The Federal Government of Nigeria on Friday said no fewer than 21,600 purported Nigerian graduates are displaying fake degrees obtained from institutions issuing fake degrees in the Republic of Benin, Togo and other countries.
The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, disclosed this during a ministerial press conference on his one-year achievements in the ministry, in Abuja on Friday.
According to law professor Mamman, 1,105 people have been identified in Togo alone as possessing false certificates.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the federal government in March set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into Forgery of Title Certificates, to investigate the activities of certificate fraudsters.
This followed an investigative report published by Daily Nigerian which exposed the activities of fake degree factories in the Republic of Benin.
The Minister said fake degrees from Nigerian and foreign universities will be removed from the system.
“The federal government has directed the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) to issue a circular to expel any person who has fake certificates from these institutions.
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“In Togo, there are three universities officially approved and authorized to offer degree courses and in the Republic of Benin, we have five institutions authorized to offer degree courses,” he said.
Speaking on the challenges faced by tertiary institutions in meeting their needs as a result of high electricity tariffs, Mr. Mamman said President Bola Tinubu had approved a long-term solution to power the institutions through CNG.
He added that in the past year, the Ministry has managed to get around four million children who were not attending school back to school.
He said this was achieved thanks to the efforts of agencies under the ministry.
“From now on, we will return about four million out-of-school children to school each year to address this threat.
“The Almajiri Commission, which was established about a year ago, is doing a lot to help out-of-school children return to school.
“In the last two weeks, through the Almajiri Commission, about 20,000 students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have registered to resume their classes in the next academic session.
“This gesture will be extended to other states and we will make sure that our children return to school.
“We have also created a committee with UNESCO and the World Bank to review the existing policy on teacher support, well-being and development using global best practices.
“By the time the government implements these policies in the next three years, the education system will be completely transformed,” the minister said. On the safety of students following the recent school collapse in Jos, Mamman pledged to collaborate with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN) to inspect school facilities across the country.
He said the move would go a long way in checking malpractices by construction contractors. The minister disclosed that efforts are being made to meet the need of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to prevent its planned strike action.
(YAYA)