FG orders crackdown on illegal tertiary institutions

THE Federal Government has expressed concern over the recent upsurge of illegal tertiary institutions and ordered the National Universities Commission, National Commission for Colleges of Education and other regulatory agencies to crack down on the alleged illegal institutions.

Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, speaking at the Weekend Ministerial press briefing in Abuja, disclosed that about fresh 66 illegal degree mills have been identified by the National Universities Commission.

He also announced that the ban on satellite campuses was still in force and urged all universities and other tertiary intuitions to ensure compliance as certificates obtained from such institutions would not be recognized for the purpose of employment or admission for further studies.

Adamu regretted that only 30 per cent of candidates who sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Examination (JAMB) qualifying examination, get placement in the available spaces in the tertiary institutions in the country.

He added that the remaining 70 per cent struggle each year to find placement, saying most of this unfortunate Nigerians end up being cheated by the promoters of these illegal institutions in Nigeria and some other neighbouring countries.

ALSO READ:  Dogara flays Buhari over CJN removal

He said four major factors were “responsible for the recent upsurge in the number of illegal providers of degree-awarding institutions” saying greed, fraud and endemic corruption in the society ranked higher in the ladder.

He said: “The phenomenon of illegal providers of tertiary education is more notorious in the university subsector of tertiary education than the Polytechnic or College of Education subsector.

“To this end, 66 illegal degree mills have been identified by the National Universities Commission.

“It is also crucial to state that while some of the illegal providers are operating illegal institutions based in Nigeria, some are online in unapproved linkages and affiliations with substandard foreign institutions that have no accreditation or recognition of regulatory bodies either in Nigerian or their home countries.

“The proliferation of these institutions has made the job of regulatory agencies in the sector very difficult. Such institutions also default in taxes. They do not keep to the rules of the game. They have no admission quota, they run unaccredited courses with practically no standards. Their products are half baked and unemployable.

“In 2019 the Federal Government is determined to confront this menace frontally. The Federal Government will not sit back to allow lawless conduct to overwhelm the sector.

“There exists, the problems of insufficient access for the large pool of qualified candidates that sit for the yearly Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations organised by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

“However, the existing admission spaces in the Universities might not have matched with the number of qualified candidates, the Federal Government through the National Universities Commission has increased access to University education through the increase in the number of licenses granted to establish universities from the initial three in 1999 to the present 165 in 2019.

“Many applications are still being processed by the National Universities Commission. We are poised to do more,” the Minister said.

Adamu said: “In the case of Polytechnics, Monotechnics and related institutions, it is important to mention that the Federal Executive Council in 2001 decided to ban satellite campuses, outreach or study centres in Nigeria due to substandard training, operational lapses and unethical practices associated with these centres.

“Let me reiterate that the ban is still in force. These were established in the first instance by their respective parent institutions to boost their internally generated revenues.

“However, these centres were characterized by little or no concern for the public interest, academic dishonesty, students’ exploitation, inadequate physical facilities and staffing, and poor-quality education and training,” he said.

Adamu noted further that the essence of the briefing was to properly guide students as “we move into another academic year when JAMB will be conducting qualifying examination into these institutions, students, parents and guardians should be properly guided so that they will not fall victim of illegal tertiary institutions.

“Secondly, I want to use this opportunity to direct all regulatory agencies in the public education sector, namely, The National Universities Commission (NUC), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), to work with relevant security agencies to immediately crack down hard on all illegal tertiary institutions within their jurisdictions.

“Promoters of such institutions should immediately be apprehended and prosecuted. Let me warn those promoting illegal institutions that the days of treating promoters of such institutions with kid gloves are over. Anyone caught in the act will be severely punished,” he said.