*I am to add that universities on 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: Chris Maiyaki, Deputy Executive Secretary (Administration)

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

Ten months after shutting them over ASUU’s strike and later as a result of the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Nigeria, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has directed Vice-Chancellors of universities to recommence academic activities Monday, January 18, 2021.

Chris Maiyaki, Deputy Executive Secretary (Administration) at NUC, in a statement on behalf of Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, Executive Secretary of the Commission, revealed this development.

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 Commission said: “I am to add that universities on 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.”

Recall that Nigeria’s public universities have remained closed since March 2020, after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on a strike.

There was also a lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the damaging COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

However, the academic union suspended the strike December 23, 2020, as the Federal Government met their demands.

These include paying the lecturers their outstanding salaries using an older payment platform, GIFMIS, different from the highly contentious IPPIS.

The regulatory Commission, nonetheless, advised officers on Grade Levels 12 and below to remain at home for a five-week period, as earlier directed by the Federal Government of Nigeria.