The Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling has invited memoranda from the public as it begins the probe of private universities established in the last 15 years.
Recall that the federal government has set up the probe panel in January, following an undercover report by DAILY NIGERIAN reporter, Umar Audu.
In the report published on December 30, 2023, the reporter revealed how he finished a four-year degree programme in less than two months from Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The certificate was also used to get him mobilised for the national youth service scheme, NYSC.
Reacting, the Federal Government suspended the accreditation of degree certificates from Benin and Togo Republics.
However, in a newspaper advertorial published on Tuesday, the committee said it would examine “whether or not private universities established in the last 15 years have in place prescribed facilities, appropriate management structure, adequate funding of programmes, requisite state, and nature of the staff – full-time, contract, adjunct, visiting, and other types.
It noted that the probe was “without prejudice to the periodic accreditation exercise of the National Universities Commission.”
“Memoranda from the general public are, therefore, solicited to provide information to the committee to help it make appropriate recommendations to address the menace in line with its terms of reference,” the committee said.
The Committee Chairman, Jibrila Amin, explained that the inter-ministerial committee would, “review the role of any MDA or its officials [including identifying such officials] in the facilitation of the recognition and procurement of the fake certificate in question”.
The committee will also, “examine the rules, procedures, and processes for recognition and accreditation of foreign universities and programmes by the Federal Ministry of Education; establish if unapproved foreign institutions [degree mills] exist or not in Nigeria in whatever form, with their identities and locations if any.”
The committee is expected to “make appropriate recommendations for review of any rules, procedures, and processes to prevent re-occurrence and sanctions for identified erring officials.
“Make other recommendations that will strengthen the system of recognition, accreditation, and quality assurance of degrees in Nigeria and examine the extant rules, procedures, and processes for granting provisional licences to new universities by the National Universities Commission.”
