An official of the National Board of Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) says lack of proper awareness on the activities of the National Board of Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) responsible for the criticism against the board.
The Special Assistant to the registrar of the board, Ustaz Abdul-Lateef Adekilekun, said this on Thursday in Osogbo.
Adekilekun said that NBAIS which is an examination body like West Africa Certificate Examination (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) is not a religious body.
He, however, said that due to a lack of adequate awareness about the activities of NBAIS, people often misconstrue its establishment as that of a religious body and its certification as inferior to WAEC and NECO.
Adekilekun said that the NBAIS certificate was in no way inferior to WAEC and NECO certificates and that the guidelines for its establishment were in line with those used for other tertiary institutions in the country.
He said that in spite of the long history of the board and its recognition by the Federal Government, most tertiary institutions in the southern parts of the country were not accepting the use of its certificate for admission due to lack of adequate orientation.
Adekilekun, however, said that since the establishment of NBAIS in 1960 by the then Premier of Northern Nigeria’s Region, Alhaji Sir, Ahmadu Bello, the board had gained international recognition.
According to him, the NBAIS certificate is being recognised in London, Paris, Cairo and other countries through the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Education.
He called on the headquarters of NBAIS in Kaduna to organise an all-encompassing stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting, involving the Vice-Chancellors of universities, Rectors of Polytechnics, and Provosts of Colleges of Education, among others, on the activities of the board.
Adekilekun also urged the management board to make the board’s quarterly magazine, “NBAIS Facts”, available to the public for greater awareness of its activities.
He commended the Emir of Kazaure, Alhaji Najib Adamu, who is the NBAIS coordinator in the North, for his commitment to the development of the board, and the board’s registrar, Prof. Yahuza Imam, for the prompt payment of staff salaries and the timely release of students’ certificates.
Adekilekun, who noted that the board was out to blend Arabic education with Western education, said that 26 states in Nigeria were writing NBAIS examination with 1,750 affiliated schools spread across the country.
The special assistant also commended the Federal Government for ensuring the sustainability of the board.
