Chinedu Okafor and Toluwanimi Bamigbola
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has emphasized importance of implementing the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) as new basic benchmark for the Nigerian University System.
It disclosed this at a 2-day capacity workshop organized by the Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) Directorate of Academic Planning Unit (DAPU) on the Implementation of the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards” on Tuesday, 19 June, through 20 June 2024 at the Faculty of Science lecture auditorium.
The workshop which was predicated on sensitizing members of the academic on the unique relevance of the CCMAS in the 21st century, focused on national and global development as well as conveying the NUC’s resolve to commence the implementation of the new curriculum.
The Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), an Initiative of The National Universities Commission (NUC), was designed for the education and training of undergraduate students aspiring to obtain first degrees in different areas of education in Nigerian University System.
However, its objectives were to improve the standard of NiÂgerian universities, making gradÂuates from Nigerian universities more employable with a view to equipping them with local, national and internaÂtional knowledge.
While declaring the workshop officially opened, the Vice-Chancellor, Federal University Oye Ekiti, (FUOYE), Ekiti State, Nigeria, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, urged participants to seize the opportunity offered by the Directorate of Academic planning as they brainstorm on the document.
According to him, the workshop which was geared towards the advancement of academic standards in the university must birth positive changes.
He said: “ The reason we have CCMAS is for reviewing our curriculum. We cannot continue teaching the same thing all over again, if we do, it means we are not innovative.
“For me, the most important thing as a university is to have a robust curriculum that will stand the test of time and be useful to our students”.
The Vice-Chancellor, however, reiterated his administration’s focus on having a continued improvement on the quality of the lecturers that would produce the best graduates capable of competing with students from other universities across Nigeria.
Specifically, Prof. Fasina said that Federal University Oye-Ekiti which had been ranked 26th university by the Time Higher Education (THE) in the country no longer a push-over especially in the three and a half years of his leadership. “We will not rest on our oars until we have FUOYE of our dreams,” he added.
The Vice-chancellor, however, commended the Directorate of Academic Planning Unit under Professor Babatunde Omotosho for the workshop which would equip academic staff with the adequate skills and knowledge needed for the effective implementation of the CCMAS.
Accordingly, he urged the participants to give rapt attention to all the plenary sessions and fully participate in the workshop.
Earlier, while addressing the audience, the Director of Academic Planning, Professor Babatunde Omotosho expressed profound appreciation for the management’s unflinching support towards ensuring a successful hosting of the workshop.
Prof. Omotosho, urged participants to engage in open and constructive dialogue during the workshop, saying he was confident that with passion and determination participants would not only meet but exceed expectations in the implementation of CCMAS in FUOYE.
He disclosed that the workshop would be divided into sessions to be handled by resource persons, who would be sharing their experiences on issues relating to better understanding of CCMAS.
Delivery his keynote presentation, Deputy Executive Secretary, NUC , Dr. Saliu Noah, highlighted processes of arriving at a smooth transition from BMAS to CCMAS by the NUC, describing it as an upward review of the academic curriculum to foster a better understanding and learning in education especially in today’s digital world.
Deputy Executive Secretary, NUC , Dr. Saliu Noah
According to him, CCMAS’ relevance would be pivotal towards producing nationally and regionally relevant graduates with high level of human resources for delivering on Africa’s futuristic Vision-2063 and addressing global Strategic Development Goals (SDG).
Dr. NAOH further affirmed that curriculum in the new normal would provide students with a more flexible, personalized and relevant learning experience in order to prepare them for success in the digital age.
He gave out the guideline that the various universities across the federation would provide additional 30% of the curriculum while the 70% of the curriculum would be provided by the NUC to make it a full fledged CCMAS.
The ever increasing need to introduce blended learning in all Nigerian universities were one of the rationale for a transition to the CCMAS bench mark requirement, he said.
According to him, E-learning had not penetrated the university system as it should more so that infrastructure and capacity building must be upgraded and given priority to support E-learning and Blended -learning respectively
However, Dr. Noah decried the conventional BMAS operational in the Nigerian university system, describing it as lacking the capacity to provide the kind of impact the NUC had envisaged as it limited the NUC in the performance of its quality assurance mandate.
Dr. Noah further noted that a successful implementation of the CCMAS would have a commensurate expected output such that the newly reviewed curriculum would reflect the national and international expectations.
He said: “The curriculum will be adequate for training Nigerian university students in the 21st Century as students will be ICT oriented and possess necessary skills required to interprete artificial intelligence.”
Participants
This, he attributed to flexibility, digital literacy skills and real world relevance as part of the benefits of having a full successful implementation of the CCMAS. adding that the use of the technology would meet the specific needs and interests of individual student, facilitate a well blended learning experience as well as help students developed critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are applicable to their future careers.
