Representatives from the London Academy Business School (LABS) and the University of Sunderland are currently in the process of seeking approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) to offer degree programs in Nigeria.
A delegation from the University of Sunderland, led by Dr. Derek Watson, confirmed this development following a meeting with the acting Executive Secretary of the NUC, Chris Maiyaki, in Abuja. In a statement released on Thursday, Watson, an associate professor from the Faculty of Business Law and Tourism, highlighted the productivity of the meeting and emphasized the University of Sunderland’s over 30 years of experience.
During the meeting, Watson stated, “What we have agreed on today is the criticality of following the compliance procedures. In addition to that, we would source credible academics to deliver our programmes from LABS who are qualified teachers and also practising consultants. The student will get the same experience as those students studying in England.”
He further explained that the purpose of the meeting with the NUC was to secure recognition for running Sunderland courses in Nigeria, emphasizing the importance of this recognition to avoid rendering the degrees useless, stating, “if we run any courses in Nigeria without them recognizing it, that degree is useless and they cannot do NYSC, so we do not want that to be the case.”
Watson, as the CEO of LABS, expressed the need to ensure that the NUC is aware of their activities and is supportive of their initiatives.
Jones-Esan, representing LABS, underscored the significance of the partnership between the two institutions, emphasizing the opportunity presented by addressing the challenge of limited university admissions in Nigeria. He noted, “If two million people apply for university admissions every year in Nigeria and only 700,000 are getting a place, that is a problem and that is a challenge, and they want to solve that problem, and we think we have come at the right time.”
