Regina Otokpa 
The Federal Government yesterday directed foreign universities operating in Nigeria to strictly adhere to the guidelines on transnational education as developed by the National Universities Commission (NUC). The Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, gave the directive when he received the Rutgers University–Camden Chancellor Antonio Tillis. Sununu, who presented a copy of the National Guidelines on Transnational Education to his visitor, expressed the country’s willingness to work with universities around the world to improve access to quality higher education in Nigeria.
According to him, access to quality education is a priority of the President Bola Tinubu administration. The minister said the Ministry of Education is taking this seriously and would stop at nothing to deliver quality education to the vast majority of Nigerians. Sununu urged institutions of higher learning in the country to collaborate with their foreign counterparts to train more professionals to replace those exiting the system, instead of lamenting over the issue of brain drain.
He said: “Nigeria can provide a significant chunk of manpower needed around the globe, given the country’s population.” Sununu lauded the collaborative efforts of Rutgers University with the University of Lagos and Ibadan, maintaining that the Federal Ministry of Education will do everything within the ambit of the law to encourage collaboration between Rutgers University and Nigerian universities, especially in the areas of Science & Technology. Tillis told the minister that his: “University is seeking to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Lagos as well as expanding collaboration with other Nigerian Universities in areas of research and exchange of academic programmes.”
