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Tag: NUC

  • How to build integrity, by don

    A lecturer at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Prof Nurudeen Adedipe, has identified effective quality assurance and human capital development as the key for building integrity in postgraduate studies in Nigeria.

    Prof Adedipe stated this at the 12th public lecture of the institution held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Multipurpose Hall.

    In his address, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Femi Mimko, said the lecture was organised to st agenda for policymakers and government.

    Prof Mimiko said the numerous challenges posed by technology, funding, declining quality of work and ethics and low-quality graduates produced by Nigerian universities, necessitated the need to reposition postgraduate studies in the country.

    “‘Undertaking reforms of postgraduate programmes at this level of our higher education history will serve as a coordinated and regulated attempt at further deepening the quality of programmes, strengthening the institutions, regulating contents, opening up alternative funding formula, boosting the volume and quality of research, achieving uniform and global standard, guaranteeing quality assurance and building capacity in the universities in the education sector, and indeed, economy-wide”, he said.

    Participants at the event described the lecture as timely in view of the numerous challenges facing the education system.

    In a lecture titled: Postgraduate studies reform for capacity building, institutional strengthening and quality assurance in the Nigerian universities system, Prof Adedipe said the numerous policies and guidelines laid down by the National University Commission (NUC) to promote quality research, especially at the postgraduate level, have not been implemented.

    He said universities and research institutes had not lived up to expectations in conducting sustainable research as a result of low level of funding.

    Prof Adedipe called for best practices in financial management to ensure that research does not suffer, saying there was the need for effective supervision of postgraduate schools with a view to fast-tracking the effective implementation of the guidelines.

    Making a case for the extension of tenure office for Deans of Postgraduate Schools from the two terms of two years to four years, Prof Adedipe said postgraduate students must be made to carry out research work with strong hands-on bench, studio or archival skill with ICT competency.

     

  • ‘Nigeria losing grants from abroad’

    The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, yesterday lamented the rate at which Nigeria is losing grants from foreign countries.

    He said the country loses out in competitions for grant, which he described as not good, particularly for the education sector and the country at large.

    The NUC boss spoke in Abuja at a five-day grant writing workshop organised by the commission for universities, research institutes, polytechnics and the chief executives of other non- government organisations.

    He acknowledged that the sector had the problem of retiring grant from overseas sponsors, hence the need for the workshop.

    His words: “Everyday we lose out a competition for grant. Even the proposals that we (NUC) have are poorly written. What we have done today is to call in those who are familiar with the issue of grant writing. We have problems of retiring grant from overseas sponsors. When they bring grant, we do not write proper report and financial statement. The consequence is that we close line for future applicants.”

     

    To the participants, Okojie said: “We will not only expose you to grant writing, we will also tell you the type of grants, which are available.”

    Findings showed that the workshop was initially scheduled for last August, but could not hold due to the strike, which slowed down academic activities in the universities.

    The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the workshop, Prof. Adebisi Balogun, told the participants that the training would help reinvigorate the culture of research as a potent tool and a bridge between teaching and community service for enhanced global visibility.

    He said the move would also improve national development and assist higher institutions in nurturing future innovators for the production of national and global champions.

     

  • ASUP chair wins NUC best PhD thesis in Arts

    Chairman Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), FEDPOFFA Dr. Sola Adetunji Ojeniyi, has won the 2012 Nigerian Universities Doctoral Thesis Award Scheme (NUDTAS), organised by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    Ojeniyi’s Doctoral Thesis in Arts won best in 2012 throughout the country. He was among the 17 winners honoured by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Abuja.

    Ojeniyi attributed his success to hard work and sheer determination for success. He also thanked his supervisor, Prof. Victoria Adunola Alabi, of the University of Ilorin.

    He hinted that writing doctoral theses required a lot of technicalities; the knowledge of which he said, helped him immensely on his project.

    His thesis is the best in all doctoral theses of 2012 in Arts. This is despite being the only polytechnic staff among PhD students under the supervision of Prof. Alabi.

