The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) expressed concerns about the reconstitution of university governing councils and Chris Maiyaki, the acting executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), gave assurances on Wednesday that the Federal Government is actively addressing these concerns.
In an interview with education reporters in Abuja, Maiyaki revealed that Prof. Tahir Mamman, the minister of education, had started the process of reconstituting the governing councils by forming a panel to supervise the process.
In response to the ASUU’s two-week ultimatum, Maiyaki stated that the government is committed to providing competent and capable leadership in universities to support President Buhari’s Renewed Hope Agenda. She also highlighted the importance of choosing qualified individuals for the councils.
Maiyaki also discussed the necessity of extending access to higher education in Nigeria, emphasizing that the country’s 272 universities are insufficient to meet the country’s growing demand for high-quality education. In order to address the expanding requirements of the young Nigerians, he underlined the significance of building more universities.
Maiyaki listed strategic targets for efforts to improve the country’s university system, including internationalization, research and innovation, curriculum improvement, quality assurance, and infrastructure development.
Notable initiatives include the creation of rules for e-learning and open, distant, and open education, as well as curriculum revisions to bring them into line with current global standards.
Through the execution of numerous recommendations and programs aimed at improving the country’s educational landscape, the NUC has demonstrated its commitment to improving the quality, equity, and access to university education in Nigeria.
The government and pertinent stakeholders are collaborating and strategically preparing to create a strong, inclusive higher education system that caters to the requirements of every Nigerian.
Reassembling the 61 university councils is no easy task. In order for those councils to carry out Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the government is making every effort to guarantee that individuals with the necessary qualifications and credentials are appointed to those positions. We understand that ASUU is an organization of academics and that they care about the well-being of its members as well as the goings-on in institutions, but we ask that they exercise patience with the government in the interim.
Regarding the number of institutions in the nation, the head of the NUC stated that the commission was dedicated to increasing access to higher learning.
Because of this, the 272 universities that make up the NUS at the moment are unable to meet the young people of Nigeria’s constant demand for higher education. Only a small percentage of the over two million applications that Nigerian institutions receive each year are accepted. In order to satisfy the need for high-quality education in the nation, Nigeria must thus keep expanding access by building additional universities, according to Maiyaki.
The NUC conducted a thorough review of university curricula from the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard to the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards, which reflect Nigeria’s aspirations to achieve a knowledge economy driven by the 4 Industrial Revolution, or 4IR, and the 21st-century skills, in order to foster partnerships with industry and promote blended learning.
The CCMAS offers 17 academic disciplines instead of just 14. September 2023 marked the start of the new curriculum’s implementation for the academic year 2023–2024.
The creation of textual resources to improve teaching and learning as well as staff training in student-centered tuition delivery capabilities are provided by the CCMAS implementation framework.
“Guides for Open and Distance Education” Among other goals, the Commission created guidelines to offer a framework for the orderly adoption, integration, and mainstreaming of e-learning into the traditional face-to-face modes of teaching and learning in Nigerian Universities in an effort to ensure quality in the regulation of the NUS.
In order to maintain current worldwide best practices and ensure quality in the delivery of university education through open and distance learning, this project was required. As part of the efforts to expand open and distance learning in the Nigerian University System, the Commission established the following guidelines, he stated.
“The Guidelines for Transnational Education provide six competitive models that foreign universities can use to work together to create high-quality institutions in Nigeria.” The goal of this endeavour is to increase the competitiveness of Nigerian graduates on a worldwide scale, hence mitigating the need for the country’s youth to pursue higher education overseas.
The release of these ODL standards is a major turning point in the NUC’s history as it demonstrates its commitment to improving access, equity, and quality of university education in Nigeria. All of this stems from the suggestions made about the founding and growth of universities, increased IT penetration, and improved online delivery skills,” he continued.
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