Engineering and Sustainability Education in Nigeria

Since gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria has witnessed spiralling engineering infrastructural developments, such as road construction and development of Ajaokuta steel plant and refineries. Nigerian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have trained engineers who occupy important engineering posts in the public service and private sectors that administer some of these projects. With Nigeria's ratification of several sustainability pacts, it is pertinent to consider the extent to which sustainability education is reflected in its engineering education. This paper presents a review of Nigerian engineering education based on an analysis of the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Undergraduate Engineering Programmes in Nigeria (BMAS) document issued by Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN). The analysis finds that of the 30 engineering programmes listed in the BMAS document, none directly addresses sustainability. The paper therefore highlights the need to mainstream sustainability education into the Nigerian engineering education curriculum. A vital means of achieving such mainstreaming is through the inclusion of a sustainable engineering programme in the BMAS for engineering.