RSITIE VE S C NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION NI O U M L M A I S N S O I I I O O T T N N A A N N T H C E OU VI GHT AND SER MONDAY A PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY www.nuc.edu.ng th 0795-3089 10 May 2021 Vol. 16 No. 17 Senate Passes Bill To Establish Nigeria Steel Varsity, Ajaokuta he Senate on Wednesday and the Federal Medical Centre Development, respectively. passed a bill seeking to M u b i , A d a m a w a S t a t e Testablish Nigeria Steel (Establishment) Bill, 2021. Senator Sam Egwu (PDP, University, to be located at E b o n y i N o r t h ) , w h o Ajaokuta, Kogi State. The three bills were passed presented the report of the following the consideration of Committee on Tertiary Senate Plenary Other bills passed by the Upper three separate reports submitted Institutions and TETFUND, Chamber were those of: by the Committees on Tertiary said the varsity when Agricultural Research Council Institutions and TETFUND; established, would provide the Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021; and Agriculture and Rural required manpower needs of in this edition NUC Supports Yabatech Conversion to Varsity Blood Transfusion Safety Our Goal — Dr. Agba Pg. 2 Pg. 5 EDITORIAL BOARD: Ibrahim Usman Yakasai (Chairman), Mrs. Offiong U. Edor (Editor), Ogbonnaya Okoronkwo, Francis Azu, Udey Felix, Muhammad Bukhari Musa, Aja-Nwachukwu Samuel, Sadiq Abubakar Enquiries: [email protected] 10th May, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 17 Nigerians in the areas of In his remarks, President of the industry to thrive successfully. metallurgical and technological Senate, Distinguished Senator advancement. Ahmad Lawan, said the growth In his words: “Our way to and stability of the Nigerian growth, development and He added that the institution economy would be largely stability is to have our steel would provide specialized impacted by the revival of the industries functioning. And services in engineering and steel industry. this university, if and when training in every aspect of established, will definitely education and fields of applied A c c o r d i n g t o h i m , t h e provide the necessary and learning. establishment of the Nigeria needed manpower for the steel Steel University would provide industry in our country.” the required manpower for the NUC Supports Yabatech Conversion to Varsity The Executive Secretary, National Marine Academy, Oron, Akwa him, NUC had been praying for Universities Commission (NUC), Ibom respectively, to universities the reversal due to the merits Professor Abubakar Adamu and the Bill for an Act to establish observed. Inter-University Centres (IUCs) in Abuja for the Arabic Language When operational, he said that the Village and the French Language first work of NUC would be to Village, held at the National undertake resource verification to Assembly Senate Hearing Room, Abuja, last week Monday. Represented by the Director of Public Affairs, Malam Ibrahim UsmanYakasai, he recalled that Ibrahim Usman Yakasai Representative of the ES, NUC Rasheed, mni, MFR, FNAL, has expressed the Commission’s Sen. Sunday Solomon Olamilekan unflinching support to the efforts Dep. Chairman, Senate Committee of the Federal Government Tertiary Institutions and TETFund towards establishing more the respective institutions to universities in order to make ascertain the availability of university education accessible to human and material resources to Nigerians. k i c k - s t a r t t h e i r d e g r e e Sen. Robert A. Boroffice, programmes. He stated this at the Senate public Senate Chief Whip and Reps. of Senate President hearing on the upgrade of the Yaba He equally informed the Senate C o l l e g e o f Te c h n o l o g y YABATECH and KADPOLY Hearing Committee that NUC (YABATECH) Lagos, Federal were once converted to varsities, s u p e r v i s e d o n l y d e g r e e Polytechnic, Ilaro, Kwara and only to be reversed. According to programmes, as a result, its MONDAY BULLETIN | A Publication Of The Office Of The Executive Secretary Page 02 10th May, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 17 jurisdiction does not cover learning conditions in the nation’s infrastructural needs, while also National Certificate of Education tertiary institutions via legislations. balancing access to education (NCE) programmes or Diploma among diverse demographics in Certificates. This, he said, would cause the the country. According to him, institutions to stand out as sound, these would in turn help Nigeria He also said that the crux of the virile and vibrant systems, with close up the gap in its public hearing was to aggregate enormous benefits for teeming t e ch n o l o g i c a l k n ow - h ow stakeholders’ views and