Enhancing the Competitiveness of Nigerian Engineering Education Through Global Benchmarking – THISDAYLIVE

IyiolaOmisore

Engineering Education (EE) is inseparable from the national interest of any nation. It includes training in the basic concepts of engineering, its subspecialities, in addition to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and all its subgroupings, whether formal, informal, and non-formal.

A vibrant engineering education enterprise serves all professionals and sectors in national development. Engineering education ensures solid foundation in science, research, product development, and equipment standardization as well as project management. Engineering graduates are thus able to effortlessly integrate scientific and engineering principles into processes that contribute to advances in medical care, enhanced national security systems, ecologically sound resource management, and economic growth. As a result, students who graduate with engineering degrees bring highly prized skills into a wide spectrum of sectors in a country’s workforce. Within all these groups, the diversity of engineering graduates’ backgrounds and viewpoints contributes to their ability to achieve the advances in innovation, productivity, and effectiveness that make them valuable contributors to the workplace of any nation.

 Importance of Technical Competencies

Contemporary development and innovation are technology informed, with an increasing need for higher levels of engineering capacity to be deployed across all sectors. However, broad indicators of huge gaps in developing technical competencies are reported across the African Continent. In 2021, companies spent huge amounts of funds on training, much of which paid for workers’ training in basic skills that should have been learned in school. Meanwhile, Africa’s poor performance in teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) eliminates many of the best and brightest school children from the ranks of future scientists and engineers. With little chance to learn in school how science and math skills might translate into professionally useful knowledge, students are unable to make informed choices about further education and work options. As a result, some unprepared students undertake science and engineering studies in college, only to drop out while other, potentially capable students never consider these subjects in the first place. In both cases, precious human and institutional resources are squandered.

Girls, women, and minorities are more adversely affected. As girls move through middle and high school, their interest in Math and Science wanes, due to negative influences from teachers, parents, peers, media and especially at workplaces. Often time, in unconscious ways, their pursuit of these subjects is discouraged. As a result, women represent insignificant percent of the technical workforce compared to their percentage amongst African workers. Success in encouraging and retaining women and underrepresented minorities throughout their pre-college, college, and postgraduate years must be a core component of enhancing the African Science and Engineering workforce.

History of University Engineering Education (EE) and TVET in Nigeria

Accreditation in Nigerian Universities started in 1972 at the following universities: University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University); Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Lagos, Lagos; and University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Similarly, accreditation of Polytechnic Programmes started in 1985 and a common ground was forged by signing the first MOU between National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and COREN in March 2003 to conduct joint accreditation with COREN as team leader.

In their desire to improve the assessment exercise, the two partners re-revised and signed the second MOU in June 2013 and further reviewed and signed the third MOU in September 2021 to accommodate identified gaps in line with the best global practices. A total of twenty-seven engineering programmes have been accredited in 145 under the joint effort of COREN and NBTE assessment list. This has no doubt proven to be effective in optimization of resources and cost.

Section 9 sub-section 6 of the Council for The Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) Act, 2018 as amended provides: “an educational institution for the training of persons in the Engineering profession shall submit syllabus of its programme, content and minimum facilities to the Council for approval before a course approved by the National Universities Commission or the National Board for Technical Education is commenced”.

Consolidating this achievement, COREN and NBTE agreed to commence joint accreditation of Technical Colleges in the country in 2023. There has been inactivity in this task which created a profoundly serious gap in the promotion of quality TVET in the country. Furthermore, the commencement of Nigerian Skills Qualifications Fund (NSQF) under the NSC which tasked COREN to drive the Sector Skills Council for Engineering (SSC4E) and Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) to lead the Council is another excellent opportunity to bring back the lost opportunities and harness the fortunes of TVET in the country.

The COREN third quarter report of 2024 further shows that sixty-four universities offer 368 engineering programmes out of which only two universities and fifteen programmes are not up-to-date on either Resource Verification, Pre-Accreditation and Accreditation assessment visits. COREN is currently finalizing the process of developing and signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to have joint accreditation with Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC).

