FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, MINNA,

NIGERIA

PROCEDURE FOR ACADEMIC PROGRAMME

DEVELOPMENT

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1. INTRODUCTION
Federal University of Technology, Minna is specialized university committed to training of
skilled and innovative workforce that would harness the forces of nature to transform Nigeria’s
resources into good and services to positively affect the economy and thus the quality of her
people. Therefore, the university is committed to delivering her core mandate by achieving
quality teaching, learning and assessment. The procedure for academic programme development
involves several steps which are highlighted in this document.

2. NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION (NUC)

Two Acts provide the legal framework for the quality assurance and regulatory mandates of the
National Universities Commission. The first is the National Universities Commission Act No.
N81 Laws of Federation Nigeria (L.F.N.) 2004.
This Act sets up the National Universities Commission as a body corporate charged with the
responsibility of advising the Federal and State Governments of all aspects of university
education and the general development of universities in Nigeria. The second, Education
(National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions) Act No. E3 L.F.N. 2004,
empowers the National Universities Commission to lay down minimum standards for all
universities and other institutions of higher learning in the Federation and the accreditation of
their degrees and other academic awards in formal consultation with the universities for that
purpose, after obtaining prior approval therefor through the Minister, from the President.

Following the enactment of NUC Act No. E3 L.F.N. 2004, the National Universities Commission
developed the first set of Minimum Academic Standards (MAS) in 1989 for all the academic
programmes existing in the Nigerian University System (NUS) at that time under the 13 major
disciplines of Administration, Agriculture, Arts, Education, Engineering and Technology,
Environmental Sciences, Law, Medicine and Dentistry, Management Sciences, Pharmaceutical
Science , Science, Social Sciences and Veterinary Medicine. The Minimum Academic Standard
served as the reference documents for the first accreditation of programmes conducted in NUS in
1990.

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In its bid to review the Minimum Academic Standard documents, which was predicated on the
fact that they were prescriptive, the Commission decided to develop the outcome-based
Benchmark Statements for all programmes in the Nigerian University System in line with
contemporary global practice in 1999. In the first comprehensive review of the Minimum
Academic Standards by NUC, which was in 2004, the Commission decided to merge the
Benchmark Statements and the revised Minimum Academic Standards into a new document
called Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS). These documents were approved for
use in Nigerian universities in 2007. A second attempt at reviewing the BMAS was in 2011. It
must however be noted that stand alone BMAS for new programmes were at different times
developed by the Commission on request from some Nigerian universities.

3. THE CURRENT REVIEW OF THE BMAS

The journey of the current curriculum review efforts commenced in 2018, when the National
Universities Commission circulated the 2018 draft BMAS to all Nigerian universities and other
stakeholders for their comments. In addition to the harvested comments, the curriculum of
different programmes of some world-class universities were downloaded. The draft 2018 BMAS,
compiled comments of Nigerian universities and other stakeholders and the downloaded
curriculum of some foreign universities served as the working documents for the curriculum
review panels. A multi-stakeholder approach was deployed in constituting the panels for the
curriculum review exercise. The constituted panels included:
i. Academic staff of Nigerian universities
ii. Representatives of the Academies
iii. Representatives of Professional bodies/associations
iv. Representatives of the private sector

In addition to the reviewers working individually and in consultation with their subject area
peers, over 512 cumulative online meetings of the general assembly (Vice-Chancellors,
Discipline Chairmen/Chairpersons, programme-specific reviewers and Heads/representatives of
international quality assurance agencies and institutions); Discipline groups; and programme
groups were held between March and November, 2021. Physical meetings were also held to
finalize the curriculum review exercise.
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The reviewers carried out their assignments with a view to producing a curriculum for their
respective programmes that will reflect both national and international expectations. Specifically,
the reviewers focused on ensuring that the emerging curriculum will be adequate to train
Nigerian university students in the 21st Century. By implication and in addition to current trends
in the various programmatic areas, the curriculum will be ICT oriented, promote Artificial
Intelligence, enhance skills acquisition (including soft skills), inculcate and sharpen
entrepreneurship mindset of students and capable of steering the deployment of evolving
technologies to deliver its content.

The Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) The major highlights of the
new curriculum are:
1. Change of nomenclature from Benchmarks Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) to Core
Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS);
2. The curriculum provides for 70% minimum core courses requirements for graduation.
Nigerian universities are expected to provide the remaining 30%;
3. In consonance with global best practice, the curriculum is to stimulate blended learning in its
delivery;
4. Mass Communication has been unbundled to create a distinct discipline of Communications
comprising degree programmes in Advertising, Broadcasting, Development Communication
Studies, Film and Multimedia, Information and Media Studies, Journalism and Media Studies,
Mass Communication, Public Relations and Strategic Communication;
5. Agriculture has been unbundled into programmes in its contributing components of B.Sc
Agricultural Economics, B.Sc. Animal Science, B.Sc. Crop Science and B.Sc. Soil Science;
6. The unbundling of Architecture and introduction of Architecture as a new discipline with
programmes like Architecture, Architectural Technology, Furniture Design, Interior Architecture
Design, Landscape Architecture and Naval architecture;
7. The split of the Basic Medical Sciences discipline into two – Basic Medical Sciences and
Allied Health Sciences
8. Reduction of the General Studies (GST) course from 36 credit units to 12 credit units of 6
courses as follows:
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i. Communication in English
ii. Nigerian People and Culture
iii. Philosophy, Logic and Human Existence
iv. Entrepreneurship and Innovation
v. Venture creation; and
vi. Peace and Conflict resolution.
9. Entrepreneurship has been repackaged with the introduction of programme-specific
entrepreneurship
10. The number of academic disciplines has been increased from 14 to 17 as follows:
i. Administration and Management
ii. Agriculture
iii. Allied Health Sciences
iv. Architecture
v. Arts
vi. Basic Medical Sciences
vii. Communications and Media Studies
viii: Computing Education
ix. Education
x. Engineering and Technology
xi. Environmental Sciences
xii. Law
xiii. Medicine and Dentistry
xiv. Pharmaceutical Science
xv. Sciences
xvi. Social Sciences
xvii. Veterinary Medicine

Having reviewed the curriculum of Nigerian universities, the next steps will include training and
retraining of academic staff of Nigerian universities to effectively deliver the content of the
curriculum.

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4. CONCLUSION
The process of adding a new programme in the university begins from the Department. The
programme must be in the disciplines approved by the NUC of which 70% of the contents are
taken from. The department set up programme development committee, students are also
involved. After the approval by the Department Academic Board, it then send to the Faculty
academic board, after the approval then to the Academic Planning and Curriculum Development
Committee, after the approval the finally to the university senate for approval.

Prof. John K. Alhassan

Director of Academic Planning
Federal University of Technology, Minna
Nigeria
February 2024.