Nigeria leads ‘centre of excellence’ pack

At least half of some 31 proposals for African Centres of Excellence (ACE) being considered for funding by the World Bank are from Nigerian universities, education authorities have revealed.

Nigeria is ahead of six other countries – Ghana, Togo, Cameroun, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin-in the run to get the bank’s funding for a total 15 centres when an evaluation committee approves them as soon as next week.

Prof Jonathan Mbah, who led an evaluation team from Association of African Universities, to consider proposals from Nigeria, said Monday in Abuja that scaling through selection by a steering committee will be “a survival of the fittest.”

The proposals from Nigeria were whittled down from an initial 53 submitted by private and public universities for review by the National Universities Commission.

The ACE project hopes to make individual universities centres of excellence in targeted fields-science, technology, engi- neering, mathematics, health sciences and agriculture.

Nigerian university proposals that don’t meet approval might turn to Tertiary Education Trust Fund for finance, suggested NUC executive secretary Julius Okojie, who represents Nigeria on ACE’s steering committee.

“Those that fail the screening process, we will refurbish them and send them to TETFUND to see whether we can use local funding,” he said.

He also suggested possible linkages with the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion to ensure the industry attracts interest and support research and publications that could earn patents.

Okojie noted universities have historically been centres that generate and spread knowledge, insisting Nigeria’s future centres of excellence needed to find sustainable ways to keep to the role.

The evaluation team is to consider whether Nigerian government will commit to own and support the centres, ensure their stability and avoid disruptions to teaching and learning.