The National Universities Commission has described as false and baseless the claim that universities can attain full accreditation for academic programmes without adequate staffing.
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The Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Abubakar Rasheed Ribadu, in a statement, maintained that the commission’s accreditation process follows a rigorous evaluation system covering seven sections, including four core areas—academic matters, staffing, physical facilities, and library resources.
Ribadu said, “The claim that accreditation is a mere formality to the effect that universities without adequate staffing can receive full accreditation assessment is not only false, baseless but this has been disseminated from an uninformed position.
“The Commission would ordinarily not respond to such spurious online allegations but was duty bound to issue this rebuttal to put the record straight and clear the air on this trending issue.
“This has also become necessary to avert any collateral damage to the hard-earned reputation of our University System, over the glorious years.”
He stressed that to attain Full Accreditation Status, a programme must score a minimum of 70 per cent in each of the four core areas, as well as an overall score of 70 per cent or more across all seven sections.
He noted that sanctions awaited universities that present temporary staff or falsify records, just as it also disciplined its officers found compromising the accreditation process.
“It is important to note that earning Full Accreditation Status does not imply that a programme has all the necessary resources in perfect measure. However, this is deemed to be an acceptable standard of performance, with adequate room for further improvements,” he said.
On staffing, which he described as a critical part of the accreditation process, Ribadu explained that there are seven indicators in evaluating staffing, with the adequacy of permanent academic staff being a major consideration.
“In addition, staffing being a core component of accreditation, is a function of several factors. There are seven indicators in the evaluation of staffing, where the adequacy of permanent staff on a programme is a major consideration. The NUC guidelines also permit a maximum of four part-time academic staff which is equivalent to two permanent staff in respect of scoring per programme.”
He added subject experts are involved as evaluators in the accreditation of academic programmes, while NUC representatives also defend the findings of their accreditation reports before the NUC management committee.
He noted that during physical accreditation visits, evaluators verify the actual number of staff present, inspect their employment records, and confirm qualifications.
“It is noteworthy that during physical accreditation visits, evaluators ascertain the actual number of staff on the ground. This process involves the physical inspection of their employment records and qualifications. Therefore, any attempt to present temporary staff or falsify records by any university will attract sanctions, as prescribed in the guidelines,” he warned.
He added that the commission maintains strict ethical standards during the accreditation process, and disciplinary measures are taken against any NUC official found to have compromised the system.
“Consistent with the code of conduct for accreditation, the NUC equally maintains strict ethical standards during accreditation, which panellists are fully aware of. Additionally, any Officer of the NUC found compromising the process or abusing the terms of his/her engagement, shall face severe disciplinary action,” Ribadu said.
He explained that the NUC, which was established by law, is the sole regulatory body empowered by Section 10 of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act, Cap E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, to conduct accreditation of programmes in universities and other degree-awarding institutions.
“It is one of the core mandates of the Commission, wherein its Accreditation process is a rigorous evaluation system designed to ensure that universities uphold high academic benchmarks. Therefore, the objective of accreditation is conformity with the extant Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards,” he said.
Ribadu said that in carrying out the accreditation, the Commission adopts a peer-review approach, engaging independent panels of professors who are subject experts to serve as evaluators for academic programmes.
He also noted that the NUC’s regulatory framework has earned it recognition across the continent, with countries such as Namibia, The Gambia, and Niger Republic coming to study its quality assurance system.
“Furthermore, the commission’s regulatory regime had been adjudged to be one of the most robust quality assurance ecosystems in Africa with countries like Namibia, Gambia and recently the Niger Republic amongst others had come to understudy its best practices.
“Additionally, foreign universities regularly utilise NUC’s accreditation results for the screening of applications for admission purposes in their institutions,” he stated.
While admitting that no accreditation system is perfect, Ribadu said the commission is committed to strengthening its processes and deepening the culture of quality assurance across the Nigerian university system.
“We reckon that there is no such perfect Accreditation system anywhere in the world, but we are poised as a University System to continually work on deepening our culture of quality assurance.
“NUC’s programme accreditation evaluates individual academic programmes to ensure compliance with the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards,” he said.
The Executive Secretary noted that once evaluators submit their reports, the Commission conducts a rigorous internal review to confirm that proper procedures were followed. This is followed by a ratification process where the findings are defended before the NUC Management Committee.
He said, “Once accreditation results are submitted to the NUC, the Commission undertakes a vigorous internal review of the reports to ensure that evaluators adhere to the NUC’s accreditation guidelines. This is followed by a ratification session where NUC representatives defend the findings of the accreditation reports before the NUC Management Commission.
“This process, which is typically thorough and painstaking, is tailored towards ensuring the credibility of the results.”
He added that the commission encourages all universities to operationalise their own internal quality assurance systems in line with global best practices.
“As a university system which has enjoyed glorious years of effective and reputable quality assurance, we are proud to say we are determined to ensure that the Nigerian University System operates at full strength despite the numerous challenges that it continues to face.
“As a good practice, universities are enjoined to establish and operationalize their respective internal quality assurance mechanisms to enhance the culture of quality.
“We also wish to inform the public that the NUC remains committed to ensuring that Nigerian universities produce competent graduates who can compete globally.
“As a result, we urge stakeholders and the general public to rely on verified information rather than on baseless accusations that undermine the credibility of our higher education system,” Ribadu added.
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