Reps summon NUC, others for terminating law programme in NOUN

The House of Representatives has invited the Acting Executive Secretary of the National University Commission (NUC) and the Director-General of the Council of Legal Education over the termination of law programme at the National Open University Commission (NOUN).

Others invited include the heads of the Nigerian Law School, the Chairman of the Board of Benchers, and the Vice-Chancellor of NOUN.

This followed a resolution at a meeting between the Vice-Chancellor of NOUN, Prof. Olufemi Peters, and some aggrieved final-year law students with the Chairman of the House Committee on University Education, Abubakar Fulata, in Abuja on Thursday, November 30, 2023.

The programme was allegedly terminated by NOUN, claiming the university Senate’s action was based on the directive of the Council of Legal Education.

The chairman of the committee urged the Minister of Education and heads of other relevant agencies to work towards eliminating the devastating menace associated with the fall in the standard of education in Nigeria.

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He said strikes, insecurity, inadequate funding, and infrastructural facilities, among others, could be tackled with the commitment and cooperation of stakeholders, including the National Assembly.

Fulata said this is possible through evolving new but effective methods while also enforcing the existing ones.

This, according to him, involves re-strategising in addition to providing adequate appropriation for the maintenance of infrastructure.

The lawmaker said this would successfully bring improvement to both the basic and tertiary education sub-sectors.

Speaking, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, said education was facing a lot of challenges in the country.

The challenges, according to Mamman, include learning crisis, out-of-school children running to millions, and the security risk of the unemployability of graduates who lacked the required skills.

He said those who did well academically did so as a result of personal attributes and not because of the system.

The minister added that the polytechnic which is supposed to provide the necessary skills lacks equipment.

The Star