By Dayo Adesulu

The National Universities Commission, NUC, has scrapped sub-degree diploma programmes in the Nigerian University System, with a call on universities running them to begin the process of winding them down.

Executive Secretary, NUC, Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed said that the decision scrapping the sub-degree diploma was reached during a meeting in Abuja with Vice Chancellors of federal, state and private universities in the country last Wednesday.

He said: ‘’Running sub-degree diplomas was not the business of Universities, but that of Polytechnics, more so when the Federal Government, as far back as November, 2001, had issued a circular stating that such diplomas could not be used for employment or promotion purposes in the Public Service.’’

Rather than stretch their facilities to run sub-degree programmes, the universites, he said, should direct their energies towards their primary function of producing high level manpower for the economy, by strenthening their part-time programmes, in addition to offering high quality undergraduate degrees as well as postgraduate diplomas and degrees.’’