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, the National Association of Nigerian Students has requested that similar measures be taken against home-based institutions running unaccredited courses.
The PUNCH reports that the ministry 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.
According to the investigation, the undercover reporter bagged a degree from a Cotonou university within six weeks and also participated in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps scheme.
In a statement signed by factional National Senate President, Elvis Ekundina, 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.
However, the students body called on the government “to extend its sanction to tertiary institutions operating in Nigeria who are offering courses without accreditation from relevant authorities.”
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 charged 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.“
