Dr. Esther Imuetinyan Mmeka, the new Director, Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (DSDE) holds a Bachelor of Science Education Degree in Physics (1994), Masters in Curriculum Studies 1997, both from the Lagos State University, Ojo and a Doctorate in Educational Management from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

She joined the services of the National Universities Commission in September 2001, as Academic Planning Officer I in the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) Division, in the then Department of Academic Planning & Research (DAPR).

Dr. Mmeka has traversed different Departments in the NUC which has seen her garner great working experience in those areas of responsibilities including Research and Postgraduate Development; Quality Assurance; Inspection and Monitoring; and Academic Planning. She has successfully accomplished different assignments in the Commission ranging from Commission-wide duties to special projects.

During this period, she was the Officer in charge of analysis of SIWES Master and Placement Lists from Nigerian Universities and Providing information to institutions, governments and private agencies on the quality status of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.

On elevation to Principal Officer position in 2007, she was designated as Principal Academic Planning Officer, with responsibilities for Analysis of universities’ Academic Brief, Drawing up guidelines for analyzing application for establishment of academic programmes/units in Nigerian universities; Analysis of proposals from universities in respect of establishment of academic programmes/units; and Attending to request on programmes related matters, among others.

Through dint of hard work, Dr. Esther was promoted to Chief in January, 2013, and served as Chief Quality Assurance Officer in the then Department of Quality Assurance, and took charge of the Coordination of Pre-Accreditation & Accreditation & Post Accreditation Activities for Institutional (IA) and undergraduate (UGA) in Nigerian University system (NUS), as well as Vetting and Analyzing of Accreditation Reports and Review of instrument used employed for Institutional (IA) and undergraduate (UG) Accreditation in Nigerian University system (NUS).

She was subsequently moved to the Department of Inspection and Monitoring where she served between January 2018 and December 2018, as Chief Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and later became a Deputy Director, in charge of the Division in the Directorate of Inspection and Monitoring in 2019, assisting in the Development of Instruments for Monitoring and Inspection of Universities, Affiliate Institutions and Licencing of Private Universities and in the conduct of Inspection and Monitoring Visits to Private (Review of Provisional Licences conducted to some private universities during the period.

She was later moved as Deputy Director (HOD, Curriculum Development &Planning Division) in the Directorate of Academic Planning in January 2019 and played a prominent role in the Coordination of human and material resources of the Division. Among her outstanding achievements include the Coordination of Comprehensive Curriculum Review Exercise in the Nigerian University System (NUS); Participation at the West African Health Organization (WAHO) workshop to finalise and Validate the Bachelor’s Degree Curriculum for Nurses and Midwives for English Speaking Countries of ECOWAS at ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 2020 as well as Review and Validation of the Harmonized Training Curriculum for Achieved Health Professional in ECOWAS Region in 2022.

As an Academic Planning expert, Dr. Esther coordinated Curriculum Development and Review in the Nigerian University System since 2019 as a Deputy Director in the Curriculum Development and Planning Division of the Directorate of Academic Planning of the National Universities Commission. She is adept in the development and review of (undergraduate and postgraduate programmes) instrument as she coordinated and participated in the comprehensive review of the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) to the new Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS)meant to produce graduates of the 21st Century Skills, (a paradigm shift from job seekers to creators), culminating into its implementation and the training of academics for effective delivery in the Nigerian University System.

She has been a member of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) and also served as a member of TRCN Publication Editorial Board till date and had attended many conferences, workshops and seminars, with some publications in her name.

The new Director has successfully accomplished different task in the Commission ranging from Commission-wide duties to Ad-hoc Assignments such as Programme Accreditation, Institutional Accreditation, Resource Verification, Inspection & Monitoring (Provisional Licence of Private Universities, Role of Parent Institutions and their Affiliate Institutions), First Verification visits in the Nigerian Universities across the six geo-political zones in the Country and outside the Commission, including a Sabbatical appointment with the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, as Deputy Director/ Senior Lecturer in the Directorate of General Studies and Directorate of Critical Thinking, Teaching and Learning, between 2019/2020, where she participated in the articulation of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NDA and some Organizations like Defence Industries of Nigeria (DICON); Defence and Research Development Bureau (DRDB), Abuja and National Meteorological Centre (NMC, Jos) and Industrial Training Fund (ITF), among other duties.

She was also recently nominated by the Commission to serve her as one of the Harmonisation of Quality Assurance Accreditation HAQAA3 Ambassadors, a very high-profile appointment that recognises her as an advocate towards popularising African Standards Guidelines on Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA) in the Nigerian University System (NUS) by ensuring the possible domestication of vital and compatible components of the continental quality assurance and accreditation framework in the system. She is also in the 17-man Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the NUC and Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities Roundtable on (ASG-QA).

