Adhere to national guidelines on transactional education, FG warns foreign varsities

The Federal Government has asked foreign universities operating in Nigeria to adhere strictly to the country’s guidelines on transnational education as developed by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The instruction was given by Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, on Thursday in Abuja at a meeting with the chancellor of RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-CAMDEN, one of the oldest universities in the United States of America (founded in 1776).

Sununu, in a statement issued by Ben Goong, the Director of Press & Public Relations at the ministry, expressed Nigeria’s eagerness to partner with international universities in order to improve access to high-quality higher education in Nigeria.

During the visit of the Chancellor of Rutgers University, a copy of the National Guidelines on Transnational Education was presented to them.

During the event, Sununu informed the guests that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has placed access to high-quality education as a high priority. He also mentioned that the Federal Ministry of Education takes the responsibility of the president seriously and is willing to do everything necessary to provide the majority of Nigerians with access to quality education.

The Minister tasked institutions of higher learning in the country to collaborate with their foreign counterparts to train more professionals to replace those exiting the system instead of lamenting over the issue of brain drain, adding that Nigeria has capacity to provide a significant chunk of manpower needs around the globe, given the country’s population.

Tanko Sununu lauded the collaborative efforts of Rutgers University with the University of Lagos and Ibadan, maintaining that the Federal Ministry of Education will do everything within the ambit of the law to encourage collaboration between Rutgers University and Nigerian Universities, especially in the areas of Science & Technology.

Speaking earlier, Chancellor of Rutgers University, Antonio Tillis told the Minister that his university is seeking to renew the Memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the university of Lagos as well as expanding collaboration with other Nigerian Universities in areas of research and exchange of academic programs.

Chancellor Tillis was accompanied on the working visit by the senior vice chancellor of Rutgers University, Jimmy Jung.