The Acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC, Mr. Chris Maiyaki has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU to have confidence in the present administration to deliver on its promises.
He made the appeal in Abuja during a media parley with Education Correspondents of Nigeria, Abuja Chapter.
Mr. Maiyaki said the Federal government was working to address the demands of the Union among which was the reconstitution and inauguration of governing councils for universities.
The Acting Executive Secretary of NUC gave assurances that the governing councils would soon be reconstituted as the government had already set up a local organizing committee for that purpose.
”These councils would have been constituted weeks ago, because the honourable Minister of Education even constituted a local organising committee already. It’s just part of the workings of the system where they are crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s. we should just give government the benefit of the doubt, so that in a couple of days, these councils will be announced”
Mr. Maiyaki highlighted some of the initiatives put in place by the Commission to revamp the university system to include the introduction of the core curriculum minimum academic standards, CCMAS, guidelines for e-learning in universities as well as guidelines for trans-national education.
”The CCMAS reflects the aspirations of Nigeria to attain a knowledge driven economy, the one that would bequeath 21 century skills to the Nigerian graduate, Guidelines on Trans-National Education in Nigeria, Guidelines for e-Learning in Nigerian Universities and Guidelines for the Implementation of the National Policy on Open Educational Resources in Nigerian Higher Education, as well as Guidelines for the Establishment of Private Open Universities in Nigeria”
The Acting Executive Secretary of NUC added that a repository for all universities which would show student ratio, number of lecturers among others, was in place to enable government to plan and make policies at the Tertiary level of education.