The Academic Staff Union of Universities has opposed the Federal Government’s newly established committee on accreditation and quality assurance in tertiary institutions, calling for its immediate dissolution.
ASUU President, Prof Chris Piwuna, said the union supports efforts to improve the accreditation process and sanction universities that manipulate accreditation exercises. However, he argued that university accreditation remains the statutory responsibility of the National Universities Commission.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday, Piwuna urged the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, to strengthen the NUC rather than create a separate structure that could interfere with its regulatory duties.
He said accreditation exercises require greater scrutiny but warned that transferring the responsibility from the NUC could weaken the commission and create overlapping functions.
According to him, ASUU supports the punishment of institutions that fail to meet accreditation requirements, including those that temporarily provide borrowed lecturers, equipment and other facilities during inspection visits.
Alausa had inaugurated the ministerial committee on Wednesday as part of efforts to reform accreditation and quality assurance across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The committee, chaired by former Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, is expected to review existing accreditation policies and standards and recommend measures to improve the system.
The Federal Government also plans to make accreditation more continuous, digital and data-driven, with greater use of technology to verify the lecturers, facilities and other resources available in tertiary institutions.
Alausa warned that officials who compromise accreditation standards could face sanctions, while private institutions found guilty could have their licences revoked.
ASUU, however, maintained that the government should achieve these reforms by empowering the NUC rather than establishing a parallel regulatory structure.
