The Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta has stressed the need for Universities to lay emphasis on ensuring that their degrees are targeted at solving the nation’s problems. Prof. Kuta stated this on Wednesday, January 4, 2023 at the Senate Chamber, during a briefing on the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) organised by the Academic Planning Unit of the University. “It is high time we take ownership of our problems; and the only place problems can be addressed is the university. Our curricular should be focused towards addressing such problems,” he further elaborated.
He also noted that the event was designed to specifically sensitize Dean’s and Heads of Departments in the University on the modified curriculum in order to have a clear understanding of the task ahead of them. “The principal purpose of this meeting is to actually sensitize us; to let us know that something is coming on board in the name of CCMAS. The meaning of that is that NUC is trying to fine-tune the types of degrees we award in Nigerian universities and make the universities take ownership of the degrees they award “the Vice-Chancellor further clarified.
Making a presentation at the ceremony, the Director, Academic Planning Unit, Prof. Abdullahi Muhammed, explained that the CCMAS which was unveiled by the National Universities Commission (NUC) on December 5, last year, sought to include all stakeholders in curriculum development, thus, affording the universities the platform to contribute 30 percent in the curriculum development process with the view to reflecting the uniqueness and contextual peculiarities of the respective institutions while on the other hand, the NUC provides the required 70 percent.
Prof. Muhammed further explained that in order to fulfil its cardinal mandate of making up the 30 percent of the curriculum, each university is tasked to develop and submit two (2) home-based courses in each of its programmes to the NUC on, or before January 15, 2023 for further review.
The CCMAS has stipulated 150 credit units for 5 year courses and 120 for 4 year courses as requirements to be to be met by students before graduation. The 70 percent of each of the above as to be derived from the CCMAS stand at 105 and 84 credit units for the 5-year courses and the 4-year courses respectively.
There was also a question and answer session at the event.