Sanction Nigerian Institutions Running Unaccredited Courses, NANS To FG

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has asked that federal government to sanction Nigerian universities offering unaccredited courses.

The call comes barely 24 hours after the President Bola Tinubu led administration suspended the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from the Republic of Benin and Togo.

Naija News had earlier reported that the Ministry of Education blacklisted roughly 18 foreign learning institutions following an undercover investigation undertaken by a Nigerian newspaper that uncovered the practices of a degree mill in Cotonou, a major city in Benin Republic.

The investigation revealed that the undercover reporter graduated from a Cotonou institution in six weeks and completed the National Youth Service Corps program as required.

However, NANS praised the Federal Government for suspending the review and accreditation of degree credentials from Benin Republic and Togo schools in a statement signed on Wednesday by its Senate President, Elvis Ekundina.

The government was urged “to extend its sanction to tertiary institutions operating in Nigeria who are offering courses without accreditation from relevant authorities,.”

The association charged the Federal Government “to commence investigation into the activities of the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and other agencies fingered in the fraudulent activities of obtaining degree certificates from foreign universities.

“While we commend the Federal Government for its quick decision to suspend the accreditation of degree certificates obtained from institutions in Benin Republic and Togo, it is, however, important for the government to take further steps into investigating the activities of relevant agencies fingered in the fraudulent activities.

“This is the only way the Federal government can save its face and restore the battered image of the country.

“We also want to use this opportunity to call on the government to beam its searchlight into the activities of tertiary institutions, especially privately owned ones, that are running unaccredited courses.

“These institutions, in their fraudulent act, are destroying our education sector and swindling innocent young Nigerians of their money by offering them unaccredited courses.

“NANS describes these universities and polytechnics offering unaccredited courses as illegal institutions as we want the government to deal with them appropriately.”

In order to reposition the country’s education sector, Ekundina called on the Federal Government to work with NANS and other student bodies to eradicate illicit tertiary educational institutions from the country.