
National Universities Commission (NUC) has urged Inter-University Centres (IUCs) to revive the centres to meet up challenges of 21st century.
Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, told directors and chairmen of IUCs boards in his office that none of the centres had achieved half of what it should.
Rasheed noted that this was due to challenges associated with inconsistency in government’s policies, adding NUC would revive the centres with appointment of qualified academics.
He observed that the centres had been underutilised, saying they should redefine their the centres’ focus, vision and mission through amendment of the laws to enable them perform optimally.
The NUC chief said the IUCs were more than departments, as there were enough departments of Arabic and French languages as well as Mathematics and Nigerian languages in universities.
He noted that the centres were think-tanks for the government, industry and private sector to ensure growth and development of critical sectors, stressing that the need for research was crucial.
He urged them to partner universities and that the commission could only recognise them as degree-awarding institutions after amendment of laws to that effect, saying the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) would thereafter provide interventions.