ASUU Rejects Curriculum Designed.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) expressed its strong dissatisfaction with the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) prepared by the National Universities Commission (NUC). ASUU’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, stated that the CCMAS posed significant challenges, threatening the quality of university education and encroaching upon the authority of university Senates in Nigerian universities.
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According to Osodeke, it was perplexing that the NUC unilaterally imposed 70% of pre-packaged CCMAS contents on the Nigerian University System, while university Senates, which hold statutory responsibility for academic program development, were left with only 30% involvement. He emphasized growing concerns about the numerous flaws and inadequacies in the CCMAS documents, noting that many university administrators, despite their dissatisfaction, refrained from publicly commenting on the matter.
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The statement acknowledged that the NUC has the responsibility of setting academic standards and ensuring quality in the Nigerian University System, as mandated by Section 10(1) of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act. However, ASUU stressed that the process of developing these standards is equally crucial, if not more so, than the resulting “minimum standards.”
ASUU Rejects Curriculum Designed.
ASUU highlighted that the NUC recently produced CCMAS documents, encompassing 70% of curricular contents in 17 academic fields, with minimal or no input from the universities.
The statement listed the academic disciplines covered by the CCMAS, including Administration and Management, Agriculture, Allied Health Sciences, Architecture, Arts, Basic Medical Sciences, Computing, Communication and Media Studies, Education, Engineering and Technology, Environmental Sciences, Law, Medicine and Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Science, Sciences, Social Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine.
Furthermore, the statement revealed that some university Senates openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the NUC’s ongoing efforts to impose the CCMAS on Nigerian universities. ASUU characterized the CCMAS as a nightmarish model of curriculum reengineering, deviating from the established norms of the Nigerian University System. The documents were criticized for being flawed both in process and content. ASUU argued that the notion of an “untouchable CCMAS” with 70% weightage lacked a sound basis and would not withstand critical scrutiny by university Senates.
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ASUU proposed that the NUC should encourage a bottom-up approach, similar to the current practices at the University of Ibadan, where universities can propose innovations for program reviews. These proposals should then be evaluated and synthesized by competent expert teams, allowing for the review of existing Basic Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) documents or the creation of new ones as needed. This approach differs from the top-down or take-it-or-leave-it model of the CCMAS, offering a more inclusive and collaborative process.
