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).
Director of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Ben. Goong disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday, January 11, 2024.
Goong said the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu gave
the directive today in his office in Abuja when he received in audience, the Chancellor of one of the oldest universities in the United States of America, Rutgers University – Camden (established in 1776).
Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu who presented a copy of the national guidelines on Transnational Education to the visiting Chancellor of Rutgers University expressed Nigeria’s readiness to work with universities around the world in improving access to quality higher education in the country.
Sununu who told the visitors that access to quality education was a priority of the Bola Tinubu administration maintained that the Federal Ministry of Education has taken the charge of the president very seriously and will stop at nothing in delivering quality education to the vast majority of Nigerians.
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 had the capacity to provide a significant chunk of manpower needs around the globe, given the country’s population.
Tanko Sununu lauded the collaborative efforts of the Rutgers University with the University of Lagos and Ibadan, maintaining that the Federal Ministry of
Education would 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 was 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.
