The National Universities Commission (NUC), in accordance with the directive of the Presidential Tax Force (PTF) on COVID-19,, in accordance with the directive of the Presidential Tax Force (PTF) on COVID-19, has directed vice-chancellors of universities to resume academic activities on January 18.
The NUC Deputy Executive Secretary, (Administration), Chris Maiyaki, signed the released statement on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Professor Abubakar Rasheed.
Maiyaki urged universities to safeguard lives by strictly adhering to the extant safety protocols and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines, which have been communicated severally to the Nigerian University System through NUC’s circulars.
The statement reads: “I am to add that universities on the resumption of academic activities, must under no circumstance violate the full cycle of the semester system, consistent with the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) approved by the NUC, as well as other extant quality assurance standards and guidelines.”
However, the NUC advised officers of Grade Level 12 and above to stay at home for a five-week period, as earlier directed by the federal government.
It would be recalled that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), had embarked on strike since March 2020, however, ASUU eventually suspended the nine-month-old strike on December 23, 2020, after the federal government acceded to their demands, including paying the lecturers outstanding salaries using the former payment platform, GIFMIS, which is different from the much-contested IPPIS proposed by the government.
