NUC Approves New Curriculum, Gives Provisional Licences to 12 New Varsities

To meet the global needs and international best practices, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has said it has approved a new curriculum for universities in the country that will bring to the fore uniqueness of each existing institution.

The Executive Secretary of NUC, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, made this known yesterday in Abuja during the presentation of provisional licences to 12 new private universities in the country.

He said the new curriculum, Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), which was brought about after a comprehensive review of

Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) currently in use, would be unveiled to the public soon.

According to Rasheed, “The Federal Ministry of Education through the National Universities Commission has embarked on radical re-engineering of curricula in Nigerian universities to meet global standards and international best practices towards preparing Nigerian graduates for relevance in the fourth revolution world economy with the skills needed for the future.

“The Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) has been revised to Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).

“The CCMAS, which will soon be unveiled to the public, provides 70 percent of what should be taught along with the expected outcome, while the university will provide 30 percent based on their individual contextual peculiarities and characteristics.”

The NUC boss, while saying access to universities remains a major problem in the country’s education sector, said Nigeria has a little above two million students in the university system, adding that the figure represents about one percent of the country’s population. He commended the promoters of the 12 new private universities for scaling through the 14 stipulated requirements before securing the licences.