The Federal Government has directed all higher institutions nationwide to submit their matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education within three months of their matriculation ceremonies promptly.
These lists must be submitted “through the dedicated channel of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board,” as stated by the government.
According to The PUNCH, this directive is one of the key recommendations from a committee formed by the Federal Government to address the issue of fake degree mills and certificate racketeers within the country.
Earlier in March, the Federal Government established an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling.
This committee was tasked with probing the operations of certificate racketeers, a move that followed an investigative report by Daily Nigerian.
The report, authored by Umar Audu, revealed the ease with which a degree could be obtained in just six weeks in the Benin Republic. Audu himself acquired a degree and even completed the mandatory National Youth Service Corps in Nigeria based on that degree.
The investigation, which highlighted the illegal activities of certain tertiary institutions in West African countries, prompted the Nigerian government to impose a ban on the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from the Benin Republic and Togo.
After receiving the committee’s report, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, emphasized that individuals holding fake degrees from both Nigerian and foreign universities would be removed from the system.
In a memo dated July 15, 2024, addressed to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the education ministry stated, “You may recall that following the publication of allegations of certificate racketeering involving some foreign institutions, especially in Cotonou, Benin Republic, and other countries, the ministry constituted an inter-ministerial committee to investigate the allegations to find lasting solutions.
“The committee has submitted its report and the Honourable Minister of Education has approved its recommendations for implementation.
“In that regard, I hereby convey the request of the honourable minister for the implementation of the following recommendations of the committee:
“Enforce the mandatory requirement for all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to exclusively conduct their admissions processes through the Central Admissions Processing System under the auspices of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board; mandate all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to regularly submit their matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education not later than three months after matriculation ceremonies through the dedicated channel of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
“You are kindly requested to implement the above recommendations and furnish the ministry with implementation updates.”
