By PERPETUA ONUEGBU

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has listed the University of Abuja, Modibo Adama University in Yola, Adamawa, and Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo, as institutions running engineering programmes with expired accreditation status.

President of COREN, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, made this known in Abuja on Friday at a news conference to intimate the general public on the solutions reached at its 179th Ordinary Council Meeting held on Sept. 7.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that COREN is the statutory body of the Federal Government with the mandate to regulate and control the education, training and practice of engineering in all its aspects and ramifications.

According to Abubakar, the public has to know that the universities are operating with expired accreditation and be guided when making choices, as well as notify the institutions to do the needful.

“COREN in its commitment towards ensuring that engineering is regulated in Nigeria in line with global best practice to improve the quality of life and promote sustainable development, has to bring this to public notice.

“In Modibo Adama University, Adamawa State, Agricultural Engineering failed accreditation; Civil Engineering accreditation expired on Oct. 11, 2020 and Electrical Electronics Engineering expired on March 10, 2021.

“Chemical Engineering expired on March 10, 2021 and Mechanical Engineering expired on March 10, 2021.

“For the University of Abuja, Chemical Engineering and Civil Engineering accreditation expired on March 26, 2020, while Electronics Engineering and Mechanical Engineering expired on April 20, 2022.

“In Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Edo, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Electronics Engineering accreditation expired Nov.12, 2020,” he said.

The COREN president further said that the University of Calabar, Cross Rivers and Technical University Ibadan, Oyo State were also running engineering programmes without approval.

Abubakar noted that the University of Calabar was currently running engineering programmes up to 300 Level without Resource Verification/Pre-Accreditation by COREN.

He added that the Technical University Ibadan was also running programmes up to 500 Level without Resource Verification/Pre-Accreditation by COREN.

He said that COREN had written officially to the universities to ensure the accreditation of the programmes, but that there was no positive response from them.

Abubakar explained that COREN was working in accordance with section 12 of the Federal Government Gazette No. 113 of March 3, on the Regulation on Accreditation of Engineering Programmes in Nigeria, which stipulates sanctions in case of violation of any regulation.

“Engineering Accreditation Committee shall impose either a Withdrawal of Accreditation or Non-Recognition of graduates of such programmes for registration as engineering practitioners.

“COREN is hereby, notifying the affected universities to rectify the abnormalities and get the programmes accredited before the commencement of the next academic session.

“Failure to rectify this, their non-accreditation status will result in blacklisting them as non-accredited institutions whose graduates of engineering programmes will not be recognised for registration as engineering practitioners,” he said.

Abubakar reminded engineering practitioners to obtain their Annual Practice Licence for 2023, to comply with the law regulating engineering practice in the country. (NAN)

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