  • 10 varsities get $80m World Bank’s grant for research

    10 varsities get $80m World Bank’s grant for research

    Ten Nigerian universities have won about $8 million grant each for research and related activities under the World Bank-supported Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) project.

    The universities are among the 15 from West and Central African sub-region whose proposals were successful in the final selection at the ACE Project Steering Committee meeting in Dakar, Senegal on October 28, last year.

    A team of World Bank and representatives of the benefiting institutions, led by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, spoke on the grant in Abuja when they visited the Supervising Minister for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, on Monday.

    The benefiting universities are: Redeemers University, Mowe, Ogun State; University of Ibadan’s (UI’s) African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, African University of Science and Technology, Pan African Materials Institute; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta’s Centre for Agricultural Development and Sustainable Environment; Ahmadu Bello University’s (ABU’s) Centre of Excellence on Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology and University of Jos’ Phyto-Medicine Research and Development.

    Others are: University of Benin’s Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health and Innovation; University of Port Harcourt’s ACE Centre for Oil Field Chemicals; Obafemi Awolowo University’s Knowledge Park: A Model for National Science Technology and Knowledge Park Initiative; Bayero University, Kano’s ACE in Dryland Agriculture and Benue State University, Centre for Food Technology and Research.

    Wike said the transformation in the Education sector was yielding good results.

    The minister noted that with Nigeria getting out of the 18 centres of excellence in Africa, the country was doing well.

    He said: “Why then are they saying Nigerian universities are not doing well?”

    Wike stressed that it was commendable that 10 Nigerian universities would get $8 million (about N12 billion) for research.

    The minister urged the benefiting institutions to demonstrate high commitment to the successful use of the grants, adding that the grants confirmed the quality of their proposals.

    He hailed the World Bank for supporting the development of the Education sector and assured that the Federal Government was committed to the success of the project.

    World Bank’s Team Leader Andres Bloom said the body was ready to partner the government on the development of the Education sector.

    He hailed level of commitment of officials to the project.

    Prof Okojie said the NUC, in the last five years, focused on building of capacities to come up with the researches to solve problems.

    The NUC chief said the result could be seen in the number of the institutions that got the grants.

     

    He said the commission would continue to provide the leadership and support the success of the ACE project.

     

     

  • World Bank’s $80m for Nigerian universities

    The World Bank has approved $80 million grant for Nigeria to fund its 10 Centres of Excellence in universities.

    The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, announced the approval in Abuja yesterday at a news conference on the meeting of World Bank with African Centres ofExcellence (ACE).

    Okojie also announced that Nigeria won 10 slots of the 18 approved proposals for the establishment of ACEs.

    He said the World Bank-funded ACE project was introduced to build capacity in competitively selected institutions to produce in-demand highly skilled labour and applied research.

    He said it was also to facilitate rapid development within the African sub-region through the strengthening of ACEs by collaborations and partnership in sharing of talents, skilled labour and higher education services.

    “Following the call for proposals on July 15, 2013, the NUC put in place a process to ensure that Nigerian universities win most of the ACEs.

    “This process included workshops, mock evaluations, proposal development support, etc,” he said.

    The executive secretary said seven Nigerian universities were selected from 15 institutions that would benefit from the ACE grant.

    The universities include Redeemers University, Mowe, Ogun, African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

  • Still on agenda setting

    In my piece on December 26, 2013 (Why we must set the agenda now), I wrote on the 12-man Monitoring Committee on the implementation of the recommendation of the Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities. The committee was set up by the Federal Government in the thick of the 2013 suspended Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike. It is expected to oversee the execution of projects on the campuses of federal and state universities across the country.

    Chief Nyesom Wike, the Supervising Minister of Education, heads the committee. Other members include the Minister of Labour, Senator Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, Hon Jerry Alagbaoso, Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Education, Executive Secretary National Universities Commission (NUC), and Chairman Board of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TeTFund), Presidents of ASUU, NASU, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and NAATS while Mr. Ifiok Ukim, Head of Legal Services at Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) will serve as Secretary. The Committee, after inauguration, constituted six monitoring teams for the six geo- Political zones with responsibility to monitor projects in all the universities within the zones.

