The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has announced that the 'Expired' word will be changed to 'Due For Review' in categorisation of academic programmes at universities and all tertiary institutions.

This was revealed during a Tuesday press conference conveyed by the executive director of NCHE, Prof Mary Okwakol.

Recently, media went into a frenzy following reports that some of the academic programmes at different universities and tertiary institutions were expired.

As previously reflected on NCHE website, at least 1,470 programmes had expired over the past five years.

The affected programmes included both graduate and undergraduate courses, and the expiry period differed according to the academic institutions.

Following the media reports, there have been public concerns over the validity of accredited academic programmes offered by NCHE.

On Tuesday, Okwakol revealed that they recently held meetings with heads of degree awarding institutions and tertiary institutions, during which recommendations were suggested in regards to the categorisation of academic programmes.

According to Okwakol, having taken into consideration the recommendations raised by the heads of institutions, the council resolved to replace the word 'Expiry' with 'Due For Review' for programmes whose re-assessment period had lapsed and have not been re-submitted to NCHE for review.

She also noted that the council resolved to maintain the 'Under Review' label for programmes whose re-assessment had lapsed but have been submitted to NCHE.

Meanwhile, Okwakol revealed that the council has also extended the period between accreditation and re-assessment to the equivalent of two equivalencies cycles plus one year.

"During that period a programme is recognised as accredited," she noted.

According to the NCHE, all the programmes labelled 'Due for review' shall have to be submitted to the council by November 30, 2023 for re-assessment.