NUC Assesses Federal Varsity’s Postgraduate School, Faculty Restructuring

A resource verification team from the National Universities Commission (NUC) on Monday assessed the School of Postgraduate Studies and Faculties at the Federal University Gusau.

Jamilu Ibrahim Gusau, chief information and public relations officer of the school announced this in a statement yesterday.

The exercise was aimed at determining the readiness and suitability of the university to offer a wide range of postgraduate programmes, including Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, academic and professional Master’s degrees, and postgraduate diplomas across various faculties and departments.

It also included the assessment of the recent splitting of the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences into two autonomous bodies.

Receiving the delegation, the vice-chancellor, Prof. Tukur Adamu, wished the officials a successful exercise.

Adamu noted that the visit formed part of the quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that academic programmes are developed and implemented in line with prescribed standards.

“As rightly captured by the team leader, whatever one is doing sometimes requires a third eye. People who write papers or news stories appreciate this better. At times, you write and review a document repeatedly without detecting any error, but once it is given to someone else, he immediately identifies issues that may have escaped your attention,” Adamu stated.

The vice-chancellor, however, drew the attention of the team to the fact that Federal University Gusau is a relatively young institution, having been established in 2013.

He explained that FUGUS started from scratch without a take-off site, unlike older universities such as ABU and UDUS, which commenced operations from existing facilities.

“I invite you to go round and see what we have put in place in terms of facilities and human resources. As the third eyes we expect you to be, we hope you will identify areas that require improvement and guide us accordingly,” he added.

In her remarks, the Team Leader, Professor Raliya Muhammad Bello of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, underscored the significance of the resource verification exercise, describing it as a critical process aimed at ensuring that the University is adequately prepared to offer quality postgraduate programmes that could stand the test of time.

She assured the University Management that the team would conduct the exercise objectively and professionally, providing a fair assessment that would serve the interests of both the University and the Commission.

The Resource Verification Team, which was divided into three sub-teams, subsequently undertook thorough assessments of structures, facilities, and human resources at the School of Postgraduate Studies, the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Education, the newly restructured faculties carved out of the former Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, the Central Library, and other critical areas.

The Team Members were guided during the exercise by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Aliyu Usman Moyi; the Director of Academic Planning, Dr Shehu Adaramaja Lukman; the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, Professor Kabiru Abdullahi; the Deans of the relevant faculties; the University Librarian; and the Director of ICT.

During the exit briefing, the chairmen of the three sub-teams unanimously expressed satisfaction with the infrastructure, facilities, and human resources available at the School of Postgraduate Studies, the Central Library, the e-Library, and the various departments proposed for the postgraduate programmes.

The sub-teams particularly commended the University for its commitment and efforts toward establishing robust postgraduate programmes capable of meeting the required standards.

They, however, highlighted a number of observations and offered recommendations for further improvement.

Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tukur Adamu, commended the Resource Verification Team for its thorough evaluation, professional guidance, and constructive recommendations.

He assured the team that the University Management would carefully consider all observations and recommendations and take appropriate action, as the Institution awaits final verdict of the NUC on the exercise.

The nine-member Team included distinguished academics such as Professor Raliya Muhammad Bello, Professor Muhammad S. Umar, and Professor Usman Naji Gimba.

Other members of the Team were Jibril Ibrahim Kofar-Mata, Bawa Yusuf, Hassan Sada Rawayau, Babangida Ali, Mustapha Jauro, and Dansabo Aliyu, all from the National Universities Commission.

The visit underscored the unwavering commitment of the Federal University Gusau under the leadership of Professor Tukur Adamu to advancing academic excellence and meeting the rigorous requirements of relevant regulatory bodies for postgraduate education in Nigeria.