The National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted permission for the London Academy of Business School, in partnership with the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom, to operate in Nigeria.
Speaking with newsmen after a meeting with the acting executive secretary of NUC, Mr Chris Maiyaki, Dr Derek Watson, who led the delegation from the University of Sunderland, said, “The meeting with the executive secretary was very productive. The University of Sunderland has over 30 years of experience.”
He noted that the first academic session is expected to commence in January 2024 at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria, Abuja.
Watson, an associate professor from the Faculty of Business Law and Tourism, assured that students in Nigeria would have the same academic standards as their counterparts in the UK. At the same time, the management promised to respect the environment and guidelines from the NUC.
“We were the first UK university to enter the market. What we have agreed upon today is the critical importance of following compliance procedures.
Additionally, we will source credible academics to deliver our programmes from LABs who are qualified teachers and practising consultants. The students will get the same experience as those studying in England.”
Also speaking, the President/Director of Studies at the London Academy of Business School (LABS), Dr Larry Jones-Esan, explained that the visit to NUC was to obtain the operational licence to establish in Nigeria.
According to him, “The meeting with the NUC today is for us to get the recognition that we are allowed to run the Sunderland courses in Nigeria.
So, we do not need NUC accreditation; what we need is recognition, which is very important. If we run any courses in Nigeria without them recognising it, that degree is useless, and they cannot do NYSC. So, we do not want that to be the case.
“So for us to do that, we have to get their permission first before we go out there and start recruiting students; otherwise, we will be shooting ourselves in the foot. If they come here and say you are doing something illegal, you will pay a fine, and before you get out of that, it will be too much.
“What we have done is that we brought these people in, and I, as the CEO of the London Academy Business School, made sure that we make them aware of what we are doing.
“Today is a very important day for the London Business School in partnership with the University of Sunderland. We met with the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, and discussions went as planned, making sure that we did things right.
“One thing that came out very clearly is that they want people to work with them but work in a way that they respect the authority and respect the system and the environment.
“So we are going to make sure that everything we do follows the guidelines. We have very beautiful guidelines, but if you fail to follow them, you might run into trouble.
If two million people apply for university admissions every year in Nigeria and only seven hundred thousand are getting a place, that is a problem, and that is a challenge. They want to solve that problem, and we think we have come at the right time.
“We thank the delegates from the University of Sunderland for working with the London Academy of Business School to make sure that this gives results as quickly as possible.”
Asked whether the NUC granted a licence to them, he said, “This is the reason why we are here. We have gotten the licence, which is recognition to run this process.
That will be done within a week, and we are hopeful it will be done shortly. We will start running the university in January 2024.”
Earlier, the team visited the Public Service Institute of Nigeria along Kubwa Road, Abuja, which is going to serve as the study centre, and they were received by the administrator and CEO of the institute, Abdul-Ganiyu Obatayinbo.
The administrator said the environment was far better than what the University of Sunderland has in the UK, adding that the institute is saddled with the responsibility of building the capacity of public and civil servants.
He said that the institute has a 500-seat auditorium, 12 different halls of 30-seater capacity each, hostels with 202 bedrooms, a hospital, security quarters, a sports complex, and an entrepreneurship centre, among other facilities that would make teaching and learning conducive.
Some of the courses to be offered at the undergraduate level include computer science, business and management, and network system engineering, among others, while business administration, international business management, and education leadership, among others, will be offered at the master’s level.
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