Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has expressed worry over the quality of engineers churned out from the university system.
It said many engineering graduates could not adapt professionally to workplace situations hence the need for curriculum review to enhance standards.
This is the crux of the ongoing three-day workshop by COREN at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) main campus at Nwaniba, Uyo, the state capital, with academics in Engineering drawn from across no fewer than 10 Universities in the South-South geo-political zone.
Addressing the academic convention held at the 1,000-capacity ETF Hall, the COREN registrar, Prof Adisa Bello, said the workshop became necessary to galvanise and aggregate ideas on the need to update and enrich the Engineering curriculum with course contents that would engender professionalism in Engineering graduates.
He stressed the need for Engineering invocations to be driven by what he termed; Outcome-Based Education (OBE), to entrench in graduates simple Engineering methodology for easy internalisation, practice and expression in workplace situations.
“The objective has been to recognise and acknowledge the value – -added in transforming students admitted into engineering programmes into capable engineering professionals with sound knowledge of the fundamentals, an acceptable level of professional skills and personal competence for ready employability in the national economy,” Bello explained.
He recalled that “after 52 years of existence, COREN is faced with some existential realities that make it necessary to change the paradigm of the Nigerian Engineering education system.”
He said: “There is an expansion of engineering programmes in variety and number at various engineering faculties. This makes it necessary for COREN to strengthen its accreditation system.
“Second, the rapid pace of globalisation and emerging technologies make it necessary for engineering faculties to meet the requirements of local employers and international job markets in the Engineering and Technology sectors.
“COREN needs to mediate in regulating the processes that lead to local and international recognition of Engineering qualifications from higher educational institutions in Nigeria. Such mutual recognition is expected to improve the quality, proficiency and mobility of COREN registered Engineers.”
He disclosed other measures in the Engineering reforms:
“I would also like to use this medium to bring to your notice that COREN is presently working out modalities for the implementation of NUC-COREN joint accreditation of engineering programmes going forward,” he said.
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