Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, Chairman of the Board of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, has stated that conflicts between the NUC and professional regulatory bodies are imposing significant costs on Nigerian universities and students. Ogundipe made this statement during the 16th convocation lecture of Osun State University (UNIOSUN) held on Thursday at the university's main campus in Osogbo. The lecture, titled 'Coping With Double Oversight: Harmonising The NUC And Professional Bodies For A Sustainable University System', focused on the challenges created by overlapping regulatory responsibilities within Nigeria's university system.
Ogundipe noted that regulatory bodies other than the NUC do not have the power to stop universities from admitting students, as this authority rests with the NUC. He identified several professional regulatory bodies, including the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, COREN, Council of Legal Education, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, Architects Registration Council of Nigeria, and Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, among others. According to Ogundipe, the relationship between the NUC and these professional bodies has become complex and contentious due to different laws, accreditation criteria, and professional standards.
The former UNILAG Vice-Chancellor argued that Nigeria does not need less regulation of university education but better regulation, emphasizing that quality assurance must remain central to the system. He stated that overlapping mandates, inconsistent requirements, and duplicated accreditation processes can create difficulties for institutions and students, stressing the need for clearly defined responsibilities. Ogundipe also noted that regulation succeeds only when it is predictable, transparent, proportionate, and developmental.
Ogundipe identified six major fault lines in the relationship between the NUC and professional bodies, including curriculum ownership and content, accreditation timelines and costs, minimum standards versus professional standards, institutional capacity, professional council resistance to new universities, post-NYSC professional registration challenges, and data gaps. He opposed attempts by professional bodies to determine qualifications for academic work in universities, noting that Nigeria still has an insufficient number of universities relative to its population.
The professor proposed a five-pillar framework to address these challenges, comprising legislative and policy clarification of jurisdictional boundaries, a permanent national consultative framework, harmonized accreditation protocols, student-protective developmental accreditation, and a shared national regulatory information platform. He also outlined a six-point implementation agenda, including establishing a national task group, developing unified regulatory matrices, piloting coordinated accreditation, enforcing student-protection protocols, institutionalizing regulatory intelligence, and leveraging collective advocacy.
Ogundipe urged graduating students to understand the regulatory framework governing their professions, advising them not to wait for the system to come to them but to register with relevant professional bodies and participate actively. He also disclosed that the NUC would require universities to update their data annually as part of efforts to address moonlighting among academic staff, while urging institutions to take greater responsibility for maintaining standards.
In his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIOSUN, Professor Odunayo Clement Adebooye, noted that the university had grown significantly, with an increase from 66 academic programmes in 2022 to 128, and postgraduate programmes from 99 to 299. He also disclosed that the university had secured 175 international research grants, describing this development as part of the institution's growth in teaching, research, and academic engagement.
Key points
- The NUC Chairman proposed a five-pillar framework to address regulatory challenges.
- Ogundipe urged graduating students to register with relevant professional bodies.
- The university has grown with an increase in academic and postgraduate programmes.
