School Reopening: NUC Gives Fresh Directive To Universities

Nigerian universities have been warned not to violate the full cycle of their semester academic system as schools reopen after many months of closure due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Naija News understands that the directives were contained in a statement which copy was made available to newsmen by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The directives were issued as the academic commission directed vice-chancellors of universities to resume academic activities on January 18. The development is in accordance with the directive of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Naija News understands.

The directive signed by NUC’s Deputy Executive Secretary (Administration), Chris Maiyaki, on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, urged the tertiary institutions to safeguard lives by strictly adhering to all laid down protocols by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to curb the spread of dread Coronavirus disease.

“I am to add that universities on resumption of academic activities, must under no circumstance violate the full cycle of the semester system, consistent with the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) approved by the NUC, as well as other extant quality assurance standards and guidelines,” NUC’s statement noted.

Recall that Nigeria’s public universities have been shut down since March 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19, coupled with strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

However, ASUU had suspended the strike long time action on December 23, 2020, after reaching an agreement with the federal government on their demands.