Gom Mirian
In a bid to reposition Nigerian universities to be among the best in Africa, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has announced that it will begin implementation of the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) by September 2023.
This is aimed at improving the quality of education in the country’s public and private universities, as well as to guide institutions in the design of curricula for their programmes. It is also intended to bring necessary innovation into the content and delivery of their programmes in order to achieve the overall goals of education and training in the country in line with global practices in higher education.
According to the Acting Executive Secretary of NUC, Chris Maiyaki, who has made the disclosure at the Stakeholders’ Colloquium on CCMAS in Abuja on Wednesday, it would make up 70 per cent of the curriculum, while the university decides what to include in the remaining 30 per cent.
He said: “The role and development of the CCMAS is to ensure commitment in advancing our education and our great nation. NUC is primarily dedicated to ensuring the quality and global competitiveness of Nigerian universities as well as the graduates we produce.
“The development of the CCMAS went through a painstaking process by bringing experts from our universities comprising of professors, regulatory bodies, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and all stakeholders.
“The CCMAS reflects global initiative that will equip graduates with knowledge and wherewithal that will advance the development of the nation.”
Also speaking at the event tagged:”The State of the CCMAS, Sensitisation and Implementation,” the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, said: “There is no better place and time than now to develop a strategy that will guide tertiary institutions particularly universities in their mandate to provide appropriate manpower for the country.
”This is through using a curriculum and applying minimum standards that would guarantee we teach our students in such a way and manner that they would be highly skilled and employable to contribute to national development efforts.
”70 per cent of the total curriculum is captured in the CCMAS while 30 per cent of the curriculum has been ceded to universities Senates to build in the uniqueness of their various universities.”
