Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, the National President of ASUU, has told the National Universities Commission (NUC) to ensure that courses offered in every university in the country are accredited.
Awuzie made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
According to him, due to the failure of NUC to accredit some courses at the University of Abuja, some students have been made scapegoats.
The Federal Government on April 4, suspended some courses, including Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Engineering and Agriculture at the University of Abuja.
Awuzie said that the departments offering the courses failed to get NUC accreditation making many students not to graduate after studying the courses for years.
“NUC must be more resolute in ensuring that federal and state universities provide the necessary facilities that will qualify them for accreditation before running their programmes.
“The NUC and JAMB should work together in ensuring that university programmes are accredited before they come out to advertise to members of the public.
“JAMB should not allow any student to apply for programmes that are not accredited in order not to make our children to be scapegoats. ’’
He condemned situations where universities were coming up with academic? programmes without permission, accreditations and the necessary facilities to make the the courses operational.
Awuzie said the discovery at the University of Abuja became open after the Needs Assessment Committee of Universities went round to establish the universities' needs, problems and to recommend solutions.
“The students who were victims of the University of Abuja's lapses were to be transferred to other universities, having spent eight years for a programme of six years. ''
He advised the students involved to agree that they had to lose some years and they should also be ready to be transferred to other universities.
The ASUU President said that the Federal Government had also set up a committee to liaise with professional bodies and the NUC to show speedily attainment of accreditationS.
HE stressed that the vice chancellor should expedite action to provide good infrastructure and equipment, necessary for the training of doctors, engineers and? veterinary doctors at the University of Abuja.
?