Quality assurance crucial to achieving world-class learning

If university administrators, teachers and sundry workers across the country could understand the term quality assurance (QA) and all it connotes and accurately implement it, former Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Peter Okebukola, says teaching and learning would be at its best.

In his presentation titled, “Framework for Promoting Quality Culture and Efficient Service Delivery in the University System,” at the Lagos State University (LASU), QA Retreat, Okebukola explained that QA was broader in scope and therefore requires to be completely understood and approach holistic.

Insisting that the terminology has the capacity to change the face of Nigerian education if appropriately applied, he added that it guarantees academic success; produces new ground for new knowledge and supports socio-economic development nationwide.

He said, “QA is process oriented, it is broad in scope and requires active participation of all parties. It cuts across the activities of government, administrators, management, students, teaching and learning, service delivery, research, security, funding, teacher qualification, students reading culture, use of time and space, and community participation.

“In fact the university must quality assure every activity inside and outside of its community. It is only by so doing that higher institutions of learning will achieve greater results and attain world-class status.
At the retreat, which had as its theme “Fostering Community-Wide Quality Assurance in LASU for Efficient Service Delivery and Academic Excellence,” vice chancellor of the institution, Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun, in his opening remarks noted that the objective of the retreat, (which is also in compliance with NUC’s directive), was to among others, build consensus among all stakeholders in LASU on quality standards of teaching, research, community engagement and service delivery.

He said, “LASU is one of the few universities in Nigeria that is yet to have a unit (as directed by NUC) to quality assure its teaching, research, service delivery and community service activities. If indeed, we desire LASU to become a beacon of excellence in the delivery of good quality university education, a supplier of transnational human resources, and a respected contributor to global discourse then we must not indulge ourselves any further.”

Also, the Director, QA of NUC, Biodun Saliu, who was the keynote speaker, charged the participants to refocus their attention on students learning, since universities are meant to be QA institution.