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The Federal Government has begun sweeping reforms aimed at strengthening accreditation and quality assurance in Nigeria's tertiary institutions by ending the practice of borrowing academic staff, equipment and facilities to secure accreditation approvals.
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, announced the initiative on Thursday in Abuja while inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Strengthening the Accreditation and Quality Assurance System for Tertiary Institutions.
According to the minister, accreditation should reflect the true and sustainable capacity of institutions, stressing that universities, polytechnics and colleges of education must maintain prescribed standards all year round rather than only during accreditation exercises.
To achieve this, Alausa directed the committee to develop a digital, data-driven and continuously verifiable accreditation system that will deploy geospatial mapping, geotagging and secure digital records.
He explained that the technology would verify the identity and institutional affiliation of academic staff, as well as confirm the ownership, functionality and continuous availability of laboratories, workshops, libraries and other critical facilities.
The minister also called for tougher measures to curb illegal admissions and other loopholes undermining the nation's tertiary education regulatory system.
The committee, chaired by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, is expected to review existing accreditation policies and recommend measures to strengthen monitoring, verification, technology adoption and continuous quality assurance.
The Federal Ministry of Education said it would work closely with the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and other stakeholders to ensure accreditation standards remain authentic, functional and beneficial to students throughout the year.
