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The Federal University of Allied Health Sciences (FUAHS), Enugu has been given the approval by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to begin verification of the institute’s 18 degree programmes to enable it to take off smoothly.
Chris Maiyaki, the acting executive secretary of the NUC, who was represented by Jude Akubue, the academic planner at NUC speaking during the commencement of the verification exercise, said the commission approved the verification of the 18 programmes for take-off of the university.
“We are glad to be here because today is historic for the university and us; it’s an epoch one for us because, after this visit, you will know whether you have the nod to run the programmes as a university. Therefore, we congratulate you for this transition and President Tinubu for approving the university,” he said.
The maiden senate of the Federal University of Allied Health Sciences, Enugu had approved 22 programmes across five allied healthcare faculties.
However, the NUC selected 18 programmes for verification, paving the way for their launch in the 2024/2025 academic session.
The authentication exercise is essential in ensuring that the university meets the required standards to offer quality education in the health and social welfare sector.
Some of the allied health science programmes include Nursing Science; Dental Technology: Public Health: Health Education: and Medical Laboratory Science, among others.
Moreover, Maiyaki explained that the verification exercise team encompassed of resource personnel carefully selected from different universities across the country, such as the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; and Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo; among others.
“We are going to use Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standard (CCMAS) documents as our benchmark and that will be the basis for the assessment.
“The CCMAS was introduced last year and the implementation started from the 2023/2024 academic session, so when you get approval for these programmes, it’s the CCMAS that you are going to use as a minimum of 70 percent content and the remaining 30 percent you are going to use to suit your uniqueness as a university,” he said.
John Emaimo, the acting vice-chancellor of FUAHS applauded President Tinubu for giving his approval for the transition of the former college into a full-fledged university and the first health science university in Nigeria.
Emaimo also commended the NUC for taking its time to choose the verification team to help nurture the university, though yet on paper until the academic activities began to take place in the university.
“The team is well chosen to deliver on their assignment and this is just the beginning. The university is starting today by this verification, we are adding another feather for universities in Nigeria to mould more minds into the society. We are confident that the team will put us in the right direction to get the university accreditation.
“What we are doing is for humanity, trying to intervene in the current need issues in Nigeria, to make sure that we have a place for the young people in the society. We, the staff are ready to help you in whatever you want to verify so that at the end of the day, you will give us a better way to go and we take it up from there,” he said.
The verification exercise is a follow-up to President Tinubu’s approval on March 15, 2024, for the upgrade of the former Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu to a full-fledged university.
Charles Ogwo, Head, Education Desk at BusinessDay Media is a seasoned proactive journalist with over a decade of reportage experience.
