THE acting executive secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr Chris Maiyaki, has reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to reposition Nigerian universities to improve on the quality of graduates for global competitiveness as well as expand access to university education in the country.
Maiyaki stated this when he received a delegation from the German Parliament led by the chairman, Committee for Education, Research and Technology Assessment, Mr Kai Gehring, in his office.
The delegation include: Ms Nina Rehman; Ms Renate Lydia Wolf and Head of Political Embassy of Germany, Mr Matthias Dold as well as Ms.Uduak-Abasi Akpabio.
The team was in Nigeria to conduct a selection interview for eligible Nigerian students for the International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS) and to hold international sessions about the programme at various universities.
Nigeria and Germany have had various university collaborations with more than 4,000 Nigerian students studying in the Western European country.
The acting executive secretary of NUC told his visitors that their coming was timely, just at the time of widespread call for repositioning of Nigerian universities and the reforms being put in place by the Federal Government through the commission to strengthen the quality of the system as well as increase access to university education.
He said the reform initiatives led the commission to launch the Transnational Education (TNE) guidelines, as well as the production of a new curriculum for Nigerian University System (NUS) to meet global trends, through a team of experts and stakeholders of the academia assembled together which was supervised by the commission’s deputy executive secretary (Academics), Dr Noel Biodun Saliu.
Maiyaki, while giving a brief overview of the evolution of university education in Nigeria, noted that the country’s journey started with the University of Ibadan (UI), then as a University College, London established in 1948, with others subsequently coming on board, and that today, with a total of 273 universities, comprising 62 Federal, 63 state and 148 private universities.
He said the yearning for university education had continued to increase with two yearly enrolment of about 2 million applicants, while the country could only accommodate about 500,000 to 700,000 students yearly.
He spoke on the efforts of the commission at ensuring quality assurance while informing the delegation that the NUC was empowered to establish private universities, lay down minimum Academic Standards, pointing out that for any private university to be licensed it must go through a 14-step process.
Mayaki commended Mr Gehring for his very elaborate speech that dwelt on salient and topical issues that bothered on research, climate change and skilled labour education.
He acknowledged that the budgeting of 35billion Euros on education alone by the German government showed its level of commitment to the sector, stating that Nigeria had a lot to learn and tap from Germany.
He said Nigeria has a programme geared towards enhancing gender equality, as many women are in the higher education system, explaining that contribution of women is very pivotal in the country’s development.
He informed the team that Nigeria had about 20 research institutes and that the NUC had the mandate to guide the delegation on its decision-making to ensure the programme got to the appropriate constituents.
The NUC scribe asserted that the commission had remained a veritable gateway of channelling scholarship schemes, recalling that it served as the secretariat of the past Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
He noted that Germany had invested adequately in its manpower, while functioning as a welfare state and thanked the German government for the scholarship schemes which Nigerians had already benefited, but pleaded for more opportunities for Nigerian youths.
The German Parliamentarian, Mr. Kai Gehring, earlier in his speech, said his delegation was in Nigeria to conduct a selection interview for eligible Nigerian students for the International Parliamentary Scholarship (IPS) and to hold international sessions about the programme at various universities.
According to him, the IPS programme was aimed at providing young individuals from different countries with the opportunity to participate in an intern-ship at the German Parliament and learn about the German political system.
Harping on the status of Germany in the comity of nations, he said, his country had been a trailblazer in the aspect of skilled labour, technology development and entrepreneurship.
He added that Germany had done well for its citizens and currently served as the engine room for Europe’s economy.
He said it was fascinating to hear of the wide range of achievements recorded in the Nigerian University System (NUS), describing it as an honour to be in Nigeria, as both countries have rich things to share in common.
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