FG sets up academy for history, cultural studies

The federal government has established the Nigerian Academy for Cultural Studies (NACUS) as a specialised institution to train individuals for innovative studies and development of culture and history.

Biodun Ajiboye, executive secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), made this known in a statement by Caleb Nor, his media assistant, on Saturday.

He said the institute has been approved by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to run the programme and award National Diploma in Cultural Administration and Human Resources (NDCAHR). He said the Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) is in affiliation with the Nasarawa state university, Keffi (NSUK).

“Already, the accreditation and affiliation have provided an opportunity for certification of individuals who have obtained diploma to proceed for higher education in cultural studies,” he said.

He said the academy’s postgraduate diploma in cultural administration can be used to enrol for a master’s degree.

He further said the certificate will be useful for cultural workers, entrepreneurs, hotels and tourism agencies among others.

“According to the Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, the institution will be situated in four geographical locations of Nigeria with campuses in Abuja, Northern Zone, Southern Zone and Eastern Zone,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“The nation has seen the need to incorporate adequate cultural content in our school curriculum both in the primary, secondary and tertiary education systems.

“What this means is that once we are able to shed off the foreign cultural antecedents that we have inadvertently imbibed over the years, we will then begin to realise the importance of our innate cultural essentialities.

“These essentialities will confer on us as a people, a great dose of originality, thereby paving way for adequate cultural identity.

“This first specialised institution to teach culture-NACUS-is a bold step and innovation of the Tinubu administration.”