Education
Accreditation, Our Key Challenge – CHST’s Provost
Iam an insider: I was a
student here, grew through the rank and file, became a lecturer, held different positions, sometimes as Head of Department (HOD), then Director in the school, and finally, now, the Acting Provost.
“So, I am part and parcel of this college. I know everything about this institution, hence, my focus is to ensure that I put in place policies aimed at improving the academic profile of the institution.
These were the words of the Acting Provost of Rivers State College of Health Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Dr Nnamdi Amadi.
In an exclusive interview with The Tide, Dr Amadi who is the second internally generated head of the school, explained that his goal of improving the academic profile of the college and ensuring that it is reckoned with in terms of excellence was achievable.
The key challenge, he said is provision of necessary facilities like well equipped classrooms, laboratories and hostels among others, stressing that they were the core problems facing the school, which his administration must strive to overcome inorder to attain excellence. According to him, this would ensure that all the programmes and courses in the institution attain accreditation.
Towards ensuring that the school attains that required excellence, he said, every other aspects have been fine-tuned to make it easier for the school to forge ahead.
“It is going to be easy because in this institution, we work as a family. All hands are on deck to ensure that we achieve our aim: the Bursary, Academic Planning and every other Departments as well as staff and students work closely towards taking the institution to an enviable height”, he explained.
Beyond these challenges, Dr Amadi acknowledged the importance of finance in executing and or putting in place necessary facilities which are criteria for the programmes in the school to be accredited.
“Already, there are excruciating challenges which we have in this college. The major challenge is to ensure that all our courses are accredited, because without accreditation, the certificates we award may amount to nothing since accreditation is what gives meaning to the certificates.
Accreditation, the Acting Provost explained, passes through various stages: It starts with the school putting in place necessary facilities before inviting the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to undertake an assessment visit. This is followed by another visit during which provisional or full accreditation is given to programmes depending on state of facilities available.
From 2014 when the NBTE accorded a provisional accreditation status to three programmes, out of eleven in the college, he said, efforts to improve on the facilities in the school have been near impossible due to the fact that management of the school had to rely on only Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which he said, is barely enough to provide other equally necessary services in running the school.
Such services, according to him, include provision of essential services such as water and light, security, payment of casual staff and the day-to-day running of the school.
Consequently, the college now faces the possibility of not only losing the provisional accreditation given to three of its programmes, but also not having a chance of the remaining eight programmes being accredited.
“By now, we are supposed to call on NBTE for full accreditation to those programmes we have already gotten provisional accreditation, and, possibly, get accreditation for Higher National Diploma (HND).
“But because of lack of finance, we have not been able to secure full accreditation for these other ones we have gotten. As I talk to you now, we are almost at the verge of losing the accreditation we have gotten”, he lamented.
A cursory look at facilities on ground in the campus reveals that accommodation for instance, is far below the over 4,000 students that require to be accommodated in the campus.
What the college has as a library and laboratory could at best go for a rickety arrangement to fulfil all righteousness.
This is by far below modern standard in which institutions now compete in such fields as e-library and the most equipped laboratories suitable to dispense what is required of a modern college of health sciences and technology.
Some of the students who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed personal fears regarding the status of their certificates if their programmes are not accredited by NBTE.
“The implication is that whatever we are struggling for, the pains we are going through in order to have a certificate will amount to nothing if our certificates cannot be recognised when we go to seek for job.
“This is why we are appealing to the government to please come to our aid by doing the needful so that programmes in this school can be accredited by the relevant authorities”, some of the students expressed pleaded.
Dr Amadi explained further that although several efforts have been made to present the challenges of the school to the Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike since his assumption of office in May, 2015, the political situation had made it difficult.
“But now that the Supreme Court has upheld his election, I believe that as a Governor that listens to the plight of his people, he is going to attend to the challenges”, he said.
He expressed fears over the worst case scenario should the NBTE withdraw the provisional accreditation given the three programme of the college and the possibility, of not accrediting any other programme.
“If we lose accreditation for those programmes, it means we are going back to the starting point.
“For us to regain the accreditation, it means we have to go back to the basics to provide those facilities, and it will be terrible.
“Moreso, it will also lead to a kind of retrenchment, because if we do not have money to sustain some of the programmes, definitely, we will step some of the programmes down.
“When we do this, lecturers who teach those programmes both part time and full time, will have to leave as well, and this will add to the unemployment situation in the state”, he said.
Sogbeba Dokubo
Dr Nnamdi Amadi
The Covenant University (CU) has, for the second time, been rated as the best university in Nigeria.
According to Times Higher Education‘s 2024 rating, Covenant Unirersity, as a growing, dynamic vision-driven university, founded on a Christian mission ethos and committed to pioneering excellence at the cutting edge of learning, is among the top 1,000 universities in the world.
