PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu recently ordered the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and other relevant government agencies in the nation’s academic system to clamp down on illegal tertiary institutions to safeguard the education sector from quackery and fake institutions.

WHILE emphasising that the integrity of the nation’s academic system must not be compromised, Tinubu specifically directed the agencies to ensure that the activities of the certificate mills, are permanently halted, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to improving the quality of education in the country.

THE issue of proliferation of tertiary institutions in Nigeria has long remained a controversial issue, with stakeholders arguing that expansion of institutions will bridge admission gaps and allow for more access to higher education for the nation’s teeming youth population. However, the danger of prioritising access over capacity, is that it not only leaves us with half-baked graduates, but also a retrogressive society constantly struggling to catch up in today’s fast- paced world.

NO doubt, the geometric increase in the number of tertiary institutions in Nigeria has expanded access to higher education, but the development has equally led to diluted quality of instructions and research, while significantly promoting the menace of certificate racketeering.

ON August 23, 2024, the former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman disclosed that over 22,500 Nigerians were parading fake certificates obtained from universities in Benin Republic and Togo between 2019 and 2023. Mamman who made the disclosure at a press conference to mark his first anniversary in office in Abuja added that over 21, 600 Nigerians obtained the fake certificates from unaccredited universities in Benin Republic within the time frame, while about 1,105 also obtained theirs at some unaccredited universities in Togo.

THE  former Minister’s disclosure followed an undercover report by a local newspaper journalist who easily acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic. The journalist, Umar Audu, in the report detailed how he acquired the degree for a four- year programme from the Benin university under two months.

SEVERAL youths involved in certificate racketeering choose not to participate in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and other national engagements that would have enabled the relevant agencies to harvest their data and prosecute them accordingly.

SADLY, these people have used these fake certificates to apply and secure job opportunities in both the public and private sectors of the nation’s economy with the mindset that they schooled abroad, while people who studied day and night are out there looking for job opportunities.

THE Hope suggests that to nip this ugly trend in the bud, the Federal Government should compel authorities of tertiary institutions in Nigeria to conduct their admissions via the Central Admissions Processing System, popularly known as CAPS and ensure the mandatory submission of matriculation lists to the relevant government agencies.

IT is noteworthy that graduates involved in certificate racketeering will continue to perpetrate similar atrocities if they find their ways to leadership positions. Additionally, the bright future of many innocent students could be ruined, having attended such  unrecognised tertiary institutions.

THE Hope, therefore, implores the Federal Government not to stop at clamping down on illegal tertiary institutions, but to equally ensure that founders of such institutions face the consequences of their actions.

RELEVANT agencies in the nation’s academic system including the NUC, NBTE and NCCE should ensure that they live up to expectations while embarking on accreditation exercise of public and private tertiary institutions. The onus equally lies on parents and guardians to be wary of the type of institutions they send their children and wards to.