VC committee seeks collaboration with U.K on joint degree programmes

The Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with universities in the U.K on exchange programmes that would benefit both countries.

Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, Chairman, CVCNU, who made this known in Abuja on Tuesday at a news conference, said that the Nigerian University System (NUS) would be willing to explore the beneficial relationships.

According to him, NUS has a similar structure to that of the British University System, hence CVCNU is seeking a relationship with the Universities in the U.K.

Edoumiekumo said that the coming of the organisation would further deepen relationships on exchange programmes that would boost the country’s transnational education.

“NUS will greatly benefit from the partnership as the issue of cost to study abroad will be taken care of.

“With this relationship, you can be in Nigeria and receive the kind of quality education you will want to get when you travel to the U.K.

“As a country, we also want to have joint degree programmes with universities in the U.K. This will help boost the quality of education in the country,” he said.

He gave assurance that the NUS would implement the MoU to the latter which would translate to development in every sector of the country’s economy.

He added that the general assembly of the committee had planned to train 500 Bachelors of Science (B.Sc) and Masters of Science (M.Sc) students that would drive research for the country.

He also emphasised the need to collaborate on training women and having them in the decision-making process of the university system.

“NUS is 74 years old and has a similar structure to that of the British University System. CVCNU is seeking a relationship with the Universities in the U.K.

“Since the inception of the NUS, we have been able to produce 760 Vice Chancellors out of which 37 are women.

“And currently, we have 16 of them out of the 218 universities in the country comprising the Federal, state and private universities approved by the NUC,” he said.

Edoumiekumo said that the committee had supported the universities by providing platforms for sharing experiences saying that one of the platforms was the development of a home-grown plagiarism software called the eagle scan.

He, therefore, welcomed the collaboration, saying that it would facilitate the exchange of staff and learning support.

Also, the University U.K International Team Leader, Prof. Steve Smith, said the team was overwhelmed by the positive attitude of the Nigerian government in embracing collaboration.

“Nigeria is one of the five countries the U.K has asked to focus on. We want to form a long-lasting sustainable partnership.

“We want to look at a way we can work with universities in Nigeria and partner on transnational education without having to pay to the U.K.

“So, to be successful in the system, you have to be internationally inclined in research, which is what we will do in our exchange programmes,” he said.

Similarly, the Director, UUKI, Mrs Vivienne Stern, said that the MoU would serve as a deeper structure on how to explore the discussion on challenges of the NUS in the area of teaching staff and training of students that would be of benefit to the two countries.

Stern added that the COVID-19 pandemic had posed a great challenge to countries around the world, adding that with the collaboration, there would be a transformation in the area of teaching, which would be achieved through systematic engagement with university leaders.

Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Abuja, Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, said that the university leaders were well prepared to key into the initiative which the collaboration would bring. (NAN)