Nigerian Govt moves to establish committee to address fake degrees

The Federal Government has formed an interministerial group in an effort to address the problem of phony academic degrees in the nation’s educational system.

This was announced in Abuja on Tuesday by Ben Goong, the Federal Ministry of Education’s Director of Press and Public Relations.

“This afternoon, an interministerial committee on degree mills will be inaugurated by Education Minister Prof. Tahir Mamman,” Goong stated.

Following an investigation by reporter Umar Audu of the Daily Nigerian newspaper into the operations of degree mills in the Benin Republic and Togo, the subject of bogus degrees has gained national attention.

The reporter revealed how he completed his degree program in six weeks and even started his mandated youth service program through the National Youth Service Corps, or NYSC.

Audu graduated in February 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication from the Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, Cotonou, Benin Republic. He contacted the syndicate that specializes in selling degree certificates in December 2022.

Following a research that exposed the illicit activities carried out by certain higher education institutions in West African states, the Nigerian government banned the certification and evaluation of degrees from Togo and the Benin Republic.

Subsequently, the Minister of Education declared that the administration of President Bola Tinubu will broaden its scope to include institutions in other African nations like Ghana.

According to data provided by the National Association of Nigerian Students in Benin Republic and Togo, as of right now, no fewer than 10,900 Nigerian students enrolled in universities in Beninois and Togo are anticipated to be impacted by the Nigerian government ban.

Furthermore, no fewer than 18 of the 58 universities in Nigeria whose operations have been suspended are foreign-owned, according to the National Universities Commission, the agency that oversees higher education in that country.