FUNNAB VC canvasses quality assurance in African varsities

The Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Prof. Olusola Oyewole, has urged tertiary institutions in Africa to support quality assurance practice in their institutions.

A statement from the FUNNAB’s Head, Directorate of Public Relations, Mrs. Emi Alawode, on Monday, said the VC made the appeal at a conference in Bujumbura, Burundi.

The conference, co-hosted by the Global University Network for Innovation and the African Quality Assurance Network and co-funded by the European Union, attracted no fewer than 150 participants.

They discussed issues on improving the quality of African degrees and the need to embrace quality assurance as part of modern higher education.

Oyewole, who spoke on the occasion as the President of the Association of African Universities, stressed the need for quality assurance agencies in Africa universities.

He said, “We may not need all countries at the same time. We can start with those that are ready. Then we need the ratification of the Arusha Convention to increase awareness of the need for mobility of staff and students, and the need for comparability of diplomas and certificates. When that is in place, I think the national quality assurance agencies will pick up the need to work together.”

Oyewole, who demanded the implementation of the pan-African quality assurance framework, also called for political support for the development of the continent.

Meanwhile, a graduate of FUNNAB, Miss Ifeoluwa Olotu, has won the International Union of Food Science and Technology Food Safety without Borders Graduate Student Paper Award.

Olotu’s research titled “Identification of hazards and critical control points for Mosa (an indigenous maize based street vended snack) processing in South-West Nigeria” won the award at the just-concluded IUFoST congress in Montreal, Canada.

She is one of the four graduate students from developing countries that won the award.

Olotu, who studied Food Science and Technology, College of Food Science and Human Ecology at FUNNAB, also has bagged Master’s degree, funded by the European Union GRATITUDE Project.

Olotu is a member of several professional bodies, including the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Society for Applied Microbiology, and the American Society of Quality and Young Professionals in Agricultural Research for Development.