The Federal Government has commenced moves to overhaul the accreditation system for tertiary institutions in the country, with the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, warning institutions against presenting borrowed staff, equipment and facilities during accreditation exercises.
Alausa said the government was seeking to transform accreditation from a periodic exercise into a continuous, digital and data-driven quality assurance system capable of verifying the actual capacity of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The minister spoke on Wednesday during the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on Strengthening Accreditation and Quality Assurance Systems for Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.
He said the existing system must be strengthened to make it “more transparent, efficient, evidence-based and difficult to manipulate,” stressing that accreditation should provide an accurate picture of an institution’s capacity to deliver quality education.
According to him, institutions should no longer be allowed to create a temporary impression of their capacity merely to satisfy an accreditation team.
