Chidimma UCHEGBU
The Federal Government of Nigeria, Monday, unveiled a new curriculum for university education to reflect the 21st-century realities.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who spoke on Monday during an event to mark the 60th anniversary of the National Universities Communication (NUC), where the curriculum was unveiled, said the document was part of the effort to make university education more responsive to the needs of the society.
Represented by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said the introduction of the Core Curriculum and Minimum Standard to university education also addresses local issues, meet international standards and uplifts scholarship in our universities.
He commended the NUC for the unbundling of such disciplines as Agriculture and the emergence of three courses, namely Allied Health Sciences, Architecture and Communication, and media services, the three new courses in Nigerian universities.
“This document has truly taken cognizance of the need to provide greater academic autonomy to universities with regards to the development of some percentage of course content,” he said.
“I commend the commission of this decision to share the minimum credit unit required for graduation in the Nigerian university in the ratio of 70 to 30 percent. This will further create institutional peculiarity.”
He further applauded the foresight of other disciplines like agriculture and the emergence of three new disciplines in the Nigerian university system, such as allied health sciences, architecture and communication and media studies.
Prof Abubakar Rasheed, the Executive Secretary of the NUC, said in keeping with its mandate of making university education in Nigeria more responsive to the needs of society, the Commission commenced the journey to restructure the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards BMAS in 2018, introducing its place, the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), to reexamine existing and introduce new disciplines and programmes in the Nigerian University System.
He said the new CCMAS is a product of sustained stakeholder interactions over two years.
‘’The composition of each panel considered the triple helix model a unique feature. This involved a blend of academic experts, academies, government (represented by NUC), professional bodies and, of course, the private sector represented by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).”
