SERVICOM Director Clarifies Credit Unit Status of GST

By Daniel Nnamani

The Director of Service Compact (SERVICOM) and Quality Assurance, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Olufemi Shaibu has clarified that the new announcement of General Studies (GSTs) as credit unit courses will only be applicable to 100-level students who are enrolled on the new National University Commission’s (NUC) Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standard (CCMAS).

He offered these clarifications hours after an internal memorandum circulated among UNILAG students about the monthly committee meeting of the university Quality Assurance and SERVICOM Officers held on 30 January 2025.

According to the memorandum, “the university has decided that from the 2024/2025 academic session, all GST Courses taken in the university would now be credited. This means that GST courses will no longer be zero-point courses.

“Furthermore, students that have been fully prepared to take GST examinations can now take the examinations when ready rather than waiting till the end of the semester.”

Speaking with UNILAG Sun on the new development, Prof. Shaibu said, “My unit, the Quality Assurance Unit and SERVICOM, has noticed that many year one students are unaware that GST, as contained in the CCMAs, is now graded.

“In the BMAS, GST is a pass/fail course with no grade attached. However, under the CCMAs, there is a grade assigned, and it should be treated with the same seriousness as other courses. This implies that GST will now be used to compute their final grade, so it is important they note this ahead of time.

When asked if he can confirm that students from 200-level and above who are on Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS) are not affected by this new development, he affirmatively said “yes”.