Education
Nepal closes schools as deaths from heavy rains hit 129
By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU (Reuters) -Nepal has shut schools for three days after landslides and floods triggered by two days of heavy rain across the Himalayan nation killed 129 people, with 62 missing, officials said on Sunday.
The floods brought traffic and normal activity to a standstill in the Kathmandu valley, where 37 deaths were recorded in a region home to 4 million people and the capital.
Authorities said students and their parents faced difficulties as university and school buildings damaged by the rains needed repair.
“We have urged the concerned authorities to close schools in the affected areas for three days,” Lakshmi Bhattarai, a spokesperson for the education ministry, told Reuters.
Some parts of the capital reported rain of up to 322.2 mm (12.7 inches), pushing the level of its main Bagmati river up 2.2 m (7 ft) past the danger mark, experts said.
But there were some signs of respite on Sunday morning, with the rains easing in many places, said Govinda Jha, a weather forecaster in the capital.
“There may be some isolated showers, but heavy rains are unlikely,” he said.
Television images showed police rescuers in knee-high rubber boots using picks and shovels to clear away mud and retrieve 16 bodies of passengers from two buses swept away by a massive landslide at a site on the key route into Kathmandu.
Weather officials in the capital blamed the rainstorms on a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal extending over parts of neighbouring India close to Nepal.
Haphazard development amplifies climate change risks in Nepal, say climate scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
“I’ve never before seen flooding on this scale in Kathmandu,” said Arun Bhakta Shrestha, an environmental risk official at the centre.
In a statement, it urged the government and city planners to “urgently” step up investment in, and plans for, infrastructure, such as underground stormwater and sewage systems, both of the “grey”, or engineered kind, and “green”, or nature-based type.
The impact of the rains was aggravated by poor drainage due to unplanned settlement and urbanisation efforts, construction on floodplains, lack of areas for water retention, and encroachment on the Bagmati river, it added.
The level in the Koshi river in Nepal’s southeast has started to fall, however, said Ram Chandra Tiwari, the region’s top bureaucrat.
The river, which brings deadly floods to India’s eastern state of Bihar nearly every year, had been running above the danger mark at a level nearly three times normal, he said.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
The Imo State Government has banned graduation ceremonies for kindergarten, nursery, and Junior Secondary School, JSS3 students.
It has also prohibited schools from changing textbooks on an annual basis.
The directive was contained in a memo dated August 15, 2025, signed by the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Bernard Ikegwuoha, and addressed to parents, guardians, and stakeholders.
Under the policy, graduation ceremonies will now only be permitted for pupils completing Primary 6 and students finishing Senior Secondary School 3, SSS3, in line with the 6-3-3-4 education system.
The government further directed that textbooks must have a minimum four-year lifespan to allow reuse by siblings and ease the financial burden on parents. Schools were also warned against deviating from the approved list of textbooks.
Ikegwuoha explained that the measures were designed to curb exploitative practices in schools, promote uniformity in teaching, and ensure that attention remains on students’ academic achievements.
The policy takes immediate effect.
A former Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, LASU, Prof. John Obafunwa, has been installed as the Balogun of Ilara Kingdom in Epe, Lagos State.
The conferment ceremony, which took place on Saturday at the palace of Oba Olufolarin Ogunsanwo in Eredo-Epe, also saw several other distinguished Nigerians receive traditional titles. Among them were Prof. Kemi Pinheiro and Ambassador Oluwatoyin Lawal.
Speaking at the event, Oba Ogunsanwo explained that the honours were aimed at drawing accomplished indigenes and friends of the community closer to the throne to support the advancement of Ilara Kingdom. He praised the new titleholders and urged them to remain committed to service and community development.
In his response, Obafunwa, who currently serves as the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, expressed deep appreciation to the monarch and the people of Ilara. He pledged to leverage his experience in leadership and academia to promote growth, development, and youth empowerment in the kingdom.
He also described the Balogun title as a symbol of courage, leadership, and responsibility, noting that he would dedicate his new role to strengthening communal values and driving initiatives that uplift the people.
The colourful event drew a large gathering of dignitaries, including academics, traditional leaders, politicians, and business executives.
The Federal Government has approved nine new private universities, including Tazkiyah University (Kaduna), Leadership University (Abuja), Jimoh Babalola University (Kwara), Bridget University (Imo), Greenland University (Jigawa), JEFAP University (Niger), Azione Verde University (Imo), Unique Open University (Lagos), and American Open University (Ogun).
Education Minister Tunji Alausa said the approvals clear a backlog of applications, some pending for over six years, and follow stricter guidelines. A moratorium is now in place on new applications that do not meet the updated standards.
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