Philosophy
The philosophy of establishing the General Studies Programme was to train and indoctrinate Nigerian graduates with indigenous culture and tradition. There is hardly any subject taught in school that was not learnt in rudimentary form in the home. No child was confined to one area of knowledge, but by adulthood, his/her interest in one or two of say farming, engineering, agriculture, carpentry, blacksmithing, music, trading etc becomes discernible. All the ingredients of teaching and learning in the primitive home were categorized into four units of the General Studies programme – Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Science and the Use of English Language. Aware of the fact that every human is endowed from birth with the seeds of possibilities to venture into any aspects of human life and endeavour, the General Studies programme makes explicit what is implicit in the students by reinforcing specialization and placing it in a wider perspective with the stamp of cultural significance. Another perspective is the assimilation of Nigerian culture by Western Colonial civilization. The result of this narrative is a widespread ignorance among Nigerian groups about each other and about themselves. It was on this background that the Federal government of Nigeria identified the need to inculcate in students the need for self-realization and self-expression based upon their culture. In a bid to remedy this anomaly in practical terms, the Government, on January 23, 1978, directed all Universities in Nigeria to include a compulsory course on culture and history of our various peoples, and mandated that the award of degrees be made conditional upon the passing of these courses. These measures were designed to revolutionize knowledge on Nigerian culture and heritage, and to sustain our diverse cultures in Nigeria. The General Studies programme thus gained root in Nigerian universities when the National Universities Commission (NUC) launched the General Studies courses as part requirement of a minimal standard for academic curricula and activities. This position was taken to satisfy the yearnings of students in Nigerian Universities who were desirous to have a balanced and widespread knowledge in interdisciplinary studies as obtained in Universities in other parts of the globe. The goals and general objectives for the General Studies as published by the National Universities Commission in BMAS are as follows: Goal: To produce a morally and intellectually capable graduates with vision and entrepreneurial skills in an environment of peace and social cohesiveness.