The Acting Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr. Chris J. Maiyaki, has reiterated the need to foster synergy between the NUC and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), noting that doing so would give both Engineering Curriculum and Practice a new lease in the country.
He made the remarks last Monday when he received in audience, the leadership of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) led by the President, Engr. Professor Sadiq Z. Abubakar, in the Commission, which came to foster and set the stage for close collaborations in the area of Engineering in Nigeria. He stressed the importance of the visit, highlighting it as a significant opportunity for collaboration between one of the leading professional bodies and the NUC on critical issues in order to engage in constructive dialogue and explore avenues of collaboration that would benefit the Nigerian Universities.
Mr. Maiyaki gave an overview of the evolution of university education in Nigeria, highlighting that the NUC was established in 1962 as an administrative Unit in the then Cabinet Office and later gained statutory status in 1974.
He said the history of university education in Nigeria could be traced back to 1948 with the establishment of University College, Ibadan and subsequently, the first indigenous university, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), which was founded in 1960; followed by Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; University of Lagos (UNILAG); and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, in 1962, with the establishment of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) in 1970, completing the circle of the First-Generation universities. According to him, the growing demand for university education led to the establishment of Second-Generation universities in the mid-70s, followed by the establishment of States and Private Universities, enabling the Nigerian University System (NUS) to have a total of 274 universities, comprising 62 Federal, 63 States and 149 Private universities.
The Acting Executive Secretary told the COREN delegation that the existing number of universities in Nigeria fell short of accommodating Nigerian population, with over 2 million individuals annually seeking university education, while Nigerian universities could only cater for between 500,000 and 700,000 students. He stated that the NUC remained committed to the processing and approval of the establishment of additional universities in Nigeria so as to increase access and meet the growing demands for university education. This, according to him, was because the present 149 Private universities could only accommodate 10 percent of Nigeria University population and most often these private institutions needed time to mature and expand their capacity.
Mr Maiyaki disclosed that the NUC remained the flagship government agency mandated by law to oversee the systematic development of university education in Nigeria, explaining that the Commission executed its responsibilities through the instrumentality of Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS). He also outlined several key activities undertaken by the NUC to include; Accrediting Academic Programmes, Conducting Resource Verification for new academic programmes, Inspecting and Monitoring of Universities as well as Licensing and approving the Establishment of Private Universities.
While appreciating COREN for the visit, he however noted NUC’s concern regarding the increasing number of professional bodies in Nigeria and underscored the importance of bodies like it to collaborate with the Commission to refine regulations and create a mutually beneficial outcome. He also emphasised the necessity of redefining laws governing professional bodies and wished the new COREN Management harmony and wisdom in advancing Engineering Practice in Nigeria to greater heights.
Responding to some issues, the Acting ES expressed the Commission’s enthusiasm for the potential opportunities presented by the proposed collaboration between NUC and COREN to address challenges in the Engineering profession. He also assured the meeting that the NUC intends to revive its quarterly meetings with all Professional bodies, to discuss critical matters on the role of professional bodies in Nigerian Universities.
Earlier, in his remarks, President of the Council, Engr. Professor Abubakar, gave kudos to the Acting Executive Secretary and the entire NUC Management for the warm reception even at short notice. He highlighted COREN’s pioneering role in accreditation since 1972, which, he said, preceded the NUC, explaining that their continuous enhancement of accreditation processes aligned with NUC’s Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS).
He pledged COREN’s commitment to fostering the development of globally competitive engineers and also acknowledged NUC’s efforts in upholding quality across all programmes within Nigerian Universities. While acknowledging the achievements of Nigerian Engineers worldwide, he lamented the declining standards, attributing it to inadequate infrastructure caused by high students enrolment in the discipline. Engr. Professor Abubakar highlighted the Council’s specific concerns regarding the Engineering profession across Nigerian Universities and proposed a collaborative forum between both agencies to address these issues with the aim of reinvigorating their partnership efforts.
He further informed the NUC that their regulatory activities extended beyond universities to include Polytechnics and Technical Colleges, stressing one of their successful achievements as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for joint accreditation of institutions under its jurisdiction.
The President proposed the establishment of a joint committee comprising representatives from both the NUC and COREN to formulate a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) facilitating collaborative accreditation exercises. He announced Nigeria’s membership in the International Engineers Alliance (IEA), an organization dedicated to advancing engineering globally. He highlighted Nigeria’s admission to the Washington Accord for engineering in June 2023, enabling Nigerian-trained engineers to practice in developed countries across the globe.
The COREN President noted IEA’s development of pedagogy for Engineering Education and emphasized their involvement in the formulation of the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS). He also briefed the meeting about the existence of sub-professional bodies in engineering attempting to pass legislation through the National Assembly to regulate the profession, potentially resulting in duplicated functions.
He argued that the primary aim of these professional bodies was accreditation, stressing that the collaborative efforts of NUC and COREN would effectively address and prevent this proliferation and empower the National Assembly to legislate on the burdens of proliferation of professional bodies on Nigerian Universities being advanced by the NUC.
In his contribution, Chairman, Evaluation and Accreditation of COREN, Engr. Professor John A. Olorunmaiye, shared the Council’s plan to activate the Supervised Industrial Training Scheme in Engineering (SITSIE), also known as Engineering Residency. This one-year programme, he said, was designed for technology transfer and experience development, which aimed to provide final clearance for engineering students to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Based on this, both the SITSIE and NYSC years would count as valuable experience for engineering personnel.
Engr. Professor Olorunmaiye emphasised the necessity of legislative support for the implementation of this scheme, involving the NUC, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and called for the relevant agencies to convene for discussions on the matter.
Both parties agreed that COREN should present a formal report to the Commission on areas of collaborations. The meeting also resolved that the NUC and COREN would jointly make a case to the National Assembly on the proliferation of professional bodies in the Engineering discipline. It was further agreed that COREN would submit its observations and inputs to enrich the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) to the NUC.
At the end, a joint Technical Committee, of the NUC and COREN, Chaired by NUC Deputy Executive Secretary, (Academics), Dr. Noel Biodun Saliu was constituted. In the membership from NUC included: Acting Directors of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (DSDE), Mr. Ashafa Ladan; Academic Planning (DAP), Mr. Abubakar Girei; Accreditation (DA), Engr. Abraham Chundusu; Deputy Director, Legal Services, Barr. Pascal Eruaga and Deputy Director, Quality Framework in the Directorate of Academic Planning (DAP), Mrs. Justina Emerole as member / Secretary.
The COREN has in the team, Engr. Professor Adisa A. Bello; Registrar, Engr. Professor J. A. Olorunmaiye; Engr. Professor Baba El-Yakubu; Engr. John Joshua; Engr. Precious Onuoha and Engr. Ahmed A.S.Y. Kutigi as Assistant Secretary.
Meanwhile in the COREN delegation were the EEDA, Abdullahi M. Jega; CSU, Engr. Tech Andrew Onyilo; Head of Corporate Services, Opungwa Hanna; PRO, Mrs. Faith Odeh and SEO, Mr. Johnson Abalaka. Also in attendance were NUC Director, Executive Secretary’s Office DESO, Mr. John Mairafi Ahmadu; Deputy Director, DODel, Mrs. Hadiza Ramalan; Dr. Ayuba Mohammed, Rep. DRIIT.