Changes in Engineering Education and TVET in Nigeria Universities

To consolidate the gains achieved in Nigeria, there are committees established for the three (3) levels of EE and TVET. These committees serve to guide and promote quality assurance in the Universities, Polytechnics and Technical Colleges, respectively. The committees also serve as advocacy platforms and channels for feedback to and from regulatory bodies, professional associations, the institutions, and other key stakeholders that facilitate the quality training of engineering students like Industrial Training Fund (ITF), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), etc.

a) Committee of Deans of Engineering and Technology of Universities (CODET)

b) Committee of Deans of Colleges of Engineering and Technology of Polytechnics s(COMPODET) and

c) Committee of Heads of Technical Colleges (COHTEC)

Chairpersons of these committees are members of the COREN Training & Certification Council Committee. At the apex is the Engineering Accreditation Committee (EAC) that independently plans and conducts accreditation of both engineering and TVET programmes at the three levels, consider and decide the verdict in line with the best global practice. The existence of the three committees can be said to contribute to the following areas: 

a) Total commitment to Implement Outcome Based Education (OBE) in Engineering Programmes

b) Collective support and ownership of long and tedious path of restructuring engineering pedagogy

c) Documentation and peer reviewing of all processes.

d) Building new relationship with Stakeholders

 Current Situation on Promoting Engineering Education and TVET

Nigeria has been on this journey since 1972 with varied performances. Typical of a developing economy, the engineering education and TVET have witnessed difficulties over the 50 years period. For lack of data, the following are some evidence-based and verifiable key milestones recorded which undoubtedly should influence the landscape of this especially important subject matter. The technological advancement, development of human capital, job and wealth creation that can trigger significant socio-economic change of Nigeria are linked engineering education and TVET.

1) Joint Accreditation of Engineering Programmes in Polytechnics MOU between COREN and NBTE

2) Developed Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) for all Engineering Programmes offered in Universities in Nigeria

3) Finalizing MOU between COREN and NUC for Joint Accreditation of Enguineering Programmes in Universities

4) Joint Accreditation to Technical Colleges by COREN and NBTE

5) The adoption of OBE curricular in Engineering Education in Universities

6) Developed OBE Manual for implementers and Guidelines for evaluators.

7) The commencement of NSQF with COREN leading SSC4E for training, assessment, certification, registration, licensing and regulating the Artisans in the Engineering sector,

8) Nigeria attained provisional statutory member of Washington Accord for Engineers at global level.

9) Preparation for submission by Nigeria to request for admission into Sydney and Dublin Accords for Technicians and Craftsmen/Artisans

10)    Published gazattes on different aspects on EE and TVET including Engineering Infrastructure Failures and Forensic Investigation, Whistle Blowing, Intelligence and Surveillance, etc.

11)    Published gazatte of Executive Order 5 for work permit, expatriate quota, mentoring, national content, etc

 Engineering Education new reality in Nigeria

There are nearly seventy universities that offer engineering education with over twenty-three different programmes. This robust resource, if managed diligently, can produce at least 10,000 engineering graduates in the various fields of the noble profession. The question is, how skillful and competent are these pupil engineers? Are they passing through the global procedure right from the time of enrolment up to graduation? Do they observe the mandatory internship under a certified mentor and work in relevant engineering organizations during the NYSC period? These are the basic questions that require truthful answers. To facilitate this discussion, the checklist below was developed to capture the global best practice that all engineering students pass through from enrolment into university system up to certification as registered and practicing engineers. The checklist is transformed into a tabular format to objectively assess the performance of Nigeria.

  TVET new reality in Nigeria (both formal and informal sectors)

The nation has over seven hundred, made up of 145 polytechnics, 418 monotechnics, 204 technical colleges & vocational enterprise institutions (VEIs) and 67 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) providers covering different TVET programmes. This level accommodates the youths, women including girl children, etc running into over three (3) million potential skilled workers. Similarly, the questions raised for graduates of engineering education from universities and polytechnics are not only applicable to this group but also present additional dimensions of lack of training, non-assessment, non-certification, non-registration leading to non-licensing and eventually difficulty in regulation to prevent quackery and save lives and properties. The bottom of the technological pyramid represents this group. Again, a similar checklist in line with the best global practice for TVET is summarized below showing how the trainees and/or mentees advance under normal situations.

Opportunities to Advancing Engineering Education and TVET

Globally engineering education and TVET attracted the attention of regulators and institutions to ensure similarities in curriculum and benchmarks to enable uniformity in assessment and equivalence in skills, competencies, etc. To foster harmony and ease movement of skilled labour, bodies in different jurisdictions have been constituted to become custodians, regulators, and enforcers of the evolving benchmark minimum for academic and practice standards of the Engineering profession. These bodies have gone a step further to form a cordial international consortium and ensure that the qualifications are the same across board.

Today, we have the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) under whose auspices are the three (3) Accords, namely: Washington Accord for Engineers;  Sydney Accord for Engineering Technologists and Dublin Accord for Engineering Technicians.

