FG Tasks Varsities On Quality Assurance Mechanism

The Federal Government has urged universities in the country to set up quality assurance system that will ensure the production of quality grandaunts that will address national strategic goals and development.

The Acting Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Education, Hajia Hindatu Abdullahi, gave the charge on Tuesday in a keynote address at the on-going International Conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Africa co-sponsored by the National Universities Commission, European Union, and Economic Community of West African States, in Abuja.

She said: ‘’Quality Assurance guarantees the provisions of information to the public, gives credibility for the work, ensures accountability, provides clarity and enhances quality and standard.

‘’The challenge of access has continued to be formidable and government has done so much to improve access, expansion of human carrying capacity, support distant and open mode of learning and establish more varsities.‎ Internal assurance mechanism is critical to the development of higher education’’.

The Executive Secretary National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie, in his welcome address at the occasion, challenged the management of tertiary institutions in Africa to ensure the transformation of their varsities to a stronger one, maintaining that only such a strong position can guarantee the emergence of quality academic programmes and products.

He said: ‘’Realising efficient quality of Academic programmes in our universities in Africa had remained a challenge, just as we still battle other social challenges like food supply, language differences, as well as health challenges, but the greatest however is Academic excellence. Many of our universities lack the requisite strength that will ensure quality and except you strengthen the tertiary institutions, there can be no quality academic product’’.

Okojie further identified several other core challenges plaguing the African continent to include climate change, low