Standard for Soil Quality

At the end of this course students will be able to: 1. explain the basic concepts of soil quality and soil quality index; 2. determine parameters for soil quality; 3. differentiate between soil quality and soil health; 4. outline the Procedures for setting standards for soil quality; 5. state the importance of setting soil quality standards; and 6. evaluate policies and its effectiveness on soil quality standards in Nigeria.

Meaning and definition of soil quality. Concepts of soil quality and their significance. Development of framework for evaluation of soil quality. Soil quality index; Characteristics of the quality and types of soil. Differences between soil quality and soil health. Importance of setting soil quality standards. Procedures for setting standards for soil quality. Agencies for setting soil quality standards. Evaluation of policies and its effectiveness on soil quality standards in Nigeria. Minimum Academic Standards Personnel The personnel requirements for the programme should reflect student population and the variety of activities to be performed in the classrooms, studios, laboratories and workshops. The ratios should conform to the NUC minimum guidelines on staff/student ratio of 1:15 for the Discipline. Academic Staff The point of entry for each of the recognised teaching staff positions should reflect appropriate academic qualifications, and experience in both teaching and professional practice. Details of the requirements for the various positions are indicated in Table 4: Academic Support Personnel Teaching Assistant/Demonstrators are recommended to assist lecturers in the conduct of tutorials, practicals and fieldwork. Administrative Support Personnel The services of the administrative support staff are indispensable in the proper administration of the departments and faculty offices. These will normally include confidential secretaries, clerical officers, typists, messengers and cleaners. Technical Support Personnel The technical support personnel shall consist of technical officers and technologists. It is important to recruit very competent senior technical staff to maintain teaching and research equipment. Physical Facilities Spaces For the good administration of the programme, adequate facilities should be provided for the office of the Head of Department. The required minimum office space standards for the programmes are provided by the Commission in the relevant section of the BMAS. Spaces should be provided for the under listed facilities taking due cognizance of the minimum recommendation as presented in Table 5: 1. Office Accommodation; 2. Classroom Space; 3. Studio Space; 4. Seminar Rooms; 5. Drawing Offices; 6. Workshop Spaces; and 7. Library. Space Recommendations Space Use Minimum (m²) 2. Professors Office Academic 25 3. Head of Department Administration 30 4. Senior Lecturer Academic 12 Other ranks of academic 5. staff Academic 10 6. Senior Technical Staff Technical 12 7. Senior Administrative Staff Administration 12 8. Junior Technical Staff Technical 9 9. Junior Administrative Staff Administration 9 10. Studio Space Students 30 11. Lecture Space Students 75 12. Seminar Space Students 30 13. Laboratory Space Students 30 14. Library Students 35 15. Social Space Students 40 16. Storage Space Students 30 Staff- Student Common Room In order to promote both social and academic interaction among staff and between staff and students, there should be a common room of about 35(m²) equipped with a kitchenette where staff and students could interact in an informal atmosphere. Equipment Each Faculty/programme should be provided with requisite laboratories, studios and workshops with relevant equipment in relation to student population and variety of activities performed in each programme. To achieve the benchmark standards for any programme, there should be: 1. Well-equipped Computer lab with adequate desk top computers for students, including relevant computer software in each degree programme; 2. High speed Internet facilities for both staff and students; 3. A PC for each academic staff in his / her office with Internet facilities; 4. Multimedia Recording Devices (at least 4); 5. A Video recorder; 6. A video player; 7. A wide screen Television; 8. Overhead power-point, multi-media facilities; 9. Vehicle for field trips; and 10. Laboratories with diverse equipment to be provided with consumables in terms of chemicals, biological or ecological materials. to support the prescribed practicals. Library and information Resources Universities should leverage on available technology to put in place rich databases and other electronic/digital library and information resources. In addition, good stock of current hard copies of reference and other textual materials should be provided centrally at the level of the Faculty. A well networked digital library should serve the entire university community. Availability of wireless facilities (Wi-Fi) with adequate bandwidth should enhance access to these electronic resources.