The Council for the Regulations of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has threatened to blacklist the University of Calabar in Cross River State and Modibbo Adama University Yola, Adamawa State over their failure to secure the council’s accreditation for their engineering programmes.
Recall that the council had at its 179th ordinary meeting in Abuja in September last year, named Modibbo Adama University, Yola; Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Edo State; Technical University Ibadan, Oyo State as institutions running expired accreditation and illegal engineering programmes.
It also grouped the University of Abuja as a university running engineering programmes after its accreditation expired; while the University of Calabar in Cross River State was running illegal engineering programmes that were not accredited by COREN.
According to COREN, other affected Universities had renewed/secured accreditation for their engineering programmes except for the Modibbo Adama University, Yola; and UniCAL, which are still running expired accreditation and illegal engineering programmes.
The COREN Registrar, Professor Adisa, Ademola Bello in a statement he issued in Abuja on Thursday, said the decision to blacklist, and withdraw the engineering programmes offered by the two affected Universities was taken at the council’s 181st Ordinary Council Meeting held on Thursday, 7th March, 2024.
He said: “COREN at the end of its 179th Ordinary Council meeting organized a pressing briefing, enlightening the general public about the accreditation status of institutions running engineering programmes without approval from COREN and others with failed accreditation. The council also underscored the effect on engineering graduates from such institutions.
“Consequently, some of the institutions rectified their accreditation anomalies and are now running approved engineering programmes. However, the under-listed universities have been written officially to call for Accreditation of their programmes as presently their programmes are illegal and they need to rectify the abnormalities but there has not been any positive response from any of them; Modibbo Adama University Yola, Adamawa State;
Agricultural Engineering – Failed Accreditation
Civil Engineering – Accreditation expired 11/10/2020
Elect/Elect Engineering – Accreditation expired 10/03/2021
Chemical Engineering – Accreditation expired 10/03/2021
Mechanical Engineering – Accreditation expired 10/03/2021.
“University of Calabar, Cross Rivers State is currently running Engineering Programmes up to 300 levels without Resource Verification/Pre-Accreditation by COREN.
“COREN by section 12 of the Federal Government Gazette No.113 of 3rd March 2023 on Regulations on Accreditation of Engineering Programmes in Nigeria, provides as follows; “In the case of violation of any provision of these regulations, Engineering Accreditation Committee (EAC) shall impose either or both of the following penalties on the institution concerned: Withdrawal of Accreditation; Non-recognition of graduates of such programmes for registration as engineering practitioners.
“The general public is also being notified that: COREN is hereby notifying the affected Universities to rectify the abnormalities and get the programmes accredited before the commencement of the next academic session. Failure to rectify their non-accreditation status will result in blacklisting them as non-accredited institutions whose graduates of engineering programmes will not be recognized for registration as engineering practitioners and will lack the legal backing to practice engineering in Nigeria.
“Also, Engineering Practitioners are hereby reminded to obtain their Annual Practicing License (APL) for 2024 to comply with the Law Regulating Engineering Practice in Nigeria”.