    I wrote then that: “On paper, and in the news, this is right on point! But in reality most of us will say, ‘we’ve heard this before, we are hearing it now and will continue to hear it until something actually changes. For me, I believe the time to set the agenda is now.”

    I never knew I would have to revisit the issue so soon. On Sunday, January 5, this year news broke that the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC) has been working on a formula for allocating the funds. Recollect that in a Memorandum of Understanding reached at the conclusion of its negotiations with ASUU in December, the Federal Government had agreed to inject N1.3trillion this purpose, beginning with an initial deposit of N200billion with the Central Bank to be disbursed this year.

    Just a few days after its inauguration, some Nigerians started condemning the IMC as yet another unnecessary bureaucracy, even though there was a unanimous agreement that something drastic has to be done for the tertiary education sector. Such critics anchored their argument on the well over 60 other committees the Jonathan administration has set up since 2011. The question asked then was, what impact would the IMC make?

    But critics were assured that they would not lose a night sleep as the IMC would not be like those other committees, given its genesis and composition. To back up this postulation, we were reminded how it was central to the agreement reached between the Federal Government and ASUU last December and that its membership includes representatives of the Federal Government; the Committees of Pro- and Vice-Chancellors; the Secretaries of the NUC and the TETFUND and the leaders of various university trade unions, including ASUU and SSANU.

    With such ‘foolproof’ arrangement it was taken for granted that it would not be business as usual with this committee. Recollect also that Simeon Nwakaudu, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Supervising Minister of Education said the IMC “has the responsibility of directly monitoring the implementation of projects being executed with allocated funds in all the public universities of the country spread across the six geo-political zones. The projects to be executed are based primarily on the list of prioritised projects computed by the respective governing councils of the universities.”

    To further silence critics, he emphasised that “the IMC is not involved in the award of contracts, but principally set up to ensure that the best results are achieved over the period of six years that the Needs Assessment report of the public universities will be implemented.”

    Just when one was determined to watch things unfold, it has been observed that the “Nigerian factor” has stated rearing its head. One of such concerns is the dichotomy between federal and state universities in the allocation of the funds. According to newspaper reports, it was disclosed that the IMC “is working out the sharing formula between federal and state universities” partly because “This money is coming out of the Federal Government’s share of the federation account which does not include the states.”

    I find this argument, at this stage a prelude to future conflict on certain grounds. First, all public universities, Federal and state, are in a dire strait, and they were all identified and captured in the Needs Assessment Report. The entire image of public university education in the country is at stake. If the goal is to enhance this image by improving on teaching resources, infrastructure, and capacity building for lecturers, why not do so across board?

    My second concern is: If state universities were not going to ‘share’ in the reward, why allow them to close throughout the strike, while their lecturers participated in the strike along with their federal ounterparts? Already, state varsities are eagerly awaiting ‘huge funds’ from the Federal Government. Though not a prophet, I predict that some university administrators may soon face strike by their workers for not disbursing funds that they don’t have and may never have, if their institutions are discriminated against.

    The argument that the funds are coming from the “Federal Government’s share of the Federation Account”, certainly needs further clarifications. The Fed Govt already controls 56 per cent of the Federation Account. Besides, there have been allegations that it has been mopping up funds from the Excess Crude account and the Foreign reserve, while at the same time starving states of their necessary shares. States representatives, Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of state universities, have a duty to intervene to prevent the discriminatory allocation of the infrastructure fund, if this is found to be the case.

    I’m not advocating a flat sharing structure; I advocate the use of criteria, such as campus size, student population, the nature and state of classrooms, and the quality of existing teaching resources. These should serve as critical factors to consider in the allocation of resources.

    The search for a secretariat is my major concern. The committee rightly believes it needs a secretariat to carry out its duties. Ordinarily, this should not raise eyebrows if there were no alternatives on ground. But this is Nigeria where you need to investigate every issue under the microscope as it were.

