…to extend sanctions to Uganda, Kenya and Niger
The Ministry of Education has announced that the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo are suspended forthwith.
The decision of the Ministry is in response to a viral investigative report by Daily Nigerian on 30 December that exposed how anyone can get a degree from the two countries without application, registration, studying or writing exams.
The report detailed how a staff of Daily Nigerian obtained a B.A degree in Mass Communication from a Cotonou university in six weeks, and went ahead to participate in the one-year compulsory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, scheme even after serving his fatherland in 2018.
The report also exposed that top government agencies and officials from Nigeria and some other African countries aid the booming fraudulent business of certificate racketeering in the continent.
In a press statement on 2 January, the Ministry of Education said it has commenced an investigation into the activities of the “degree mills” in Benin and Togo while assuring Nigerians of its commitment to sanitize the country’s education sector.
The statement says the Ministry has set up a panel to commence “internal administrative processes to determine the culpability or otherwise of her staff for which applicable Public Service Rules would be applied.”
“The Federal Ministry of Education is committed to collaborating with stakeholders, including civil society organizations, to enhance the Nigerian education system consistently and we value the public’s understanding and patience as we strive to address these issues,” it added.
Speaking on Channels Television Politics Today on Wednesday night, the Minister of Education, Tahir Maman, noted that the ban will be extended to Uganda, Kenya, and the Niger Republic.
“We are not going to stop at just Benin and Togo. We are going to extend the dragnet to countries like Uganda, Kenya, even Niger here where such institutions have been set up,” Mamman said.
He added that the government will send security agents after anyone with fake certificates from foreign countries and already using them to secure job opportunities in Nigeria.
“I have no sympathy for such people. Instead, they are part of the criminal chain that should be arrested,” the Minister said.
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