The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, Abuja, Professor Abubakar A. Rasheed, has expressed gratitude to the World Bank for its intervention in the higher education sub-sector, through the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) project, describing it as the biggest support, ever, to research in the Nigerian University System (NUS).
Professor Rasheed, who made the remark when he received the Bank’s Regional ACE Task-Team Leader, Mr. Andreas Blom and Co Task-Team Leader in Nigeria, Ms. Aisha Garba Mohammed, in his office on Thursday, 5 January, 2017, said he was aware of the impact that the ACE Project could and was making in the NUS and thanked Mr. Blom for his commitment to the success of the Project. He noted that efforts were being made, the world over, to strike a balance between teaching and research. In the United Kingdom, he said, a Bill was recently passed to ensure more emphasis on teaching than research, a shift from the norm, where research had been given priority. He added that the reverse had been the case in Nigeria, where universities focus more on teaching. With the ACE Project, however, the universities’ focus was gradually shifting to research.
The Executive Secretary informed the team that he would be visiting the 10 ACEs in Nigeria, hopefully, by the end of March, to hold open and thorough discussions with the principal officers of the Centres, with a view to better understanding their workings and challenges and how to address them. He acknowledged that some of the ACEs were performing better than others. To this end, NUC would organise a one or two-day retreat, shortly after the supervision visits to the Centres, which would bring the Centre Leaders and Vice Chancellors of the respective universities together to share ideas and peer review themselves.
Professor Rasheed, who chairs the ACE National Project Performance Review Committee (NPPRC), observed that the Project was approaching its mid-term. It was, therefore, necessary to conduct an impact analysis of the Project on the immediate and remote communities of the Centres. This, which he said, NUC would be glad to coordinate, would be a continuous process and would help to identify the gaps in the Project and how to fill them. He also stressed the need to ensure that monies disbursed to the Centres are judiciously spent.
The NPPRC Chairman noted that the proposed quarterly journal of the Project would help to improve the visibility of the Centres and publicise their activities beyond the walls of their host universities as well as inform relevant stakeholders and potential partners of the prospects of the ACEs and the Project as a whole. He assured the World Bank of NUC’s commitment to the success of the Project, adding that the Commission would conduct resource verification and accreditation of the Centres’ programmes within the next two months.
Prof. Rasheed with (L-R), World Bank Education Specialist, Ms. Aisha Garba Mohammed; Mr. Blom and ACE Project Coordinator, Dr. Joshua Atah
The World Bank team had, earlier, been received by the Deputy Executive Secretary II, Mr. Ibrahim Dan’Iya, after which it held a meeting with the ACE Secretariat at the Commission to review its 2017 Work Plan. Mr. Blom thanked the Executive Secretary for his humility and commitment to the Project. He welcomed the proposed activities of the Secretariat for the year, noting that the focus should be on helping the Centres to achieve results that would ensure the success of the ACE Project. He also welcomed the Secretariat’s idea of conducting a tracer study of all graduates of the ACEs. He, however, suggested that the Secretariat should start with a pilot that would focus on graduates of one or two disciplines, before going the whole hog across all the Centres.
Mr. Blom stated that the Bank’s attention had been drawn to the fact that the ACE Project in Nigeria was not yet at mid-term, due to some challenges encountered at its inception, including the disbursement bottlenecks associated with the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy. He, however, observed that some of the ACEs were not on track, in terms of funds utilisation and project execution. The Bank was, therefore, considering a reduction of grants to some of such ACEs, to be channelled to more productive ventures. According to him, the re-allocated funds could be tied to a fresh set of results that are peculiar to Nigeria, such as governance, administration, etc, to make Nigeria a bigger power. He assured that the re-allocation would be done transparently and in the right direction.
Deputy Executive Secretary II, Mal. Ibrahim Dan’Iya (middle), flanked by (L-R), ACE Communications Officer, Mrs. Adebukola Olatunji, Mr. Blom, Ms. Garba Mohammed and Dr. Atah.
The Regional Team Leader disclosed that the World Bank was considering carrying out a skills study for a new project, aimed at equipping the youth, particularly those in higher institutions, with appropriate skills to make them self-reliant. He said that a big country like Nigeria should focus on using education to reduce poverty. The analysis should, therefore, centre around poverty and economic development. For the new project, Mr. Blom said, the Bank would collaborate with the NUC and other higher education regulatory agencies, such as the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), over the next three years. He expressed hope that the Honourable Minister of Education and the Executive Secretary could drive the process of involving all relevant ministries and agencies.
The Executive Secretary advised the team to bring up a proposal, outlining the details of the proposed skills study and a formal request indicating the calibre of experts required to conduct it and pledged NUC’s collaboration with the Bank to facilitate the process.
At the meeting were members of the ACE Secretariat at NUC, including the ACE Nigeria Project Coordinator, Dr. Joshua Atah; Project Accountant, Mrs. Hauwa Amos; Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Dr. Mrs. Chinelo Nwosu; Communications Officer, Mrs. Adebukola Olatunji; Project Management Officer, Mr. Obiechefu Ukwuagu; Procurement Officer, Mr. Jubril Abu Momoh; Project Management Officer, Mr. Peter Tobrise; Finance Officer, Mr. Zakariya Sini Kwanta; Internal Auditor, Mr. Matthew Ihayere; Communications Officer, Mrs. Yvonne Orekyeh as well as Project Management Officers, Miss Patricia Eromosele, Mr. Michael Ejegwa, Mrs. Lulu Udoka and Mrs. Onyinye Akauba.
Dr. Joshua Atah had earlier presented a brief report of the meeting of the World Bank team with the ACE Secretariat, which was held on Wednesday, 4 January, 2017. The meeting reviewed the progress of the 10 ACEs in the country and the Secretariat, as well as the road map for the year ahead. Extensive discussions were held on the critical needs of the Secretariat and the activities in its 2017 Work Plan, to ensure prudent and efficient utilisation of resources to achieve set goals.
The meeting also discussed the World Bank supervision visits to the Centres at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; University of Benin (UNIBEN) and University of Jos (UNIJOS). The World Bank team advised that for subsequent supervision visits, NUC should incorporate experts, whose opinions are respected in the higher education sub-sector such as, former Vice Chancellors, former Executive Secretaries and experts in the priority areas of the Project: Agriculture, Health and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
President of the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, Prof. Kingston Nyamapfene (centre) at the meeting of the World Bank and NUC teams with the PAMI, AUST Faculty
The World Bank team, along with some members of the NUC Secretariat team, paid a supervision visit to one of the ACE at the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, the Pan African Materials Institute (PAMI), where issues peculiar to the Centre were discussed and the Centre’s laboratories, inspected.
The team was received by the President of the University, Professor Kingston Nyamapfene, Head of Materials Science Department, Professor Peter Onwualu; Centre Leader, Dr. Omololu Akin Ojo; his Co-Centre Leader, Dr. Shola Odusanya; Director of Accounts, Mr. Ben Okonkwo and Mrs. Victoria Agbo of Multilateral Projects. In the World Bank/NUC team were Mr. Blom, Ms. Garba Mohammed, Dr. Atah, Dr. Mrs. Chinelo Nwosu and Mrs. Adebukola Olatunji.
The World Bank/NUC teams and PAMI Faculty, after inspecting the Centre’s laboratories.
Prof. Rasheed with the World Bank team and members of the ACE National Secretariat at NUC