    Are there no alternatives? The answer is quite obvious as there are alternatives. The huge NUC complex in Abuja is one, or any of presentable varsities in the geo-political zones. But the “Nigerian factor” will call for a separate secretariat so that the NUC would not ‘interfere’ with the functions of the IMC. Note that this secretariat will come at a price that will start eating deep into the funds already earmarked for the corrective measures.

    Why am I saying this? A secretariat will probably come with recruiting fresh workers who would handle administrative and logistic functions of the committee. I had thought that such a secretariat is needed to accommodate the Committee’s computers and papers, while its staff is drawn from existing workers to be seconded there by federal and state governments as well as federal and state universities.

    Moreover, some Nigerians are of the opinion that the committee’s meetings would be rotated across the six geopolitical zones so that members could get closer to specific institutions and monitor the progress they are making. If this is the case, it won’t take long before the secretariat – which most probably would be in Abuja – start incurring huge overheads, thereby draining part of the allocated funds. Since it will last for at least six years, it may end up being filled with relatives, tribesmen and women and friends of committee members.

    This is not the time for this, what should concern us is transparency and posterity; and to crack our heads on how to bring a system that produced the likes of the late Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, the late Bala Yusuf, JP Clark and a host of other scholars who cut their teeth in our public varsities. At every point, Nigerians deserve to know the criteria of allocation; how much is allocated to which university; the projects attached to the funds; and how they are being executed.

    This is not asking for too much.

  • NUC boss counsels Elizade Varsity students

    NUC boss counsels Elizade Varsity students

    The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie, has enjoined the newly admitted students of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin in Ondo State to uphold the excellent standards that the university has set, both in character and academics.

    Okojie gave the advice at the second matriculation of the university.

    He admonished the students to shun cultism, drug abuse, examination malpractice, sexual immoralities, disrespect for constituted authority and other vices.

    The NUC boss, who was represented by a former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, (FUTA), Prof Adebisi Balogun, said the Commission was impressed with the university, especially its adherence to procedures while seeking approval for 16 additional programmes.

    He described the approval, barely 10 months after the university started academic activities, which as a great feat, praising its management for a job well done.

    He said Elizade University is one of the institutions the NUC holds in high esteem and promised them further support.

    The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Valentine Aletor, said the Institution is prepared to give quality education to the students.

    He said the curricula are designed to meet the country’s need for technological and scientific breakthrough.

    The Vice-Chancellor was impressed that the university, which started with 64 students, admitted 220 for the 2013/2014 academic session.

    He urged the students to make the most of the quality facilities and sound academics, drawn from America, Europe, Asia and Nigeria to acquire education that would make them globally competitive.

     

  • Varsity debunks NANS’ allegations

    Varsity debunks NANS’ allegations

    The authorities of the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State have refuted a media report, which alleged that the university is in crisis.

    They described it as a tissue of lies cooked up by mischief makers to misinform the public.

    A national newspaper on Monday published a story from a statement purportedly signed by the Vice-President, External Affairs of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Peculiar Asemota, on behalf of NANS, appealing to the Federal Government to intervene, to avert alleged crisis in the university.

    The report also quoted the NANS vice-president as alleging that the present acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Cordelia Agbebaku, was under-performing and unqualified to hold the position.

    But the university in a rejoinder by its spokesman Sir Chris Adaamaigbo, dismissed the allegation, saying the institution was not experiencing any crisis, which would warrant the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Education or the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    Contrary to Asemota’s allegation, the rejoinder said the university had witnessed growth and development since the appointment of the acting vice chancellor, adding that she had received commendations from stakeholders, including NANS.

    The statement said it was regrettable that Asemota could descend to the level of allowing herself to be used by mischief makers to distort facts for selfish interest.

  • NUC rewards 17 dons, others at anniversary

    NUC rewards 17 dons, others at anniversary

    The Nigerian Universities Distinguished Professors Awards (NUDPA) was a beautiful climax to end the activities lined up to celebrate the 50 + one anniversary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) last Wednesday.

