FOUR NEW PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES RECEIVE PROVISIONAL LICENCE FROM NUC

The National Universities Commission (NUC) on Tuesday presented provisional licences to four private universities in Nigeria. The new universities are Greenfield University, Kaduna; Dominion University, Ibadan, Oyo State; Trinity University, Ogun State; and Westland University in Iwo, Osun State.

The licences were presented on Tuesday, 05 February, 2019 by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, (represented by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board, JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede) at the NUC headquarters in Abuja following the approval of  the Federal Executive Council for the new private universities in January, 2019.

According to Mr Adamu: “For the avoidance of doubt, the provisional approval for the four universities to operate is intended to create room for effective mentoring and qualitative growth within the first three years of operation.” Accordingly, during the said probationary period, the four universities will be attached to older generation federal universities for academic and administrative mentoring to be moderated by NUC. A substantive licence would only be issued to any of the universities if subsequently adjudged to be well-governed after three years of probation. As part of the criteria, the proprietors of the universities are to ensure that admission of students is carried out through JAMB while sustaining “funding towards improving the infrastructure, equipment for teaching, learning and research as well as human resources.”

On his part, the executive secretary of NUC, Abubakar Rasheed, revealed that the four emergent universities had been undergoing stringent assessment since 2002 in spite of government’s recognition that the number of universities is inadequate to meet the annual demand for university education placements. Nonetheless, “the commission is not ready to sacrifice access on the altar of quality and that is why we will keep on beaming our searchlight on the governance of your private universities to ensure adherence to best practices in support of quality university education delivery,” he said. Thus, all the four provisional licensees went through a period of incubation ranging in the case of Westland University, a period of 16 years. For Dominion University, a period of 13 years, 8 years in the case of Trinity University and a period of five years in the case of Greenfield University.

The NUC scribe also revealed that the Commission had adopted a 14 steps procedure an applicant must satisfy before opening a university – a process that is currently being applied to over 200 applications for new private universities in the country before it. The challenge, he said, was how to make the “steps easier without compromising more stringent steps required” so as to add more numbers to Nigeria’s 170 universities (43 federal universities, 48 state-owned universities, and 79 private universities).

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN NIGERIA

STEP 1: Application, in writing, stating the intent for the establishment of the University

Interested applicants are expected to apply in writing, to the Executive Secretary, NUC, stating the intent for the establishment of the university. The declaration of intent should include, in brief, the name of the proposed University, the location, the mission and vision, the nature of the proposed university and its proposed focal niche in the current Nigerian University System, etc.

STEP TWO: Interview of Promoters to Ascertain their Seriousness.

STEP THREE: Collection of Application Forms

Following due consideration of the application in writing, individuals or corporate bodies seeking to establish a private university are expected to send a representative to come to the Commission with the prescribed payment to collect a set of ten (10) application forms in person. Upon collection of the forms, copies of guidelines and other requirements are also given for proper guidance. Other clarifications are also sought and given as appropriate.

STEP FOUR: Submission of Application Forms and Relevant Documents

The completed application forms are forwarded with a non-refundable processing fee in Bank Draft addressed to NUC along with one or more of the following documents, if ready:

* Draft Academic Brief;

* Draft Physical Masterplan;

* Draft University Law;

* Counterpart Deed of Assignment;

* Certificate of Incorporation/Registration of Proprietors (accompanied with Articles and Memorandum of Association);

* Deed of Assignment/Certificate of Occupancy;

* Letter of Available Liquid Cash; and

* Bank Guarantee of Funds to the tune of N200 Million from a reputable Bank.

It is usually advised that the last two documents should not be procured by the applicant until processing of the application has reached an advanced stage. Submission should also be at the instance of the Directorate of Establishment of Private Universities (DEPU).

STEP FIVE: Interactive Meeting of DEPU with the proposed university

Normally, DEPU invites the members of the Planning & Implementation Committee of the proposed university to NUC for an interactive meeting as a prelude to the first verification visit to its campus site. During the meeting, the process of documentation and other matters bordering on university governance are discussed and many grey areas are resolved. The meeting also affords the proposed university the opportunity to interact with the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive of NUC and his Management team for words of advice and encouragement. Also, a seminar presentation is delivered to avail the prospective Proprietors of the basic philosophy of universities and their societal roles.

STEP SIX: Completion of Submission of Outstanding relevant documents

The Proprietors of the private Universities who had submitted part of the relevant documents are expected to make full submissions at this stage. The relevant documents include the draft Academic Briefs, draft Masterplan and the draft University Law.

STEP SEVEN: Intensive Review/Analysis of Documents by experts in Relevant NUC Departments

Following submission of the completed application forms and relevant documents, the documents are forwarded to the professional Departments for analysis after which their comments and observations on such documents are sent to the Committee for onward transmission to the proposed university. For instance, Academic Brief and Masterplan documents are forwarded to the Department of Academic Standards. The legal documents such as the University Law, Counterpart Deed of Assignment, Certificate of Incorporation/Registration and Deed of Assignment/Certificate of Occupancy are usually forwarded to the Legal Unit of the Office of the Executive Secretary.

STEP EIGHT: First Verification Visit

DEPU undertakes a verification visit to the proposed university to review their documents with them on a one-on-one basis and to assess the level of preparedness in terms of documentation. During this visit, inspection of physical facilities is also undertaken to ascertain their adequacy for the proposed Colleges for the first phase. In addition, courtesy calls are paid to the government establishments that provide infrastructural facilities such as electricity, water and telecommunication including the traditional rulers and local government headquarters of where the proposed university is located. These visits are undertaken to solicit the support of the host community for the proposed university and also let them know that a university is being proposed in that area. This visit is considered very important as it reveals whether the Proprietor is committed to the project and is a prerequisite to the final verification visit.

STEP NINE: Revision of Documentation by Proprietors based on Report by DEPU of NUC

Following the first visit, the proposed university is expected to revise its documents and undertake the modifications of its facilities to reflect the prescriptions given during the visit. The revised documents are forwarded to NUC for assessment of compliance. If found that progress has been made in that direction, the second (final) verification visit is scheduled to the proposed university.

STEP TEN: Second Verification Visit

This is expected to be the final visit to the proposed university, depending on the level of compliance with the given prescriptions. As a result, the documents are reviewed along with the Planning & Implementation Committee with a view to perfecting them to bring them to an acceptable level. The evidence of available liquid cash documents is inspected and analyzed by the financial expert on the Committee. The Bank Guarantee of Fund to the tune of N200 million will also be sighted along with other legal documents for eventual submission to NUC. Final inspection of physical facilities is also carried out to ascertain whether they are in consonance with the approved NUC norms.

STEP ELEVEN: Security Screening of Proprietors and Board of Trustees

The purpose of screening the proprietor (Promoter) and members of Board of Trustees of the proposed universities is to enable the Government to ascertain the credibility of those who are sponsoring the university project and to ensure that they are not persons of questionable character.

STEP TWELVE: Approval By NUC Management

DEPU, on return to NUC from the final verification visit, writes a comprehensive report with scores to the NUC Management for its consideration and further necessary action.

STEP THIRTEEN: Approval By NUC Board

The NUC Management, upon receipt of DEPU report on the proposed university, considers and makes appropriate recommendation to the University Development Committee (UDC) of the NUC Board for its consideration after which the latter submits it to the Board for ratification. The Board, thereafter, forwards its recommendation to the Federal Government through the Honourable Minister of Education for its consideration and approval.

STEP FOURTEEN: Approval by Federal Executive Council

The Federal Executive Council considers the recommendations of the NUC Board and Security report on the proposed university