UNIVERSITY’S CHARTERED ACCREDITATION

           

In the European Union, the United States and other parts of the world, is an established fact that when a tertiary institution or professional organization is granted “Chartered” status she automatically becomes self-accrediting and independent. Consequently, she is at liberty from government accreditation stringent policy and  rules unlike other tertiary institutions and professional organizations as  such institution or professional organization  incorporates to operate under the terms and condition of the charter as an independent entity  like a Limited Liability Company or Corporation be it a “Legislative” or “Royal” Charter.

LEGISLATIVE CHARTER

Under the Legislative or Parliamentary Charter, a tertiary institution or professional organization  would be granted “Chartered” status by the national legislative arm of the government known in Nigeria as the National Assembly or House of Parliament (in cases of Parliamentary system of government like in Great Britain, Uganda, Israel and other parts of the world). Consequently, we have several “Chartered” organizations in Nigeria such as Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, Nigeria Institute of Management and several others and likewise  applicable in other parts of the world. Evidently, Clifford University – Owerrenta in Abia State is one of such Chartered institutions in Nigeria. 

The Chartered institution would pay the required termly dues (in every three years or more) into the government treasury and not based on termly accreditation and performance assessment unlike other none chartered tertiary institutions and professional organizations whose performance are assessed on termly basis based on the fact that the chartered institutions or professional organizations are independent entity like Limited Liability Company or Corporation and based on the fact that government policy on termly accreditation and assessment of the institution can change at any time through different administration of governance in this era of democracy quite unlike the legislative or royal chartered institutions. 

Consequently in Nigeria, most private universities are operating under the legislative charter instead which may not be seen as government accredited because most people are only familiar with government accreditation and not legislative or Royal Charter.

                                  ROYAL CHARTER

Like the Legislative Charter, the Monarch of a kingdom receives the termly dues from the chartered university officials and pays part of it into the government treasury that grant the Monarch the autonomy based on the approval of the House of Parliament or Legislature. 

It is a common known fact that the Monarch is the king of a kingdom within a country whose kingdom becomes a subnational government with an autonomy granted by the national legislative body being an integral part of the country and not as an independent nation or state like Lesotho in South Africa whose autonomy was granted to her by the defunct apartheid regime being a Parliamentary government prior to her democratic era.   

Consequently, the terms and conditions of the autonomy granted to her by her national legislature must also include her educational policy which must be in conformity with the national educational policy or similarly in case of foreign university affiliation in conformity with UNESCO rules.

Evidently, in the United Kingdom, most of her universities were granted either Parliamentary or Royal Charter like the University of London and several others including several advanced countries and across the globe.

Based on this development, in conformity with UNESCO rules, the European-American University dealing exclusively on secular courses (as a subsidiary of the Western Orthodox University), was granted  Royal Charter in 2012  by the Monarch  in Uganda who was granted autonomy by the House of Parliament as a sub national government of Uganda like  Lesotho of South Africa  in order to award degrees exclusively on secular courses to prospective students within the African countries at an affordable cost which would be higher if she uses the Parliamentary  or Royal Charter from any of the advanced countries with higher tax rates.

Based on the fact that the Monarch was granted the autonomy by the legislative arms of the Government of Uganda, the University degree awarded under the Royal Charter is recognized all over the world based on UNESCO rules like the Queen of England whose universities degrees awarded within her kingdom under the Royal Charter are recognized all over the world (as it is applicable in other parts of the world) whose universities operate as an independent entity under the Royal Charter as a sub national government of Great Britain to whom was granted  autonomy by the British House of  Parliament.

Based on the independent nature of “chartered” institution, the phrase “…accredited by...” (NUC or any other government accrediting agency) is no longer applicable to most private institutions after the charter had been granted by the legislature in collaboration with an accrediting agency. In most cases, only government owned institutions are synonymous with the phrase “accredited by….” which serve as an identity for government recognized institutions unlike the private institutions in order to minimize the high cost of termly accreditation and stringent rules and regulations whose cost of assessment and termly due is not subsidized by the government quite unlike government owned institutions.  

Consequently, some people that are ignorant of chartered institutions rules and regulation would speculate that the institution is neither accredited nor recognized by government because it is no longer using the phrase “accredited by NUC” in case of Nigerian institutions.

However, it will interest you to know that there is no internationally acceptable standard for accreditation. Each country has its own standard for accreditation and varies from one State to another or from one Province to another in the same country based on the legislation of individual country. According to UNESCO rules, a degree from any country would be recognized in any part of the world irrespective of the standard of accreditation and curriculum used provided, the institution had been licensed and approved by the government in the country of origin to award degrees without discriminating against the type of government that rules be it Presidential, parliamentary or Monarch.    

Based on this development, both the Western Orthodox University and European-American University being her legal subsidiary, no longer associate with any national and international accrediting agency of any government either State or Federal and even in the Commonwealth of Dominica and Uganda based on the Royal Charter as it applies to other chartered institutions all over the world being legally an autonomous and independent institution having been incorporated under the charter.