Continuing Education Programme (CEP)

     BRIEF HISTORY OF CEP

Continuing Education Programme (CEP), Nnamdi Azikiwe University was established in the 1991/1992 session with Prof.  Nduka Okafor as the pioneer Director who also was the Provost of the former Anambra State University of Technology (ASUTECH) Awka Campus, which metamorphosed into the current Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) when the New Anambra State was created in 1991.

The basic objective of the Programme at the time, as designed by the pioneer Director was to provide educational opportunities to the following groups of individuals within and outside its community of establishment:-

i               Adult persons who were not opportuned to engage in tertiary education  at their youth as a result of either  financial difficulties or other limitations

  1. Individuals especially the working class who could not engage in full-time studies.

iii.            Other individuals who could not engage in full-time studies.

The age limit at the inception was a minimum of 30 years.  By then, only mature students registered for the Programme and admission requirement was 3 credit passes in relevant courses in WASC/GCE.  However,   with the difficulties experienced by younger people in securing regular university admission through Unified Matriculation Examination (UME), (as it was then called and now Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) this group of people flocked the CEP as an alternative avenue of gaining tertiary education.  That then necessitated the upgrading of the admissions requirement to 5 credits at WASC/GCE level at par with regular students’ admissions requirement, perfectly justified as both Programmes award the same degree. By that, there was and continues to be a boom in admission into CEP.

However, by the 2013/2014 session, the National Universities Commission (NUC), in order to ensure effectiveness of the Programme (by matching the population of the students in the CEP with the availability of physical facilities and staffing, as the same academic staff are engaged in the teaching of both regular and part-time Programmes), suspended admissions into the Faculties of Management Sciences, Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences and Physical Sciences, which had much larger intakes than in the regular Programmes beyond the stipulated NUC bench-mark of 20% of the regular students’ admission for the CEP. The CEP is a major avenue of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the University, especially as the Federal Government Subvention to the University for the regular Programme continues to dwindle.  The NUC’s directive, therefore, has affected seriously the University’s revenue source.

      Philosophy and Objective of CEP

It is a truism that education is power. Consequently, by allowing all and sundry to enjoy the opportunity to embrace will make for a better society.

The main objective for the establishment of CEP remains to provide opportunities to targeted public to obtain university degrees, especially individuals who had no sponsors at their youthful age or those, who, by virtue of their work could not engage in full-time studies. Consequently, individuals who have the zeal for academic pursuit are not barred by age as long as they have the wherewithal to engage in the Programme.  By this, the competency and literacy levels of the middle class who so emerge are greatly enhanced with the resultant propensity to contribute to the national economy.

The CEP is therefore designed to give competence to students produced in their respective.

professional areas to enable them  perform creditably with confidence in their chosen careers.

  Vision

The vision of CEP is to produce students with the best exposure to knowledge and skill who shall compete favourably with the best products of similar part-time programmes in the nation and beyond.

Mission

The commitment of the CEP is to

  • Provide quality training to participants through teaching, practicals and research to impart competence to students through acquisition of knowledge and skill.
  • Create useful manpower pool to service both the private and public sectors of the economy.
  • Produce students with high esteem and good moral standing which will rub-off on the national life.

Faculties Participating in CEP

With the withdrawal of the then Faculty of Engineering and Technology (now Faculty of Engineering) and Faculties of Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences, from CEP in 2010 by the directive of their professional bodies and also Faculties currently participating in the Continuing Education Programme include the Faculties of Agriculture, Arts, Biosciences (only Applied Biochemistry and Applied Microbiology and Brewing Departments), Education, Management Sciences and Social Sciences.

Composition and Functions of CEP Board

Membership of CEP Board (with the current appointees)  includes

DVC (Academic)                                

(Prof. Charles O. Esimone)                –               Chairman

Director, CEP                                    

(Prof.  Ada Sam Omenyi)                  –               Member

Deputy Director, CEP                      

(Engr. Jones A. Okeke)                       –               Member

Deputy Registrar                                –               Member/Secretary

(Mrs. Okoye Chika L)

In addition to 2 or 3 appointees by the Vice Chancellor.

The function of CEP Board is to enact policies on crucial issues that will ensure the effective and efficient running of CEP by the Management. The CEP Management is composed of the Director, CEP, Deputy Director, CEP and the Senior Registry Staff.

    Administration of CEP

The Director, CEP oversees the day to day running of CEP assisted by the Deputy Director and a Senior Registry staff.  However, the Chairman of the policy-making body of CEP is the Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) (Academic) appointed by the Vice Chancellor.

To date, the underlisted academics were the Directors who had so far administered the CEP:-

Prof. Nduka Okafor (Pioneer)           1991       –               1998

Prof. B.C.E. Egboka                            1998       –               1999

Prof. E.L.C. Nnabuife                         1999       –               2003

Prof. I.O.C. Ekejiuba                          2003       –               2005

Prof. G.C. Unachukwu                       2006       –               2009

Prof. E.O. Akuezuilo                           2009       –               2014

Appointment of Teaching and Examination Monitors and Invigilators

To ensure effectiveness of teaching and regular attendance to lectures by lecturers; also to ensure proper conduct of examinations of CEP, monitors are appointed who physically go round the classrooms and halls taking records of conducts of both students and staff. Reports from such records are made to CEP for immediate action.  It is the responsibility of the various Departments engaging in the Programme to schedule their staff for invigilation of examinations and teaching. Such schedules must be submitted to the CEP for the preparation of general examinations time-table and to present lecture time-tables to the monitor for ease of identifying venues and individual lecturers handling scheduled courses.

  Appointment of CEP Coordinators

Heads of Departments (HODs) of the various Departments participating in the CEP are expected to appoint Departmental Coordinators to manage the affairs of CEP as affecting their Departments, on behalf of the HODs, to reduce the HODs workloads and for greater attention and effectiveness. Such responsibilities as preparation of time table, schedule of examinations’ invigilators, attending to CEP students’ academic problems and other responsibilities that may from time to time be assigned by the HODs form the specific areas of operation of the Departmental CEP Coordinators. It should be emphasized here that appointment of Coordinators is the responsibility of the HODs.