FG reiterates commitment to improving quality of tertiary education

THE federal government has pledged to do all it can to improve the quality of tertiary education in the country, in line with the vision of the current administration.

Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who said this, added that government would continue to support initiatives towards enhancing quality university education.

Adamu spoke at a workshop on Professional Development Course for Leaders of Teaching and Learning in Nigerian Universities, organised by the National Universities Commission and the University of Sussex, United Kingdom, in Abuja.

The one-week training has ‘Transformative Higher Education Pedagogy and Practice’, as its theme.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Sunny Echono, the minister said the ministry would continue to support efforts aimed at honing the pedagogic skills of lecturers.

He said, “We will continue to support initiatives which seek to enhance quality education in Nigeria. I understand that this training will cover up-to-date and informed approaches to meet the contemporary competitive educational terrain.”

NUC executive secretary, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, said the commission had commenced the process of reforming the curricula of the Nigerian University System (NUS).

He said there was a need to design Nigeria’s curricula to meet the present and future challenges in order to better equip graduates and prepare them to fit into future roles capable of contributing significantly to national development and global competitiveness.

Rasheed said: “As part of concerted efforts at continuous improvement in the quality of university education in Nigeria, the commission has already triggered the process of curricular reforms in the Nigeria University System, cognizant of the very dynamic nature of the frontier of knowledge, especially in today’s technology-driven knowledgeable economy.

“The curricular reforms are also driven by the commission’s awareness of the complexity of the skill sets that will be required of graduates of our universities, some of who may be expected to function at jobs that may not be in existence today.”

Represented by the director, Research, Innovation and Information Technology, Dr. Suleiman Ramon-Yusuf, Rasheed said the training was to sharpen the dons’ skills to meet contemporary challenges.

“Our belief is that if we organise periodical professional development courses for our lecturers in modular formats, we will achieve the same objective of quality. This quality will enable us to have better university graduates.

“This partnership with the University of Sussex will ensure a quality hands-on training of our lecturers. It is also based on train-the-trainers as the delegates will return to their institutions to spread their skills,” he noted.

The pro-vice chancellor for Research, University of Sussex, Prof Michael Davies, said the training would expose the lecturers to “modern educational skills and facilities” which the university was known for.

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