The National Universities Commission’s Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) has been rejected by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
ASUU expressed its dissatisfaction, stating that the CCMAS posed a threat to quality university education and undermined the authority of university senates in Nigerian universities.
In a statement signed by Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the national president of ASUU, it was highlighted that the NUC imposed 70% of the CCMAS content on the Nigerian University System, leaving only 30% for the university senates responsible for academic program development.
ASUU raised concerns about the significant shortcomings and inadequacies of the CCMAS documents. While acknowledging that the NUC has the responsibility to set academic standards and ensure quality in the Nigerian University System,
The union emphasized that the process of generating these standards is equally important. The statement criticized the NUC for producing the CCMAS documents without sufficient input from the universities, thereby disregarding the expertise and perspectives of university stakeholders.
ASUU called on the NUC to adopt a bottom-up approach by encouraging universities to propose innovations for the review of their programs, as exemplified by the University of Ibadan.
The proposals from various universities should then be thoroughly evaluated and synthesized by competent expert teams to improve existing curriculum standards or create new ones.
ASUU believes that this approach allows for a more comprehensive and inclusive review process, in contrast to the current top-down model of the CCMAS, which offers limited room for constructive input from university senates.