Reps member, stakeholders rue over de-accreditation of courses in varsities of agric
Stakeholders, including traditional rulers and the member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Chief Samuel Onuigbo, yesterday appealed for a stop to the planned delisting of the Faculty of Management Science from the University of Agriculture, in Nigeria.
Speaking at the weekend during the 56th Diocesan Annual Synod of the Methodist Church Nigeria Diocese of Umuahia, Hon Onuigbo described as an illegality the plan by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to resort to de-accreditation of courses at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU) and other universities of agriculture in the country without referring to the National Assembly.
The lawmaker said he will use all within his power to ensure that the federal government restores the courses, stating, “the law establishing the universities along with allied courses has not been amended nor repealed.
“Therefore, it is wrong. When you want us to do that, you use correspondence or a presidential fiat. To start deleting courses without referring to the National Assembly for those courses to be upturned, that is what illegality means. So, we are appealing to the NUC to reconsider their decision.”
He disclosed that he has moved s motion to that effect in the House of Representatives, stating the bill was passed smoothly and adopted.
In a communiqué issue after an elaborate meeting his constituents, the stakeholders cited the importance of combining management skills with knowledge of agriculture, while faulting the plan by the NUC to gradually phase out none-core gricultural courses from Universities of Agriculture in the country.
Hon. Onuigbo also urged the Joint Admission And Marticulation Board (JAMB) to stop the action on the delisting non-agricultural courses of Management Sciences at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, to enable candidates to continue to enroll in those courses in the forthcoming Matriculation examinations pending the resolution of the matter and appealed to the leadership of the House to mandate the House of Representatives committees on Tertiary Education and Services and Legislative Compliance to look into the matter .
The lawmaker who is also Chairman House Committee on Climate Change “there is a need for all of us to come together and discuss the future of our children and the matter has to do with Presidential fiat based on the request of ministry of Agriculture to remove courses in the management college in the University of Agriculture in the country, during the last admissions exercise, the Agriculture University in Abia, 19,000 qualified students applied for admission admitted 5,590 and over 13,000 candidates were send back to the streets.
