Argentine Ambassador Visits NUC The Ambassador of the Republic of Argentina, Mr. Marcelo Cima, on Tuesday, 11 June, 2013, paid a courtesy call on the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius A. Okojie, OON, to explore areas of collaboration between the two countries in education, especially in areas such as food science, where Argentina had comparative advantage.Welcoming the Ambassador, the Executive Secretary said the country was still struggling to recover from the effects of the Civil War, of 1967, coupled with the brain-drain syndrome, which had resulted in the loss of many seasoned academics, who were now contributing to the economies and development of other nations. Professor Okojie said the Commission had made a lot of progress in expanding access, with the establishment, recognition and licensing of about 70 additional universities from 2002 to date. He noted that quality had improved, through several quality assurance mechanisms, such as programme accreditation and the recently introduced institutional accreditation, which was a more holistic exercise. The Executive Secretary said the NUC had recently commenced Entrepreneurial Studies, in line with a presidential directive, to make Nigerian graduates job creators rather than job seekers. He said Government was addressing the major challenges of the tertiary education subsector, with the injection of additional funds into the system, through increased budgetary allocations. Professor Okojie maintained that one of the challenges of the NUS was identifying areas of research that would interest manufacturers, which had necessitated the Labour Market Observatory Project (LMOP). He said Government had built specialised universities to promote agriculture which was once the mainstay of the nation’s economy. The Executive Secretary reiterated Government’s commitment to addressing the menace of illegal degree-awarding institutions, with the recent collaboration between the Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), adding that NUC was determined to rid the system of degree mills. The NUC Scribe observed that, with the entire world moving towards the direction of largescale economic diversification, no country could be an island, as there were mutual benefits and experiences to gain. Professor Okojie said when different countries brought what they had to the table and shared with others, it would help to build a world of mutual respect. The Ambassador, who said Argentina had already entered into a partnership with the Sokoto State Government, on Genetic Engineering, stated that his country was famous for food production and had expressed interest in replicating same in other parts of Africa. He proposed a staff and student exchange programme for both countries, to enable them to share ideas and glean best practices. Mr. Marcelo Cima disclosed that the Argentine Ministry of Trade would be visiting Nigeria, in July, to further promote the trade relationships of both countries and foster economic understanding. Both parties agreed to follow up on the discussions for the benefit of the two countries. At the meeting were the Directors of Quality Assurance, Professor Chiedu Mafiana; Management Support Services, Hajia Uwani Yahya and the Acting Director, Open and Distance Education, Dr. Suleiman Ramon-Yusuf, Visiting Professor, Eugene Okpere as well as the Chief of Staff to the Executive Secretary, Mr. Chris Maiyaki.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 20:12:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015