The Federal Government has found out that about 21,600 students are using fake certificates from degree mills in countries like Benin Republic and Togo.
Education Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman, shared this news during a press briefing in Abuja about what his ministry has achieved in the past year. He mentioned that 1,105 students have fake certificates from Togo alone.
Back in March, the government set up a special committee to investigate these fake degree mills. This was after the Daily Nigerian published a report exposing fake degree mills in Benin Republic. The government has promised to remove all fake degrees from Nigerian and foreign universities from the system.
Prof. Mamman also said that the government has ordered the Head of Civil Service to make sure anyone with a fake certificate is removed from their position. He pointed out that only three universities in Togo and five in Benin Republic are officially allowed to offer degree courses.
On another note, the minister talked about the high electricity costs that universities are facing. He mentioned that President Bola Tinubu has approved a plan to power these institutions using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a long-term solution.
Over the past year, the ministry has been able to get about four million out-of-school children back to school, thanks to efforts by various agencies. The minister said that from now on, the ministry aims to return about four million out-of-school children to school every year to tackle this issue. The Almajiri commission, established a year ago, is playing a big role in this effort. Recently, about 20,000 students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were registered to start school in the next academic session. This effort will continue in other states to ensure more children go back to school.
The government is also working with UNESCO and the World Bank to improve policies for teachers’ support, welfare, and development, using global best practices. The minister said that in the next three years, these policies will help transform the education system.
In response to the recent school building collapse in Jos, Prof. Mamman promised to work with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN) to inspect school facilities across the country. This will help prevent poor construction practices by building contractors.
Finally, the minister shared that efforts are being made to meet the needs of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to prevent their planned strike.
