By Aisar Fagge
The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has called for collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC) to enhance and streamline educational research efforts in Nigeria.
Speaking during a visit to the NUC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, NERDC Executive Secretary, Prof. Salisu Shehu, stated that the visit was both a solidarity gesture and an opportunity to explore potential areas of cooperation.
He stated that through collaboration, both organizations could contribute to national development, particularly in research.
Prof. Shehu noted that NERDC’s responsibilities extend beyond coordinating educational research programs in Nigeria.
He noted that the Council also aims to “identify educational problems in Nigeria in which research is needed and then, establish the order of priority therefrom.”
He further stressed the benefits of NERDC’s role as a repository of groundbreaking research in education, adding that such research should influence public policy.
According to him, “by our mandate, NERDC is supposed to serve as a repository of groundbreaking research in education. Such researches are supposed to inform public policies in the education sector through NERDC as the think tank of the Nigeria education. But this mandate has not been fully activated and critical findings from the faculties of education in our ivory towers are not reckoned with in the process of policy formulation in the education sector.
“I believe that, through an effective collaboration, we can harness the efforts of universities in educational research to improve our educational system. NERDC would want to see how we can work with your Commission to get this operational.”
Prof. Shehu also pointed out that NERDC is the only agency under the Federal Ministry of Education with a mandate that spans all levels of the education sector.
He identified curriculum development as another key area for collaboration and advocated for a platform where NERDC could regularly engage with deans of faculties of education and curriculum planners.
He explained that such engagements would better prepare future teachers by exposing them to curriculum frameworks, structures, philosophies, and implementation strategies.
Lamenting the shortage of qualified teachers for some trade areas, he stated that “in-spite of the implementation of the curriculum which began in 2011, we are still faced with the challenge of lack of qualified teachers in some of the trade areas; that we need the universities to fill this gap for the good of the nation. He added that the Council engages Professors as significant resource persons in our curriculum development, and hence, NUC can plan very strategic roles in this regard.”
Furthermore, he disclosed that the NERDC had developed the National Language Policy to preserve and promote Nigerian languages for economic growth and national development.
He also reiterated the need for collaboration between NERDC and NUC to ensure the effective implementation of the policy’s provisions.
In response, NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, acknowledged that it would be beneficial between both organizations, particularly in research for national development.
According to Prof. Ribadu, “NUC, NERDC, TETFUND and NRF need to collaborate in the areas of research, share resources, harness ideas together for efficiency in research delivery in order to avoid duplicity of works and waste of scarce resources.”
He also praised NERDC’s contributions to language development and the preservation of indigenous Nigerian languages, noting that such efforts had helped prevent some languages from going extinct.
Prof. Ribadu assured NERDC of NUC’s readiness to collaborate, stating that he had taken note of the concerns raised and that the commission was committed to supporting the Council in the necessary areas of partnership.
The meeting was attended by senior management officials from both NERDC and NUC.