As part of its core mandate to ensure quality assurance of all academic programmes offered in Nigerian universities, the National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation team paid a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, on Monday, 29th November 2021.
The Accreditation Teams, headed by reputable academics across the country and a NUC representative as its Secretary were expected to inspect all necessary facilities of the programmes in Adult Education, Biochemistry, Bio-medical Engineering, Business Administration (MBA & M.Sc.), Religious Studies, Social work, Economics, Chemical Engineering, Petroleum & Gas Engineering, Fisheries and Statistics.
While welcoming the teams at the Senate Chamber of the institution, the Vice-Chancellor, appreciated them for their selfless service to the nation having journeyed all the way from their respective institutions to Lagos. He informed them that the institution now boast of a student population of over 52,000 at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level.
The University Don raised concerns over the huge electricity tariff being sent to the nation’s tertiary institutions across the country by the distribution companies, while stating that the university has been grappling with the exorbitant amount in recent months as over N1billion naira has been disbursed to the power supplier in the last 11-month.
He, however, revealed that the university despite the unpalatable situation has been ensuring uninterrupted supply of electricity within the campus. He spoke on the importance of the assessment exercise; the peer review mechanism is to ensure compliance to the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (MAS) as stipulated by the National Universities Commission (NUC), and should not be seen as an inquisition but one that will strengthen the university in its academic programmes.
Professor, Mohammed Bello-Shitu, from Bayero University, Kano who spoke on behalf of the team of assessors thanked the Vice Chancellor for being a good host and assured of a very good exercise.
The MAS served as a reference document for programme accreditation until 2004, when the Commission employed the services of distinguished professors to review the MAS and the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) was produced.
