By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has noted that as the Federal Ministry of Education on Tuesday, announced the suspension of evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from the Republic of Benin and Togo, it requested that similar measures be taken against home-based institutions running unaccredited courses.
The ministry of education had blacklisted about 18 of those learning institutions following the undercover investigation conducted by a Nigerian newspaper which exposed the activities of a degree mill in Cotonou, a major city of Benin Republic.
Elvis Ekundina, the factional National Senate President, in a statement signed on Wednesday, NANS commended the Federal Government over the suspension of the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates obtained from institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.
According to the statement, “NANS described as outrageous, the utilisation of deceptive methods by some Nigerians to acquire degrees from Benin Republic and Togo, aimed at securing job opportunities for which they lack qualifications.”
The association enjoined the Federal Government to commence investigation into the activities of the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and other agencies fingered in the fraudulent activities of obtaining degree certificates from foreign universities.
NANS said that since commended the Federal Government for its quick decision to suspend the accreditation of degree certificates obtained from institutions in Benin Republic and Togo, it is, important for the government to take further steps into investigating the activities of relevant agencies fingered in the fraudulent activities, saying that it is the only way the Federal government can save its face and restore the battered image of the country.
NANS called on the government to beam its searchlight into the activities of tertiary institutions, especially privately owned ones, that are running unaccredited courses.
The statement noted that the institutions, in their fraudulent act, are destroying the education sector and swindling innocent young Nigerians of their money by offering them unaccredited courses, describing the universities and polytechnics offering unaccredited courses as illegal institutions as they want the government to deal with them appropriately.
The statement called on the Federal Government to collaborate with NANS and other student bodies to rid the country of illegal tertiary learning institutions towards repositioning the nation’s education sector for better.
