Stakeholders in the education sector, including the West African Office of the Association of African Universities, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and the National Universities Commission, have launched a Framework of Action for Accelerating Academic Excellence in the Nigerian higher education system.
This was as they urged the government not to neglect the funding of higher education in the country.
According to a statement on Saturday in Abuja, the AAU Ambassador for Higher Education for West Africa and former NUC Executive Secretary, Prof Peter Okebukola, during the one-day seminar underscored the importance of accelerating academic excellence to national and regional development.
Okebukola, who is also the President of the Global University Network, called for sustainable funding of higher education while urging judicious utilisation of resources.
In his keynote address, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, identified numerous barriers to academic excellence and proposed strategies for building bridges across the barriers to advance excellence.
In the preamble to the framework, which was adopted by the 256 participants who attended the seminar, participants applauded the contributions of the immediate-past Executive Secretary NUC, Prof Abubakar Rasheed, in the revitalisation of university education in Nigeria, now being actively pursued by his successor in office, Christopher J. Maiyaki.
The statement noted the steady march towards academic excellence as demonstrated by improvements in the ranking of Nigerian universities in the recent global ranking.
They emphasised that government should not abdicate its responsibility to properly fund higher education in Nigeria.
It added, “They were determined to make the Nigerian university system a model in Africa that will showcase excellence in teaching and research as well as relevance in solving the socio-economic challenges facing the country.”
Similarly, the key elements of the framework, which were listed at the end of the seminar include improved resourcing of physical facilities and staff welfare, step up the drive to academic excellence especially through research and production of quality graduates to ensure the attainment of national development goals and the SDGs;
It added, “Request all VCs to study the report of COREVIP 2023 and implement recommendations in their universities; effective and judicious use should be made of the resources available in the system;
“A scheme for getting all staff and students to have needed technology especially laptops for online delivery of the CCMAS should be instituted without delay; implement recommendations from COREVIP 2023 that are aimed at improving academic excellence in higher education in Nigeria.”