The International Engineering Alliance (IEA) is a global non-profit organization, which comprises members from41 jurisdictions within twenty-nine countries, across seven international agreements. These international agreements govern the recognition of engineering educational qualifications and professional competence. Through the Educational Accords and Competence Agreements, members of the International Engineering Alliance establish and enforce internationally bench-marked standards for engineering education and expected competence for engineering practice.

The signatories of the Washington Accord (W.A.) are committed to the development and recognition of good practice in engineering education. The activities of the Accord’s signatories are intended to assist growing globalization of mutual recognition of engineering qualifications. The Washington Accord is specifically focused on academic programmes whichfocus on the practice of Engineering at the professional level. The Accord acknowledges that accreditation of engineering academic programmes is a key foundation for the practice of engineering at the professional level in each of the countries or territories covered by the Accord.

Under the Washington Accord, there are 22 Full Member Signatories (FMS) from 1989 to date, most of which are the developed nations in the West, Far-East, Americas, and Asia. There are also seven new entrants as Provisional Member Signatories (PMS) from 2016 to date including Nigeria. The continent of Africa has two nations-South Africa represented by ECSA as FMS got admitted in 1999 and Nigeria represented by COREN as PMS got admitted in 2023.

Aligning with Best Global Practices for EE and TVET in Nigeria

In its desire to align with the best global practices, the nation accomplished the following milestones from 2015:

Engineering Accreditation Committee (EAC) has been established and published as Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, No. 83, Vol. 109 of Government Notice No. 113.  It is published as supplement to this Gazette with Serial No. 65, known as “Regulations on Accreditation of Engineering Programmes in Nigeria”.

2)         EAC was created as an independent entity for accreditation of engineering programmes

3)         It is financed from charges on HEIs for accreditation and training of OBE implementors and PEVs.

4)         It comprises of 13 independent professionals: 7 from the academics and 6 from the industry

5)         EAC accredits programmes at Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) that have legal authority to confer higher education degrees qualifications See this link  of Accredited Institutions in Nigeria)

6)         EAC’s decision is final on accreditation outcomes.

7)         EAC accreditation criteria and procedures are documented, publicized, and applied in accordance with set policies. (explain accreditation visit duration) (See BMAS, 2017, OBE Manual, Revised Edition and OBE Programme Evaluator Guidelines

8)         Engineering Accreditation Committee (EAC) is the only professional Engineering Accreditation agency in Nigeria.

9)         Since 2017, Nigeria commenced the OBE system of assessing Engineering programmes in Nigerian Universities with a lot of awareness created. Over 40 Institutions are now being mentored to achieve OBE implementation.

10)      Outcome-based education (OBE) train-the-trainers’ regional workshops in six locations have been on-going with over 1000 OBE implementors and five hundred programme evaluators were trained and certified,

11)      EAC has built a database of trained OBE Programme Evaluators which will keep increasing to meet the rising demands of OBE accreditation exercises.

Conclusion

The demand to promote EE and TVET in Nigeria is imperative if we are to catch up and remain relevant in the global stage, take over, and harness our endowment and resources to change the destiny of our people. This task is clearly challenging under the current reality in our country where the key actors are operating in a very uncertain environment with weak institutions.

 The obvious pathway to follow is sustained advocacy creating massive awareness on the value of high quality and standards of our EE and TVET. Advocacy and promotion of EE and TVET in Nigeria must be championed by COREN, NSE, NATE, NiSET, NAEC, NAE, NBTE, NUC, ITF, MAN, etc. to change the narrative of engineering education, professional development, and practice in Nigeria. The NAE needs to outline some key strategies for how.

2.         Teach STEM and encourage minorities.

3.         Establish and sustain strategic alliances among educational institutions at all levels,

4.         Enhance and strengthen regulatory bodies to improve quality in EE education, an adherence of training institutions and practice to established standards -COREN, NUC NBTE, NABTEB, and the engineering professional associations like NSE, NATE, NiSET, NAEC, etc to narrow the gaps leading to joint assessment/accreditation visits.

5.         Training and service collaboration of mutual benefit with MDAs like ITF, TETFund, UBEC, to ensure the new trajectory of EE and TVET understands something clearly at last in Nigeria.

The admission of South Africa and Nigeria into Washington Accord elite group from Africa is clearly changing the narrative for EE and TVET in Nigeria. Similarly, the creation of NSC and SSC4E needs the support of all to produce success stories in creating the work force with the 21st century skills and competencies required to compete with our counterparts across the globe and justify the efforts thus far.

•Being the text of presentation of Engr. Iyiola Omisore, Ph.D at the Fellows’ Forum of the 2023/2024 Academy year of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE).

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