Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, says the government is determined to root out individuals in both public and private organisations who possess fake higher learning certificates.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday during the reception of an inter-ministerial investigative committee’s report on degree certificate milling, Mamman restated the government’s commitment to purging the education sector of fraudulent practices.
The committee, chaired by Professor Jubrila Aminu, was inaugurated on January 9, and tasked with investigating allegations of degree racketeering within foreign and local private universities.
The committee was also tasked with reviewing the involvement of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the recognition and procurement of fake certificates.
Mamman expressed concern over the findings, stating the need to identify and remove individuals holding fake certificates in various organisations.
The minister further stressed the need to uphold the country’s educational standards. He mentioned instances where individuals obtained international certificates with misrepresented qualifications from Nigerian institutions.
“We can’t afford to have the integrity of our education soiled by some few persons. It is possible that some are carrying fake certificates in public and private organisations that need to be flushed out,” he said
“This report is a product of a thorough investigation. It is sad that someone who should come out from a Nigerian institution with a 2:1 or 2:2 is now parading an international certificate of first class.
“The ministry is determined to take steps to sanitise the system. We can’t afford to let down our country when it comes to standards,” he added.
Overall, Mamman assured decisive action to maintain integrity and quality within Nigeria’s education sector, while urging thorough scrutiny of certificates and swift action against fraudulent practices.
Professor Amin said flaws in university accreditation and evaluation processes can be tackled by introducing digital systems in education.
The committee also urged the National Universities Commission (NUC) to monitor part-time programmes to curb fake degrees.
“People go and get fake degrees and we have been to those countries and we know what a proper degree looks like, we know what the fake one looks like.
“We have given it to the ministry to scrutinise anyone presenting a certificate from those institutions and anything else is fake. It is up to the ministry to find people with fake certificates and deal with them,” Amin said.