The Federal Government has announced plans to root out individuals holding fake certificates within both public and private organizations.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamma, made this disclosure on Friday upon receiving the findings of an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee only Degree Certificate Fraud from the committee’s chairman, Prof. Jubrila Amin.
Expressing dismay at the revelations unearthed during the investigation, Mamman emphasized the ministry’s commitment to collaborating with relevant agencies in purging the education sector of fraudulent practices.
“We cannot allow the reputation of our education system to be tarnished by the actions of a few individuals.
“There may be individuals within public and private organizations holding fake credentials, and they must be identified and removed.
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“This report is the result of a comprehensive inquiry,” Mamman stated.
He further lamented instances where individuals with Nigerian qualifications purportedly held international certifications of higher grades, stressing the need to maintain standards in the education sector.
Chairman of the inter-ministerial committee, Prof. Jubrila Amin, echoed similar sentiments regarding the dire state of education in institutions issuing questionable degree certificates, labeling them as a blight on the system.
Amin underscored the urgency for intervention, advocating for the digitization and automation of processes within education agencies to enhance monitoring and oversight of tertiary institutions.
“In our investigation, we found that the current accreditation and result evaluation mechanisms are insufficient,” Amin remarked.
He urged the National Universities Commission (NUC) to intensify scrutiny on institutions offering part-time or sandwich programs to prevent a recurrence of past incidents involving unaccredited courses.
“We have identified instances where individuals obtain fake degrees from certain countries. We are familiar with the characteristics of authentic and counterfeit certificates. We have provided the ministry with the necessary tools to scrutinize any certificates from these institutions,” Amin concluded.