Her last position was as Deputy Director, Curriculum Development &Planning Division, in the Directorate of Academic Planning, a position she held since 2019, until the promotion examination for the Directors Cadre which got her elevated as Director and deployment to the Directorate of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (DSDE).

Dr. Esther Mmeka, an indigene of Edo State is married and blessed with children.

i. To encourage strong collaborative ties between academia and Industry in the area of
skilling and entrepreneurship towards creating sustainable opportunities for creativity and
innovation in Nigerian Universities;
ii. To promote the entrepreneurial university concept and foster student internship
programmes that guarantee the acquisition of specific sectorial skills for employability;
iii. To map and conduct periodic labour market survey to determine the required skills for
employability in the economy;
iv. To engage with corporate bodies; Banks, Telecommunication, etc to sponsor and brand
incubation centres as part of the entrepreneurship study centres in Nigerian Universities;
v. To facilitate the engagement with CBN, BOI, DBN, BOA, TETfund etc towards aligning the
various graduate SME loan schemes with the university entrepreneurship programmes; and
vi. To facilitate University – Industry partnerships in the areas of curriculum development and
review to embed entrepreneurship training and skills developments.

The Division is headed by Mr. Obinna Wachuku

Functions of the Division of ED

1. To encourage strong collaborative ties between Academia and Industry in the area of skilling and entrepreneurship towards creating sustainable opportunities for creativity and innovation in Nigerian Universities;

1. To promote the entrepreneurial university concept and foster student internship programmes that guarantee the acquisition of specific sectorial skills for employability;

• To engage with corporate bodies; Banks, Telecommunication, etc to sponsor and brand incubation centres as part of the entrepreneurship study centres in Nigerian Universities;

1. Work with sister agencies and stakeholders to develop a legal/administrative framework to promote quality vocational training and entrepreneurship culture in the NUS;
2. Promote a Train the Trainer certification process to enable lecturers from all universities to become entrepreneurship lecturers, able to incorporate entrepreneurship into their various disciplines;
3. Work with relevant agencies to design an orientation programme that would stimulate fresher’s creativity, innovation and sustainable interaction with skills and entrepreneurship centres;

• Promote and enhance NUS and stakeholders’ commitment and ownership of skills development and entrepreneurship initiative;
• Create a benchmark for the training of students as prospective entrepreneurs to enable them contribute to national economy development;

1. Coordinate the design and facilitation of extensive capacity building programmes for Directors and Heads of entrepreneurship centers;
2. Promote the participation of women in the workforce through adequate skilling and entrepreneurship training; and
3. Interface with the NESG and other relevant stakeholders to promote the creation of pathways that would provide seamless integration of skill acquisition and entrepreneurship training into formal education.

Units

1. Entrepreneurship Education Unit

       ii.       Small and Medium Enterprise and Driven Enterprise Unit

The Division is headed by 

Functions of the Division of IWES

1. Periodic review of courses approved for SiWES funding in the Universities;
2. Ensuring the establishment of IWES Units in Nigerian Universities;

• Regularly reviewing courses approved for SiWES funding in the Universities;

1. Coordinating Teachers in Work Experience Scheme (TiWES) and Students in Work Experience Scheme (SiWES);
2. Encouraging Nigerian Universities to establish strong ties with Industries with a view to accepting students and teachers in industrial work experience (TIWE and SIWES); and
3. Liaising with Industrial Training Fund (ITF) for smooth running of SIWES programmes.

Units                                                                   

1. Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme Unit
2. Teachers Industrial Work Experience Scheme Unit

The Division is headed by Engr. Suleiman Adebayo

Functions of the Division of UIL

1. Fostering partnership among university, industry and government, aimed at producing a workforce with requisite skills, using the Triple Helix model;                                           
2. Creating opportunities for skilling and entrepreneurial trainings for NUS that would promote the acquisition of requisite skills for graduate employability and enterprise management;                                                                                                                  
3. Mapping and conducting periodic labour market survey to determine the required skills for employability in the economy;                                                                                        
4. Promoting and strengthening sustainable linkages between Nigerian universities and industries as well as community of entrepreneurs that will be committed to skilling and entrepreneurship agenda;                                                                                    
5. Interfacing with NESG and other stakeholders to establish and maintain a database of skills needed in various sectors of the economy;                                                                    
6. Ensure strong and sustainable industrial linkages for NUS towards enhancing experiential teaching and learning, Research and Development (R&D)

Units         

1. Labour Market Observatory Unit
2. University-Industry-Community Unit