The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, while exercising his powers in the absence of a substantive Board for the National Universities Commission (NUC), has approved the appointment of Dr. Noel Biodun Saliu as Deputy Executive Secretary, (Academics), with effect from 1st February, 2023, sequel to his recommendation by the Executive Secretary, NUC, Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, mni, MFR, FNAL.
In his letter of appointment signed by the Executive Secretary, it reads inter alia, “The appointment is in recognition of your performance, loyalty and commitment to duty.
“While congratulating you on the appointment, I look forward to your continued, efficient and dedicated service in the collective effort at moving the Nigerian University System forward.” The letter said.
Until his new position, Dr. Saliu was the Director, Academic Planning (DAP), a position he held since August 2019 and doubles as Supervising Director Accreditation (DA), following the demise of the substantive Director, Mrs. Maryam Sali.
The new Deputy Executive Secretary DES (Academics) holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry (1987), Master of Science in Biochemistry (1990) and a Doctorate in Biochemistry with bias in Biochemical Toxicology (2000) from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
Dr. Noel Biodun Saliu started his working career in June, 1990 as a Research Officer II at the National Universities Commission (NUC), Nigeria. He grew through the ranks to become a Deputy Director, in 2009 and was appointed Head, Research Administration and Monitoring, where he served until September 2011.
Following the routine manning exercise in NUC, he was drafted to the Directorate of Accreditation where he served as Deputy Director in-charge of Institutional Accreditation Division as well as Head of Institutional Accreditation Division between September, 2011 and October, 2013 before his elevation as Director, Inspection and Monitoring Department (DIM) in October 2013.
Dr. Saliu’s working experience in NUC cut across different positions of responsibilities of Research and Postgraduate Development; Quality Assurance; Inspections and Monitoring; Research and Innovation; and Academic Planning. He has successfully accomplished different assignments in the Commission ranging from Commission-wide duties to special projects.
He was the Officer in charge of EEC (now EU) projects based in Nigerian Universities where there had to be constant liaison with the development partner and the Universities. The success recorded in these projects (17 of them) engendered the confidence of his superiors to entrust sensitive jobs to him, which were accomplished very successfully. He was awarded the Departmental Best Worker of the year of NUC Department of Research and Postgraduate Development in 1995. He actively participated in the monitoring and evaluation of World Bank assisted $120 million Federal Universities Development Sector Adjustment Operation in 20 Nigerian Universities that participated.
In 2004, Dr. Saliu played a prominent role as member and Secretary of the Task Force that was saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the review of curriculum of programmes taught in Nigerian Universities.
The review process involved a needs assessment survey of the labour market on Nigerian graduates in order to address their weaknesses in the curriculum. It also involved the development of entrepreneurial studies curriculum for Nigerian universities.
As a quality assurance expert, Dr. Saliu coordinated programme and institutional accreditation in the Nigerian University System since 2011 as a Deputy Director in the Quality Assurance Department of the National Universities Commission. He is adept in the development and review of accreditation (programme and Institutional) instrument as he coordinated from inception the introduction of institutional accreditation in the Nigerian University Accreditation System. As the Director, Inspection and Monitoring in 2013, he was in-charge of post-accreditation monitoring.
His in-depth knowledge in quality assurance resulted in his redeployment to the Directorate of Accreditation in 2014 and the Directorate of Academic Planning in July 2019 as Director.
Dr. Saliu has been involved in the training of staff of Universities and Quality Assurance Agencies at the national and international levels.
He is a member of the African Union-European Union Partnership initiative, Harmonisation of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) Technical Working Group (TWG) and has served as resource person in many Quality Assurance Conference and Workshop.
He was the Vice-President of the African Quality Assurance Network (AfriQAN) from 2017 to 2021.
Dr. Saliu has served as Rapporteur General for many years for the International Conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Africa (ICQAHEA). He also served as Expert/Technical Assistant on the Namibian National Council for Higher Education project for the Training of Peer Reviewers in Quality Assurance in Higher Education; member, Review Panel to the Mozambique National Council on Quality Assurance in Higher Education; and member, Review Panel to the American University of Cairo.
The new Deputy Executive Secretary (Academics) is very proficient in the use of the computer, which informed his appointment as one of the assessors of the NUC-UNESCO Virtual Institute for Higher Education in Africa HIV/AIDS education for basic and higher education teachers and teacher trainers.
In addition to serving as UNESCO consultants on several occasions, his experience with UNESCO includes desk officer for the Nigeria-UNESCO Science Reformation project and the UNESCO project on mainstreaming HIV/AIDS education into the Faculties of Science and Engineering Curriculum in Nigerian Universities.
He was also the Anchorman for the publication of Nigerian Universities Inaugural Lectures Series – a serial that has wide readership within and outside the shores of Nigeria.
Dr. Saliu is a member of the Nigerian National Council on Biological Weapons and Toxins Convention as well as that on Chemical Weapons. It was in this capacity that he presented one of the country’s papers on Capacity Building on Biosafety and Biosecurity at the 2008 Biological Weapons and Toxins Convention (BTWC) meeting of experts in Geneva, Switzerland.
He is a member of the Governing Councils of Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Nigeria and Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Nigeria as well as the Governing Board of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
He has on a number of occasions participated in the review of Environmental Impact Assessment reports of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigeria and had attended many conferences, workshops and seminars.
His humility, qualifications, influence and expertise in quality assurance within the Nigerian University System (NUS) had remained unparalleled. Dr. Saliu is married and the union is blessed with four children.
The NUC Monday Bulletin congratulates the New DES for his deserved elevation.