The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has announced that engineering and technology programmes in Nigerian universities will now admit students strictly according to approved quotas following endorsements by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
COREN President, Prof. Sadiq Abubakar, disclosed this on Tuesday during a media briefing ahead of the council’s 34th Engineering Assembly in Abuja.
According to him, the policy is aimed at improving the quality of engineering education by ensuring institutions admit only the number of students their available facilities, laboratories, workshops, equipment and academic workforce can effectively support.
Abubakar described the development as a major milestone for engineering education, noting that the profession would now operate under a regulated admission system similar to medicine, law and pharmacy.
He said the initiative would strengthen practical training and produce graduates with the technical competence required to compete globally.
The COREN president explained that unrestricted admissions over the years had overstretched facilities in many universities, resulting in a decline in hands-on engineering training.
He added that the council was also working with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to introduce similar admission controls for engineering programmes in polytechnics.
Abubakar further announced the reintroduction of the indexing and oath-taking of engineering graduates, alongside a mandatory one-year Engineering Residency Programme for university and Higher National Diploma graduates before they proceed for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
According to him, the residency programme is designed to provide structured industrial experience and prepare graduates for professional practice.
He also revealed that COREN has trained and certified 239 engineering infrastructure failure and forensic investigators to probe incidents such as building collapses, bridge failures and industrial accidents across the country.
In addition, the council has trained 839 engineering programme evaluators from academia and industry to strengthen accreditation and quality assurance in universities and polytechnics.
Abubakar said COREN has intensified nationwide compliance inspections, expanded its regional offices, digitised its registration process and reactivated its disciplinary tribunal as part of efforts to improve engineering regulation.
He stressed that many engineering failures result from non-compliance with professional standards and expressed confidence that the newly trained forensic investigators would help identify the causes of infrastructure failures and recommend measures to prevent future occurrences.
The COREN president added that this year’s Engineering Assembly, themed “Advancing Public Safety in Nigeria Through Strategic Engineering Regulation, Enforcement and Tiered Sanctioning Regime,” will focus on improving engineering governance and reducing infrastructure failures nationwide.