    Reward came for 17 professors who had recorded outstanding feats in the course of their careers.

    For years, they had toiled in the classroom, laboratory, and on the field seeking to add to knowledge in their areas of expertise. Perhaps some thought that their efforts had been forgotten and would never be rewarded.

    However, last Wednesday at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, the NUC recognised their achievements, putting smiles on their faces.

    Prof Martin Chike Aghaji was honoured for being the first Nigerian to successfully replace the Aortic Valve with a Mechanical Heart Valve in 1987; Prof Dagogo Fubara, got accolade for the development of Space Geodesy and its application worldwide and usage in tracking space car for USA Naval Weapons (1970-75), Emeritus Prof Festus Ade-Ajayi was recognised for the best recorded scholarly work on the history of West Africa (1971) and Prof Anya O. Anya was praised for the improvement of human health through discoveries in biology and ecology of helminth parasites (1973).

    Other scholars recognised for their contributions were Prof Bolanle Awe(Arts), Prof Mark Okoro Chijioke (Engineering), Prof Umaru Gomwalk (Basic Medical Sciences), Prof Akinlawon Mabogunje (Social Sciences), Prof Awele Maduemezia (Physical Sciences), Professor Emeritus Otonti Nduka (Philosophy of Education), Prof ABC Nwosu (Biological Sciences), Emeritus Professor David Okali (Environmental Science), Prof Ochapa Onazi (Biological Sciences) Prof Cyril Agodi Onwumechili (Basic Medical Sciences), Prof Daniel Saror (Veterinary Medicine), Prof Ahmed Tijani Sulaiman (Engineering) and Prof Buba Garegy Bajoga (Engineering).

    Also honoured were the winners of the Nigerian Universities Doctoral Theses Award Scheme (NUDTAS) for the years 2010-2012, in recognition of their outstanding research as well as past Executive Secretaries and Chairmen of the Commission, for their significant roles in the development of the Nigerian University System (NUS).

    The Chairman of the occasion and Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, who was represented by his brother, Dr. Dauda Gowon, felicitated with the awardees, describing them as distinguished Nigerians, who have earned international recognition for themselves and the country through their expertise.

    Gowon said education is important for any nation wishing to make an impact internationally. He said it was in recognition of its importance that he went back to school after retirement to study up to the PhD level.

    The former Head of State, however, expressed dismay that the education sector, which used to be the pride of the nation, was gradually losing its place due to the frequent disruption of the academic calendar.

    On his part, the Supervising Minister of Education, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. MacJohn Nwaobiala, acknowledged that the awardees had dedicated their lives to the service of the nation and made significant strides in their chosen fields, both locally and internationally.

    The Minister commended the NUC for instituting the award, which, he said, would propel the university to greater heights.

    The Chairman of the NUC Board, Senator Amadu Ali, said the NUC had grown beyond expectation, from overseeing seven universities in 1974, to 129. He added that this growth necessitates that the Commission should embrace new approaches in handling its quality assurance mandate.

    In his address, the NUC Executive Secretary, Prof Julius Okojie, said that the Commission had achieved a lot in the past 51 years.

    He said that though many people claim that 129 universities were too many for the NUC, they are inadequate to meet the demands of the Nigerian population.

    He, however, emphasised that, with the increase in the number of universities, there is a challenge for the institutions to produce the manpower needed in the system. He added that the task of regulating the universities, for greater e?ciency had also increased with the expansion of the NUC.

     

  • ICPC chair, others for honour

    The Abuja chapter of the University of Ibadan (UI) Alumni Association will on Saturday honour five of its distinguished members at its End-of-the-Year Dinner at the Rockview Royale Hotel in Abuja.

    Those to be given its “Distinguished Alumnus Award” are Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman Ekpo Nta; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Dr. Henry Akpan; Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie; legal titan Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN) and former Director-General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission Peter Igoh. Chairman of the association Ismaila Alasa, in a statement, said the honourees were chosen for their contributions to the country’s growth.

    “These are accomplished individuals, who have done the university proud in their various fields of endeavour,” Alasa added.