The National Universities Commission (NUC), says the claim by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that it wasn’t involved the revision of Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) and the subsequent implementation of the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) is not true.
TheHintsNews reports that ASUU had claimed that the CCMAS prepared by NUC was flawed, while also describing it as an aberration and threat to the quality of University System education.
But NUC Deputy Executive Secretary (Academics), Dr. Noel Saliu in a statement issued Friday, said the curriculum review process started in 2018 with the subject area experts in Nigerian Universities producing draft documents, which were forwarded to experts in other Nigerian Universities for their comments.
He added that comments received from Universities that responded formed part of the working documents forwarded to the various curriculum review panels.
Saliu said: “That assertion that there was no official communication from NUC to the Universities on the review of the BMAS is not correct. Vice-Chancellors can attest to the fact that the Commission has been communicating with them on the issue over the last five years.
“In addition, several virtual and on-site meetings were held to intimate them of the curriculum review, and provide them with updates from time to time (Recordings of these meetings are available).
“The claim that there is no evidence to show that the Universities were involved in the true sense of revision of the BMAS development and the subsequent implementation of the CCMAS in the NUS is also far from the truth. “
Saliu stressed that the initial drafts of the CCMAS were ready, they were also circulated amongst Nigerian academics, adding that a huge number of comments were received, which were synthesised and incorporated into the respective programmes
According to him, How else would one get the Universities involved in an exercise of this nature? Needless to say that the practice of getting and incorporating inputs from Nigerian Universities has been the tradition of NUC, from 1989 to date.
Saliu further explained that NUC did not engage the services of any consultant to review the curriculum, saying the Commission has a Strategy Advisory Committee (STRADVCOM) made up of respected Nigerian academics and Professors, representatives of the private sector and some Directors of the NUC.
He emphasised that the NUC Management, with its Directorate of Academic Planning, worked with this Committee and Nigerian Universities in producing the review in question.
On the components of programmes purported to have been left out, the NUC pointed out that it informed Nigerian Universities from the beginning of the review exercise that the Commission would provide for 70% of the minimum course requirements for graduation in Nigerian universities, while the Universities would make up the remaining 30%.
Saliu said the Commission did not arbitrarily arrive at this ratio, adding that the NUC had in previous minimum standards documents, made provision for 100 percent curriculum requirements to Nigerian Universities.
He added: “It is instructive to note that in a retreat with Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities in 2017, the NUC proposed to the Universities a 50:50 NUC: Universities Curriculum Provision. This was rejected as the Universities felt that the action was too drastic and that the proposal should be gradually implemented; they proposed 80:20 NUC: University contribution to the Curriculum.
“However, the NUC, during the comprehensive curriculum review, decided to adopt a 70:30 NUC: University ratio for the Curriculum contents.
“The idea behind the 70:30 NUC: University provision for the curriculum is to eventually place the curriculum in the domain of the Universities where it belongs. It is the belief of the Commission that with the full implementation of the idea, Universities will run the general requirements for their programmes in line with global realities such that they will be able to create a niche for themselves by introducing courses based on their peculiarities.
“It is important to emphasise that the so-called NUC component of the curriculum was determined by Nigerian academics, with the Commission only coordinating.
“Based on the foregoing, even when courses are omitted in the 70% CCMAS, such courses can be introduced by the Universities in the 30% component. Besides, the provision made in the CCMAS is the minimum requirement and the Universities can go beyond the minimum stipulations, provided the students are not overloaded.”
The commission noted that the unbundling of programmes has a positive bearing on the employability of graduates from such programmes as it makes such programmes more focused to meet their philosophy and objectives.