Following criticism from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the National Universities Commission (NUC) on Friday defended the establishment of the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).
The commission will supply 70% of the basic course requirements for graduation in Nigerian universities based on the new curriculum, with the universities covering the remaining 30%.
The new curriculum framework, according to ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke, will weaken the authority of the university senate in Nigerian universities and threaten the quality of higher education.
The NUC “pre-packaged” 70% of the CCMAS contents were being “imposed” on the Nigerian University System (NUS), the union claims, which is nonsensical.
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However, the commission clarified that the purpose of the “70:30 NUC: University provision for the curriculum” was to gradually transfer control of the curriculum to the universities, “where it belongs,” in a statement by its Deputy Executive Secretary (Academics), Dr. Noel Biodum Saliu.
Saliu stated that the commission believes that if the idea is fully implemented, universities will run the general requirements for their programmes in line with global realities, allowing them to carve out a niche for themselves by introducing courses based on their uniqueness.
The commission emphasised that Nigerian academics, not the commission, decided on the so-called NUC component of the curriculum.
“The Commission’s approach is to de-emphasize uniformity, in contrast to ASUU’s contention that the CCMAS will harmonise university curricula across all Nigerian universities. Exactly that is what the 70:30 NUC: University curriculum provision accomplishes, according to Saliu.
