1. Executive Summary
The Washington Accord is an international agreement that recognizes the substantial equivalency of engineering degree programmes accredited by its signatories. Nigeria has gained provisional signatory status through the Council for The Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), this provides an opportunity to reform engineering education (EE) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) practices in the country. Provisional Membership typically lasts from 2-4 years and members are expected to work towards the goal of achieving recognition as a full signatory. To become a full member COREN has to submit a self-assessment report to the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) for consideration by the 23 full-signatories of the Washington Accord (WA)showing the alignment of Nigeria's EE and professional practice with international benchmarks. Nigeria has made significant strides in EE and TVET by aligning with WA standard of accreditation. Achieving full signatory status will put Nigeria on the world map as having attained an internationally bench-marked quality assurance system in EE and will thus enhance the international credibility of Nigerian engineering qualifications. This report identifies key recommendations to support Nigeria's transition from provisional to full membership.
2. Background
Currently there are twenty signatories that make up the Washington Accord and eight organizations, who hold provisional signatory status. In 2023, Nigeria achieved provisional signatory status under the WA signalling a historic step toward aligning its EE with global standards. However, to transition to full signatory status, Nigeria must meet rigorous compliance benchmarks. COREN established the Engineering Accreditation Committee (EAC) in 1972 to oversee quality assurance and accreditation of higher education in different subject areas in the country. Now that COREN has received the highest international recognition, EAC now has to give recognition to programmes accredited by COREN. Towards this efforts EAC, an independent entity for accreditation of engineering programs commenced the Outcome-based education (OBE) train-the-trainers’ regional workshops in six locations. Training has been on-going with over 1000 OBE implementors and five hundred program evaluators trained and certified. Therefore, EAC has achieved the capability to establish policies, procedures, criteria, and related systems to conduct accreditation of engineering degree programmes based on the WA and global standards. Consequently, Nigeria has started a reaccreditation process for all its sixty-four universities which offers 368 engineering programmes. Historically accreditation in Nigerian Universities started in 1972 by the EAC. EACalso conducts the accreditation of engineering technology programmes, engineering technicians and TVET programmes. There are over seven hundred TVET institutions in Nigeria made up of 145 polytechnics, 418 monotechnics, 204 technical colleges & vocational enterprise institutions (VEIs) and 67 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ)providers covering different TVET programs. It may be noted that the IEA, which is also supported by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), takes a holistic view on education for the wide spectrum of engineering. It divides engineering into three levels: 1) engineering degree programmes, 2) engineering technology programmes, 3) engineering technicians' educational requirements. In order to achieve developed country status, Nigeria needs high quality engineering professionals not only at the degree level, but also at the two other levels. Under the IEA are the three (3) Accords, namely:
a) Washington Accord for Engineers
b) Sydney Accord for Engineering Technologists and
c) Dublin Accord for Engineering Technicians
In 2023 the National Board for Technical Education(NBTE) and COREN agreed to commence joint accreditation of technical colleges in the country, also COREN is in the process of selecting trained and certified QAAs and nominating staff for training as QAA to commence the task of developing modules based on National Occupational Standards (NOS) and industrial needs for technical qualification and certification. Registration, licensing and regulating the Artisans in the Engineering sector by COREN according to Sydney accords standard is also underway since the commencement of the Nigerian Skills Qualifications Fund (NSQF) under the National Skills Council (NSC) which tasked COREN to drive the Sector Skills Council for Engineering (SSC4E) and Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) to lead the Council. COREN is currently finalizing the process of developing and signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to have this joint accreditation of all levels with the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC). COREN in collaboration with the Nigerian Society for Engineering (NSE) must ensure quality assurance and accreditation through all levels in order to push Nigeria's case for full signatory status. Nigeria is now preparing submission to request for admission into Sydney and Dublin Accords for Technicians and Craftsmen/Artisans. To ensure this happens the federal government must be involved to strengthen collaboration between COREN, NSE, NYSC, NBTE, NUC, National Association of Technologists in Engineering (NATE), Nigerian Society of Engineering Technicians (NiSET), Nigerian Association of Engineering Craftsmen (NAEC), Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and MDAs like ITF, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
3. Monitoring & Evaluation
Currently there are twenty signatories that make up the Washington Accord and eight organizations, who hold provisional signatory status. Provisional Membership typically lasts from 2-4 years. When considered ready the applicant may then apply for full Signatory status at which time the Provisional Member's assessment process will be witnessed by a verification team who will then submit a report to the other signatories in accordance with the requirements. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will include student indexing rates, number of institutions reaccredited, one year internship program during a student undergraduate engineering degree instead of the current 6 months being offered by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), 1-year engineering graduate trainee program at relevant engineering companies during the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD). There is also a need to enhance the capacity of the TVET programmes in formulating and dispensing outcome-based education in a sustainable manner. The Washington Accord imposes rigorous standards of accreditation, requiring educational institutions to align with outcomes-based education (OBE) models. This framework focuses on equipping graduates with practical problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and the ability to innovate across disciplines. Programmes must integrate emerging fields such as quantum computing, biotechnology, and climate engineering to remain relevant and there must be continuous curriculum updates. An engineering programme seeking COREN accreditation under the WA must demonstrate that it is engaged in continual quality improvement. Therefore, quarterly reports and an annual summit to track progress is mandatory, with key compliance areas being Outcome-Based Education (OBE), student indexing, adherence to admission quotas, internship completion metrics by ITF, NYSC engineering placement, and MCDP.
4. Conclusion
Achieving full membership in the WA is an immense honorand it comes with significant responsibilities. The leadership of COREN and the NSE will have to persistently work to achieve WA full signatory status. The creation of highly dedicated and hardworking teams of academics and professional engineers into an advocacy and promotion committee is a critical step toward achieving full signatory for Nigeria. This initiative calls for stakeholder endorsement and coordinated implementation by the federal government to drive reform in EE and professional standards. Nigeria’s pursuit of full membership in the WA represents a critical opportunity to harmonize its EE and TVET. To achieve this there must be a mandatory 1-yearengineering internship program coordinated by COREN, ITF, NBTE, the mandatory posting of engineering graduates to engineering based organizations during NYSC Period supervised by COREN, NSE, NATE, and MCDP by NSE and NATE. Surely COREN will have to continue to refine its accreditation processes and evaluate its KPIs on a regular basis.