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Daniel Adaji
The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) have taken steps to align Nigeria’s engineering education with global standards.
This was disclosed to journalists in Abuja on Monday by COREN’s of Head of Corporation Advancement and Publication Relations, Haruna Ojonugwa.
Both organisations held a one-day workshop in Abuja on Sunday, to chart a roadmap for Nigeria’s application to the Sydney and Dublin Accords – international frameworks that promote global recognition of engineering technologist and technician qualifications.
The workshop focused on exposing participants to the requirements, procedures, and timelines for Nigeria’s application to the accords, which are under the International Engineering Alliance (IEA).
President of COREN, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, urged stakeholders to work together to achieve full membership.
“The opportunity has come for us to be formalised to ensure that we have global recognition by joining these accords. It is a national assignment, and all hands must be on deck to ensure it succeeds so that Nigeria can export its abundant human capital through certified engineering practitioners,” he said.
Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, stressed the importance of international benchmarks for Nigeria’s technical and vocational education.
“The meeting today is very important for Nigeria. It’s not enough to have national accreditation by the NUC and NBTE. More important is that there should be an international benchmark, and that is what the three accords are all about,” he said.
He stated that Nigeria is close to joining the Washington Accord for university-level engineering degrees, while efforts are now focused on securing recognition for the Sydney Accord (HND level) and the Dublin Accord (OND level).
Lead resource person, Prof. Megat Megat Mohd Noor of the Board of Engineers Malaysia, and Chair of the Dublin Accord, delivered three sessions on requirements, procedures, and implementation timelines for joining the accords.
Participants included officials of COREN and NBTE, rectors of polytechnics, nominees from both bodies, and members of the Engineering Accreditation Committee.