to “immediately” seek legal counsel regarding their options.
A Reversal of Biden’s Immigration Policy
The Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) programme, introduced in January 2023, allowed up to 30,000 migrants per month from these nations to enter the United States for two years. The initiative was designed to offer a “safe and humane” alternative to the dangerous crossings at the US-Mexico border, which had seen a surge in arrivals.
However, the DHS reiterated on Friday that the programme was never meant to provide permanent residency.
“Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status, nor does it constitute an admission to the United States,” the agency stated.
Mass Deportations Under Trump
Trump, who has made immigration control a cornerstone of his presidency, has vowed to crack down on migrants—particularly those from Latin America.
Last week, he invoked rare wartime legislation to deport more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, a country that has controversially offered to imprison both migrants and U.S. citizens at a discounted rate.
The latest order signals Trump’s intent to follow through on his hardline immigration policies, raising concerns among human rights advocates about the humanitarian impact of such mass deportations.
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