opinions as Nigerian youths seeking for required to compete favourably inputs into the Bills, with a view to knowledge. with the rest of the world. producing the necessary legislation towards meeting the yearnings and He stressed that the collective Similarly, the Senate Chair stated aspirations of the Nigerian people desire and shared legislative values that, establishing Inter-University in the education sector. of the Senators was to make the Centres for Arabic and French Nigerian education sector vibrant Studies would also go a long way He urged the Senate Committee on through proactive legislation and to in addressing Arabic and French Cross section Senators at the meeting Tertiary Institutions and TETFund ensure a more programmatic and language deficiencies and to set motion in place as well as value oriented system that was improve proficiencies in mechanisms that would allow for robust, affordable and accessible corporate governance around the improvement in all facets of our for youth in areas that border on world. This was evident education sector in the country for management, teaching, research, considering the urge for language better tomorrow. especially in specialized areas such skills required across professions as maritime sciences and at the global level for ease of Chairman, Senate Committee on technology. imparting knowledge with Te r t i a r y I n s t i t u t i o n s a n d comparative advantage and TETFund, Senator Ahmed Baba Commenting on the upgrades of e n h a n c e e m p l o y m e n t Kaita, represented by his Deputy, Yaba College, Maritime Academy opportunities for the teeming S e n a t o r S u n d ay S o l o m o n and Federal Polytechnic Ilaro to Nigerian graduates among the Olamilekan reaffirmed the Senate’s full-fledged Universities, he comity of nations. commitment towards rejuvenating explained that their conversation t h e d e p l o r a b l e s t a t e o f would certainly go a long way in Explaining further, he noted that infrastructural, teaching and ensuring the spread of educational the upgrade of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron to the MONDAY BULLETIN | A Publication Of The Office Of The Executive Secretary Page 03 10th May, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 17 status of a University of Maritime Nigerians in the education sector. • The upgrade of the two Studies, was meant to promote higher institutions into Federal specialised field of studies with a The Senate President, who spoke Universities would provide a hub view to solving the acute shortage through the Senate Deputy Leader, for cutting-edge research and of well-trained manpower needs Senator Robert A. Boroffice, urged learning that would encompass of the Maritime industry in stakeholders to brainstorm and multi-disciplinary approaches, Nigeria as it remained the make positive contributions knowledge acquisition and economic hub of Africa. This, towards achieving the desired dissemination; and. t h e r e f o r e , r e q u i r e d t h e objective for which the six Bills were repositioning of its indigenous subjected for public hearing and • To serve as a mechanism and better trained personnel to legislative scrutiny in the interest of for dispensing higher values manage her maritime sector. promoting the educational needs of which existing universities can Nigeria. offer for the purpose of training Audience at the event Earlier while declaring the event focused, qualified, efficient and open, the Senate President, He listed the aims of the bills as dedicated corps of engineers. Senator Ahmed Lawan, said that targeting at actualizing the following the Senate would not rest on its objectives: He argued that the establishment oars in discharging its legislative of these Universities would responsibilities so as to change the • To promote employment definitely serve as a pathway for existing narratives built around the opportunities for the host instituting affordable education education sector for the greater communities and other qualified resource and emerge as Centres good of all. These efforts, he said, Nigerians, and as well provide of Excellence. He promised that was to align all its activities to c o n d u c i v e a n d e n a b l i n g the Senate would continue to reflect and rejuvenate the environment for graduates from the support Tertiary Institutions by educational policies of the envisaged University of Technology enacting enabling laws to improve incumbent administration and to compete favourably with their standard of higher education also meet the expectations of counterparts globally; across the length and breadth of the country. MONDAY BULLETIN | A Publication Of The Office Of The Executive Secretary Page 04 10th May, 2021 Vol.