By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria COREN, has tasked participants to train others at their respective universities on proper principles and implementation of Outcome Based Education (OBE) in the engineering programmes.
This was disclosed by the president of COREN, Engr.Ali Rabiu,recently at COREN Regional training workshop for implementation of outcome based education in engineering programmes in Nigerian Universities held at the UniAbuja.
Rabiu said the goal of the workshop is to prepare participants to acquire the knowledge and skills of OBE and to be able train others on the principles and implementation of outcome based educational ( OBE) in Nigeria Universities.
According to him, this will make it necessary to strengthen it’s accreditation system and to align with the rapid pace of globalization and emerging technologies which make it necessary for engineering faculties to meet the required standards of local employers and international job market in the engineering and technology sector.
He explained that,COREN has over the years faced with some existential realities that make it necessary to change the paradigm of Nigerian engineering education system.
He said, “Firstly, there is expansion of engineering programmes in variety and number at various engineering faculties. These faculties will meet the requirements of local employers and international job markets in the engineering and technology sectors.
“COREN need to mediate in regulating the processes that lead to local and international recognition of engineering qualifications from higher educational institutions in Nigeria.
“The council resolution is to assemble critical mass of knowledge and experienced persons in OBE as well as mentes of OBE learning environment professionals involved in training, practicing and regulating in Nigeria University based OBE implementor.
“OBE is an approach that focuses on specific attributes in term of knowledge, skill and attitudes that must be exhibited by students. The planning, process and assessment of OBE are reverse of the associated with traditional education approach.
“The OBE students are expected to be able to do more challenging tasks rather than memorize what was taught, manage project, analyzing data and make decisions base on results. This implies that tertiary education could provide both professional knowledge/skills and all round attributes to their graduates through OBE approach.”
He explained that, under OBE approach, the graduates are completely prepared for the workforce after graduation with relevant soft skills needed in jobs, such as communication skills and human relationships skills.
Ali further stated that COREN as a regulatory agency is in charge of engineering practices in Nigeria is in the process of becoming a provisional signatory of the Washington Award. Thereafter, graduates of engineering programmes accredited by COREN are going to the privilege of possibility employment in the signatory countries as engineers without further examinations.
The signatory countries of Washington Award includes; Australia, Canada, Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, UK, USA, Malaysia, India, Germany, Russia and Sri Lanka.
Similarly, the COREN Register/CEO, Engr. Prof Joseph Odigure, said COREN was trying to bring stakeholders from the top to the bottom of the engineering profession in Nigeria, including the small-scale artisans, on board in the impartation of knowledge under the OBE programme, a norm, he said, was neglected over the years to the detriment of standard engineering practice in the country.
We are involving all stakeholders in the sense that the outcome based is based on knowledge, skill and character, those are the three pillars of outcome based and skills seems to be the one that a lot of people ask questions on and we try to solve that problem.
“We are encouraging a holistic participation of even the smallest artisan within the locality to be part of the training. We have ignored the issue of involving the junior cadre of engineering, the technicians the craftsmen, the technologists in the training of our students.
“And, this is where we got it wrong. So, what we are trying to do now is that we are telling the universities to go and sign MoUs with these smaller group of people they have the practical skills they don’t have the knowledge.
A participant at the workshop from the Joseph Tarka University, Makurdi, with the Academic Planning Directorate of the same university, Amos Adoge, said that “The impact of OBE education is going to be of very significant magnitude, not just to the universities alone, but all stakeholders in engineering, including the industries and every other place where an engineer is to work or contribute his quota.
“So this is entirely a deviation from the traditional ways in which we used to do things to bring about result-oriented graduates that will be coming out of our University.”
It could be recalled that peoples Daily reports that the COREN OBE regional train-the-trainers workshop have been held in three geo-political zones,, North-West zone, South-South zone and South-East zone.
It could be recalled that peoples Daily reports that the COREN OBE regional train-the-trainers workshop have been held in three geo-political zones,, North-West zone, South-South zone and South-East zone.
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