The 2024 ranking includes 1,906 universities across 108 countries and regions. The Ranking Website indicates that the grading was compiled based on their new World University Ranking (WUR) 3.0 methodology which includes 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.
Analysis of the latest ranking on Thursday showed that the university based in Ota, Ogun State, is following on the ranking by the University of Ibadan (UI) as the second-best in the country, with the Federal University of Technology, Akure clinching the third position.
Currently ranked 801st university in the world, CU first gained prominence in 2018 after it emerged as the best university in Nigeria and the sixth-best university overall.
The ranking webpage explained that the site is trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments, and industry experts, adding that the 2024 league table reveals how the global higher education landscape is shifting.
It stated thus; “This year’s ranking analysed more than 134 million citations across 16.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 68,402 scholars globally. Overall, we collected 411,789 data points from more than 2,673 institutions that submitted data”.
Meanwhile, also captured on the list of universities with the top rating in Nigeria are the University of Ilorin, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Afe Babalola University, and the University of Benin.
Others include the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Lagos State University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University, and the University of Port Harcourt.
Available statistics showed that of the 15 top universities in the country, nine are located in the South West region, two in the South-South region, two in the South East region, one in the North Central zone, and one in the North West zone. Interestingly, the North-East zone was conspicuously missing from the list.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have raised an alarm over fake sites for the ongoing printing of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Notification Slip which contains vital information such as the date, venue, and time of candidates’ examinations.
In a joint briefing by the NPF and JAMB recently in Abuja, candidates are enjoined to patronise only the approved sites by the JAMB, so as not be defrauded.
The Force Spokesman, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who signed a press release on behalf of the two Government agencies said: “The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) hereby bring to the attention of the public the ongoing printing of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Notification Slip which contains vital information such as the date, venue, and time of candidates’ examinations.
“Unfortunately, the emergence of several fake websites created by unscrupulous individuals with the intention of misleading candidates has been observed necessitating this joint press briefing.
“These fake sites are designed to deceive innocent candidates into providing personal details such as registration numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers. These details are then exploited for malicious purposes.
“Both JAMB and the Nigeria Police Force condemn these fraudulent activities and hereby reiterate the readiness to safeguard the interests of candidates and maintain the integrity of the examination process.
“We urge parents, guardians, and all stakeholders to ensure that candidates print their UTME Notification Slips only from the Board’s approved website: www.jamb.gov.ng. Candidates can print their slips from the comfort of their homes or visit any of the over 700 accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
“It is important to note that we are familiar with the tactics employed by these fraudsters, especially during the annual assessment and admission exercises. We are actively sensitizing candidates and the public about these deceptive practices.
“Any candidate who visits these fake sites will definitely have unreliable information and thereby miss out in the forthcoming exams.’’
“Candidates are advised to print their UTME Notification Slips before Friday, 19th April, 2024, to access vital information about their examinations. Any website other than www.jamb.gov.ng offering UTME slip printing services is fake and designed to defraud candidates. Candidates should also beware of sites offering ‘live’ questions and answers, as they are false and deceptive, and accessing such materials is prohibited.
“The 2024 UTME is scheduled to commence on Friday, 19th April, and end on Monday, 29th April, 2024. We call on parents, guardians, and the general public to join hands in fostering a culture of integrity and compliance with established guidelines. Together, we can nurture a generation of upright and law-abiding leaders by discouraging fraudulent practices and desperation.
“Furthermore, JAMB is partnering with the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) to address online scam-related issues seamlessly. We assure candidates and the public of our firm dedication to ensuring a fair and transparent examination process.
“In addition, the Inspector General of Police has ordered the NPF-NCCC to go after scammers and fraudsters who engage in cyber related crimes and create phishing sites/portals, and cause them to face the full wrath of the law”.
The authorities of the Rivers State University (RSU),Nkpolu Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt says it will commence the First semester examinations.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Acting Registrar of the university, Mrs. I. B. S. Harry and made available to Dean’s and Heads of Departments, adding that the the examinations were earlier shifted to begin today from its initial date of last Monday to enable students who were yet to complete their registration and pay the necessary approved fees and give all students equal opportunity to participate in the examinations.
The statement reads “This is to inform all staff and students of the Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, that the First Semester Examination for the 2023/2024 academic session earlier scheduled to commence on Monday, 8th April, 2024, has been shifted to Monday, 15th April, 2024.”
“The change in date of the Examination is to enable students who are yet to pay stipulated fees/ charges and complete their course registration for the First Semester, to do so.”
All students in this category are advised to utilise the period to make necessary fee payments as well as course registration.”
By: Akujobi Amadi
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