The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) Accreditation Team, led by Engr. Olayinka Ali, has reiterated the importance of quality assurance in engineering profession. Speaking during a courtesy call to the University Management before the commencement of the re-accreditation exercise to civil, mechanical and mechatronics engineering programmes of the University, Engr. Ali said accreditation of engineering programme was a major mandate of COREN, in accordance with the Act setting up the Council.

According to him, “it is about quality assurance. Hence, it aims at ensuring that products of engineering programmes in universities, polytechnics and technical colleges are sound, functional, and efficient engineering personnel, who meet the challenges of our present and future society, and have the capacity to compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world”. Engr. Ali, who harped on the need for adequate facilities to be provided in the nation’s training institutions, to build the capacity of the nation’s engineering workforce, expressed displeasure at the general outcry by employers of labour over the issue of persistent skills shortage whereby academically-sound engineering graduates are unable to express practical functionality on their jobs. He attributed this dysfunctionality to the disconnect between what is taught and what is expected of engineering graduates on the field, while recommending an Outcome Based Education (OBE), as the missing link that could address the concerns.

The re-accreditation team leader revealed that COREN had adopted the OBE for engineering programmes in Nigeria and produced the necessary tool, COREN Outcome Based Engineering Education Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards and Accreditation Scoring Criteria for Undergraduate Engineering Programmes in Nigeria Universities. Engr. Ali further disclosed that structures were currently being put in place, to begin the gradual shift to Outcome Based Engineering Education, while encouraging the University to key into this development. According to him, “the adoption of OBE, has paved way for the internationalisation of the Nigerian engineering qualifications and improvement of the quality, proficiency, and global mobility of registered engineers”.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kolawole Salako appreciated the team for the visit, assuring them that as an institution, FUNAAB is law abiding. “We need our students to progress and as a regulatory body, COREN has been around for a long time even when some of us were undergraduates and if that should be the case, we should respect the act establishing it, especially for the benefit of our students”. Prof. Salako, who disclosed that the University shared the same view of producing overtly sound graduates in every field.

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