The federal government has disclosed that more than 258,000 students were illegally admitted into Nigerian universities and colleges of education, warning that institutions and officials responsible for the practice will face severe sanctions.
Key Highlights
- Federal Government says more than 258,000 students were illegally admitted into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
- About 200,000 illegal admissions were recorded in universities, while 58,000 affected colleges of education.
- Education Minister Tunji Alausa warned that institutions and officials involved will face severe sanctions.
- Private institutions could lose their licences, while officials who compromise standards could lose their jobs.
- Government initially expected only 5,600 students to benefit from a proposed amnesty, but investigations uncovered 58,000 cases in colleges of education.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, while inaugurating a Ministerial Committee on Strengthening the Accreditation and Quality Assurance System for Tertiary Institutions.
Alausa said at least 200,000 students were estimated to have been illegally admitted into universities, while another 58,000 were illegally admitted into colleges of education across the country.
He said the scale of illegal admissions had shocked the government, noting that the figure recorded in colleges of education was far above the number initially anticipated under a proposed one-off amnesty for affected students.
According to the minister, the government had initially estimated that about 5,600 students would benefit from the amnesty, but investigations showed that the number had risen to 58,000 nationwide.
He cited the case of an unnamed institution where 8,593 students were legally admitted, while 9,872 others were admitted illegally.
Alausa warned that the government would no longer tolerate institutions that manipulate admission or accreditation processes, stressing that those found culpable would face consequences.
He said private institutions could lose their licences, while officials who compromise accreditation standards could lose their jobs.
“This Ministry of Education is not going to let this continue. Other presidents, other governments may have allowed this to continue, but we are not going to let this continue. And at the end of this, there will be consequences,” he said.
Alausa also warned institutions against presenting inflated or misleading records of their staffing, facilities and academic capacity during accreditation exercises.
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He said the poor quality of graduates produced by some institutions had become evident in the difficulties employers encounter when recruiting qualified personnel.
The minister said institutions should not be allowed to temporarily assemble academic staff, laboratory equipment, workshops, library materials or other facilities simply to impress accreditation teams.
“An institution should not be able to prepare a temporary picture of itself simply for the purpose of an accreditation visit. Sadly, this is what persists in the majority of instances,” he said.
He directed the new committee to develop mechanisms for verifying the authenticity and continuous availability of academic and non-academic staff presented by institutions for accreditation.
It is also expected to establish systems for verifying the ownership, functionality, adequacy, accessibility and sustained availability of facilities and equipment.
Alausa said accreditation standards must be maintained throughout the year rather than only when regulatory agencies are scheduled to visit institutions.
He said the federal government would deploy technology to transform accreditation from a largely manual and periodic process into a digital, data-driven and continuously verifiable system.
The minister called for the use of geospatial mapping, geotagging and digital identification technologies to monitor institutional infrastructure, laboratories, workshops and major equipment.
“Critical equipment presented for accreditation should be capable of being digitally identified and linked to a specific institution and physical location,” he said.
Alausa said the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education had critical roles to play in ensuring that institutions maintained approved standards.
He said a robust digital accreditation platform would enable regulators to continuously monitor information on institutional staffing, facilities, laboratories, workshops and equipment before physical accreditation visits.
According to him, physical inspections would remain necessary but should increasingly be used to validate already verified data rather than begin the verification process from scratch.
The minister said the reform was aimed at improving the credibility, integrity, transparency, efficiency and sustainability of accreditation across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The development comes amid growing concerns over accreditation breaches in Nigerian tertiary institutions, including the recent controversy surrounding the Law programme at Atiba University, Oyo State.
In August, the Council of Legal Education imposed a 10-year moratorium on the university’s Law programme over inadequate facilities and the admission and graduation of students without requisite approval.
The decision left affected students and parents seeking government intervention, including possible transfers to accredited Law faculties.
Alausa said the new committee’s mandate was not to weaken the existing accreditation framework but to close loopholes and make the process more transparent and difficult to manipulate.
The committee is also expected to review existing accreditation policies, standards, guidelines and procedures; identify operational loopholes; strengthen verification of staff and resources; and improve the independence and accountability of accreditation panels.
Responding, the committee’s Chairman and former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, pledged to tackle abuses in the accreditation system.
Oloyede said accreditation should not be treated as an exercise for which institutions prepare temporarily.
He stressed the need for continuous monitoring to ensure that approved standards were maintained even after accreditation teams had left.
He added that the committee would examine ways of integrating the accreditation processes of regulatory and professional bodies to prevent situations where students complete academic programmes but are unable to proceed to professional training or secure registration.
