The Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmad, made the call on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at the opening of the National Universities Commission (NUC) retreat with vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities in Abuja.

The two-day retreat, scheduled for October 13 and 14 at the NUC headquarters, is themed “Enhancing Regulatory Compliance, Governance, Leadership, and Partnership in the Nigerian University System.”

Ahmad said the rapid evolution of global higher education, driven by artificial intelligence, digital learning, data analytics and changing research models, required Nigerian universities to review their policies and practices to remain relevant and competitive.

She stressed that AI adoption must be accompanied by clear safeguards covering academic integrity, ethical use, data protection and responsible technology deployment.

According to the minister, universities must go beyond awarding degrees and position themselves as centres of research, innovation, knowledge creation, character development and industrial advancement.

She noted that the effectiveness of the university system has direct implications for Nigeria’s human capital development, economic productivity, national prosperity and long-term stability.

Ahmad also called on vice-chancellors to strengthen transparency and accountability in financial management, procurement, staff recruitment and promotion, admissions and examinations.

She urged university leaders to establish clear institutional goals, set measurable performance targets and create environments that encourage academic excellence.

The minister further emphasised the need for stronger collaboration between university managements and the NUC, saying sustained engagement would improve policy implementation, regulatory compliance and collective problem-solving.

She expressed hope that the retreat would produce practical recommendations capable of addressing longstanding challenges in the sector. She also called for effective monitoring to ensure that resolutions reached at the meeting translate into measurable improvements.

In his address, NUC Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, said the commission was strengthening its regulatory and quality assurance systems to improve standards and ensure that university education remained relevant to national development.

Ribadu highlighted several initiatives aimed at improving institutional accountability, including guidelines governing the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees, alongside sanctions for universities that violate the applicable rules.

He also identified post-matriculation monitoring and carrying-capacity visits as measures designed to improve oversight of admissions and ensure that universities operate within appropriate limits.

The commission, he added, was preparing to introduce post-accreditation monitoring visits to assess academic programmes after accreditation and strengthen ongoing quality assurance.

Ribadu said the NUC Policy Development and Advisory Committee had completed Blueprint 2.0, a strategic framework intended to guide the revitalisation of Nigerian university education. The blueprint addresses key areas including governance, research productivity, curriculum development, funding, digital transformation and graduate employability.

He added that the commission was developing a longer-term strategic plan and transitioning from the Annual Performance Evaluation system to a Performance Monitoring System aimed at improving institutional performance assessment.

The NUC chief urged universities to ensure that research conducted by their academics produced practical solutions to Nigeria’s development challenges. He called for stronger partnerships with government, industry and other stakeholders in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, education, technology, manufacturing and environmental protection.

On research collaboration, Ribadu highlighted the ACE Alliance, a platform established to connect Africa Centres of Excellence in Nigeria and encourage cooperation on research relevant to national development. He also referenced a four-volume compendium documenting research outputs from the centres.

He further noted that the Tertiary Education Research and Application Services platform of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund had been integrated with the Nigerian Research and Education Network to support research collaboration and improve access to research infrastructure.

On artificial intelligence, Ribadu disclosed that the NUC was developing a National AI Roadmap and Policy Framework for Nigerian universities. The initiative is intended to guide the integration of AI into teaching, learning and research while addressing governance and ethical considerations.

The commission is also working to strengthen research commercialisation through a dedicated division and exploring opportunities for selected vice-chancellors to study commercialisation practices at universities in Europe and Asia.

Ribadu said the NUC had deployed its electronic platform, e-NUC, to automate the commission’s workflow and was developing accreditation software to improve transparency, information management and quality assurance.

However, he cautioned that digital transformation required more than purchasing equipment and installing software. Universities must also invest in staff capacity, institutional readiness, appropriate policies and cybersecurity to ensure that technology is deployed effectively and safely.

Addressing funding challenges, the NUC executive secretary acknowledged that limited resources continued to constrain university development. He encouraged institutions to explore funding opportunities through private-sector partnerships, alumni networks and development agencies while ensuring that such arrangements complied with institutional objectives and regulatory requirements.

He also cited the commission’s engagement with development partners, including the World Bank, the Agence Française de Développement and the African Development Bank, as part of efforts to mobilise additional support for the university system.

Earlier, the chairman of the Local Organising Committee and NUC Director of Research, Innovation and Information Technology, Mohammed Lawan Faruk, said the retreat was designed to strengthen cooperation between the commission and university leaders.

Faruk said discussions would focus on regulatory compliance, quality assurance, transformational leadership, institutional governance and strategic partnerships.

The retreat brings together vice-chancellors from federal, state and private universities, as well as education officials, university union representatives and other stakeholders to consider practical measures for improving higher education in Nigeria.

Reporting by TalkNaijaMedia