Aminat Isah, Abuja
National Universities Commission (NUC) has said University degrees awarded to Nigerian Citizens in other African countries in less than two years will not be recognised by the Nigerian authorities.
The executive secretary NUC, Prof. Rasheed Abubakar, stated this in Abuja at the 11th International Conference And Workshop On Quality Assurance In Higher Education In Africa (ICQAHEA), adding that some Countries in Africa allow Universities to award degrees in 6 months, while many countries allowed one or half year.
Speaking on the theme, “Towards Sustainability Of The Continental Harmonisation Agenda Of Higher Education In Africa,” Rasheed said quality assurance has been a major problem in African University system and to overcome it, all African Universities must come together and harmonies their ideologies.
“In some of our West African countries, two years is on the high side, from your secondary school in one and half year you come back to Nigeria with a degree and you want to go for NYSC, but we tell them we don’t have legal jurisdiction outside Nigeria but we will advise you.
“Anybody with a secondary education who claims to have a degree in less than two years should not be recognized. We find it very difficult for some of our sister countries allowing, as I said some Institutions within their border awards degree for one year,” said Rasheed.
He further said issue of Institutions coming into Nigeria to illegally advertise and open up Institutions will be approach more aggressively by the comission, and also enjoined Nigerian universities to prioritize English Language Clinics for teaching of English to students of non-English coming for programmes in Nigeria, as it is improper for a Nigerian to go to non English speaking countries to study the language.
The Minister of State for Education, Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba earlier in his remarks said despite the growth of higher education in Nigeria, the challenge of access to universities is worrisome, and promised the government’s resolve to increase the carrying capacity of universities and licensing of more private universities.
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