The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has said engineering programs at the University of Abuja, Modibbo Adama University, Yola, and Ambrose Alli University, Edo State, were unaccredited and the institutions unfit to produce engineering graduates.
The council also warned parents and guardians of prospective students that all engineering courses at the University of Calabar and the Technical University, Ibadan, were illegally implemented without resource verification, pre-accreditation, or approval from the regulatory body.
Speaking at a press conference on the outcome of the council’s 179th ordinary meeting on Friday in Abuja, the Registrar of the council, Ademola Adisa, said the five universities refused to update their licenses for various engineering courses since 2020, resulting in the withdrawal of accreditation and the non-recognition of its graduates as engineers.
He said the University of Abuja was running chemical engineering and civil engineering accreditation, which expired on March 26, 2020, while electronic engineering and mechanical engineering accreditation expired on April 20, 2022.
According to him, Modibbo Adama University’s agricultural engineering failed accreditation, while civil engineering and elect/elect engineering expired on 10/11/2020.
It added that chemical engineering and mechanical engineering both expired on March 10, 2021.
He also said the University of Calabar in Cross River State and the Technical University of Ibadan in Oyo State were running illegal engineering programs that were not accredited by COREN.
The Registrar, who spoke on behalf of the council President, Sadiq Abubakar, stated, “The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, 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, is hereby notifying the general public that the following universities are running engineering programs with expired accreditation status:
“At Modibbo Adama University, located in Yola, Adamawa State, agricultural engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering have been run with failed and expired accreditation status since October 2020.
“Also, at the University of Abuja, the accreditation of courses such as chemical engineering, civil engineering, electronics engineering, and mechanical engineering expired two years ago, and no effort has been made to renew the licenses.
“Additionally, the University of Calabar and Technical University, Ibadan, Oyo State, are running engineering programs up to 300 level and 500 level, respectively, without resource verification and approval by COREN.”
Ademola noted that the universities had been officially notified to rectify the abnormalities, adding that failure to rectify their non-accreditation status would result in blacklisting them, and graduates of their engineering programs would not be recognized for registration as engineering practitioners.
The registrar explained that, as a provisional signatory to the Washington Accord, the council must ensure quality assurance through the proper accreditation of engineering programs in all tertiary institutions and maintain a register of qualified engineers to improve the quality of life and promote sustainable development in the country.
He added, “All five universities have been officially contacted to call for accreditation of their programs, which are currently illegal, and they need to rectify the abnormalities, but there has not been any positive response from any of them.”
