The federal government through the Federal Ministry of Education has begun implementation of the recommendations of the investigative panel that was set up on January 9, 2024, to investigate counterfeit universities milling fake degrees to Nigerians. The membership which was made of 12-member investigative panel, chaired by the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Committee of Vice Chancellors, Prof. Jibrila Amin, had proposed some strict recommendations in its report and has since been submitted to the Federal Ministry of Education.
Some key recommendations of the panel, include; a quarterly submission of admission lists by institutions latest three months after matriculation and the compulsory conduct of admissions by tertiary institutions through the Central Admissions Processing System, CAPS, of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB office.
By this, it is expected that the government, through the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has written to the concern institutions, also directing them to regularly submit their admission lists to JAMB, latest three months after matriculation of the institution.
The Minister of education, Prof. Mamman, in a circular dated July 15, 2024, has directed JAMB to enforce the directive.
The circular partly reads, “You may recall that following the publication of allegations of certificate racketeering involving some foreign institutions, especially in Cotonou, Benin Republic, and other countries, the ministry constituted an inter-ministerial committee to investigate the allegations to find lasting solutions.
“The committee has submitted its report, and the Honourable Minister of Education has approved its recommendations for implementation.
“In that regard, I hereby convey the request of the honourable minister for the implementation of the following recommendations of the committee:
It continued, “Enforce the mandatory requirement for all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to exclusively conduct their admissions processes through the Central Admissions Processing System under the auspices of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board; mandate all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to regularly submit their matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education not later than three months after matriculation
ceremonies through the dedicated channel of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
“You are kindly requested to implement the above recommendations and furnish the ministry with implementation updates,” The statement concluded.