Even as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike lingers indefinitely, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved a new curriculum for universities in the country that will bring to the fore uniqueness of each existing institution.
The Executive Secretary of NUC, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday during the presentation of provisional licences to 12 new private universities in the country. He said the new curriculum, Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), which was brought about after a comprehensive review of Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) currently in use, would be unveiled to the public soon.
He said, “The Federal Ministry of Education through the National Universities Commission has embarked on radical re-engineering of curricula in Nigerian universities to meet global standards and international best practices towards preparing Nigerian graduates for relevance in the fourth revolution world economy with the skills needed for the future. The Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) has been revised to Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).
Entrance gate into Imo State University complex in Owerri, the capital of Imo State south-east Nigeria
“The CCMAS, which will soon be unveiled to the public, provides 70 percent of what should be taught along with the expected outcome, while the university will provide 30 percent based on their individual contextual peculiarities and characteristics.”
The NUC boss, while saying access to universities remains a major problem in the country’s education sector, said Nigeria has a little above two million students in the university system, adding that the figure represents about one percent of the country’s population. He commended the promoters of the 12 new private universities for scaling through the 14 stipulated requirements before securing the licences.
Rasheed, however, said academic programmes can only take off in the new institutions after resource verification by NUC. Presenting the provisional licences to the new universities, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, commended the promoters of the institutions, saying Nigeria needs more as the over 200 universities in the country are not enough to meet the growing needs.
“While this number may seem large, the need to establish more universities in Nigeria has never been more compelling. When compared with countries with similarly large and growing populations such as Indonesia, which has a population of 274 million and 3,162 universities (122 public, 3,040 private); South Korea with a population of 51 million, has 203 universities (20 public, 183 private); Vietnam with a population of about 97 million people has 185 universities (120 public, 65 private); Turkey with a population of about 84 million has 207 universities (128 public, 79 private), and Pakistan with a population of 220 million has about 217 universities (148 public, 69 private), we still have a lot of ground to cover,” the minister said.
He, however, warned the new universities to live up to expectations, adding that he has directed the NUC to withdraw licence of any university that is not delivering on its mandate. The 12 new universities, which bring the number of private universities in the country to 111, include: PEN Resource
University, Gombe (under the supervision of Modibbo Adamawa University of Technology, Yola); Al-Ansar University, Maiduguri, Borno State (under the supervision of University of Maiduguri); Margaret Lawrence University, Calilee, Delta State (under the supervision of Nnamdi Azikiwe University); Khalifa Isiyaku Rabiu University, Kano (under Bayero University Kano); Sports University, Idumuje, Ugboko, Delta State (under the supervision of University of Benin; and Baba Ahmed University, Kano (to be supervised by Bayero University Kano).
Others are Saisa University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Sokoto (under the supervision of Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto); Nigerian British University, Asa, Abia State (under the supervision of University of Port Harcourt); Peter University, Achina-Onneh, Anambra State (under the supervision of Nnamdi Azikiwe University); Newgate University, Minna, Niger State (under the supervision of Federal University of Technology, Minna); European University of Nigeria, Duboyi, FCT (under the supervision of University of Abuja); and North West University, Sokoto (under the supervision of Usmanu Danfodio University).
