The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has kicked against the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), designed by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
According to the Union, the curriculum is a threat to quality university education and an erosion of powers of the Senate in Nigerian universities.
Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU’s President, who made the declaration in a press statement on Friday, said it was inexplicable that NUC pre-packaged 70 percent CCMAS contents and imposed it on the Nigerian University System.
While noting that there were growing concerns about the numerous shortcomings and gross inadequacies of the CCMAS documents, Osodeke lamented that the University Senates, who are statutorily responsible for academic programme development, were left to work on only 30 per cent.
He said: “ASUU is not unaware that setting academic standards and assuring quality in the NUS is within the remit of the NUC. Section 10(1) of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act, Cap E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, enjoins the NUC to lay down the minimum standards for all universities and other degree awarding institutions in the Federation and conduct the accreditation of their degrees and other academic awards.
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“However, the process of generating the standard is as important (if not more important) than what is produced as “minimum standards”.
“In this instance, the NUC has recently, through some hazy procedures, churned out CCMAS documents containing 70% curricular contents in 17 academic fields with little or no input from the universities.
“The academic disciplines covered are (i) Administration and Management, (ii) Agriculture, (iii) Allied Health Sciences, (iv) Architecture, (v) Arts, (vi) Basic Medical Sciences, (vii) Computing, (viii) Communication and Media Studies, (ix) Education, (x) Engineering and Technology, (xi) Environmental Sciences, (xii) Law, (xiii) Medicine and Dentistry, (xiv) Pharmaceutical Science, (xv) Sciences, (xvi) Social Sciences, and (xvii) Veterinary Medicine.”
The statement added: “The CCMAS is a nightmarish model of curriculum reengineering. It is an aberration to the Nigerian University System. The CCMAS documents are flawed both in process and in content. There is no basis for the 70% “untouchable CCMAS,” which cannot stand the test of critical scrutiny of university Senates.”
