The National Universities Commission (NUC) has reconstituted its committee on degree mills to combat the growing proliferation of illegal universities and fraudulent degree-awarding institutions across Nigeria.
In a statement issued Thursday, the NUC outlined a six-point terms of reference for the committee, empowering it to collaborate with security and anti-corruption agencies to arrest operators, shut down illegal facilities, and prosecute offenders.
The committee is mandated to:
– Work with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and other relevant agencies to conduct joint operations, arrest suspects, and close down illegal institutions.
– Identify illegal universities and degree mills through intelligence, public complaints, petitions, and surveillance reports.
– Conduct discreet investigations into identified degree mills, their promoters, modus operandi, and operational locations.
– Gather evidence for prosecution and verify claims of affiliation with foreign or local universities.
– Create and sustain public awareness campaigns on the dangers of patronising degree mills, issue periodic advisories to universities, employers, and the public, and provide verified information on fraudulent institutions.
– Make recommendations on preventive measures, regulatory and legislative reforms, accreditation safeguards, quality assurance, verification of foreign degrees, and other institutional processes to strengthen the NUC’s response.
Abdullahi Ribadu, Executive Secretary of the NUC, emphasized that the reconstituted committee reinforces the commission’s commitment to eliminating degree mills and protecting the credibility of degrees awarded within the Nigerian University System.
He expressed confidence in the committee members, describing them as individuals of integrity and commitment.
Justina Emerole, Chairman of the committee, thanked Ribadu for the reconstitution and inauguration, pledging that the team would not disappoint the commission.
Other members include Beatrice O. Emma-Okon and Ahmed Doko Ibrahim (visiting professors), Pascal Eruaga, Mohammed Ayuba, Bashir Dauda, and other principal officers of the NUC.
The NUC has previously released lists of illegal universities, declaring certificates from such institutions invalid. In 2018, it identified 58 illegal entities, and by 2021, the number had risen to 67 illegal universities, satellite campuses, and study centres.
The reconstitution signals intensified efforts to safeguard the integrity of higher education in Nigeria amid rising concerns over fake degrees and unaccredited institutions.
