Illegal Universities: A Threat To Tertiary Education

A major and reoccurring nuisance in the Nigerian education sector is the emergence of fake universities.

Nigeria currently has 210 universities, 50 owned by Federal, 111 are private and 59 state universities.

Sadly, the large number of public and private universities in Nigeria have not made for an easy access to tertiary education due to the universities’ low enrollment and infrastructure capacity for students, while fake institutions continue to grow across different parts of the country. Most of these institutions claim affiliation to established universities in other African countries and other parts of the world.

Currently, LEADERSHIP gathered that there are over 58 universities operating illegally in the country. These institutions were announced to have been closed down by the National Universities Commission (NUC), while nine Degree Mills are currently undergoing further investigations and/or court actions.

The commission said those undergoing investigation for the purpose are to prosecute the other proprietors and recover illegal fees and charges on subscribers. The commission names these universities as National University of Keffi, Nasarawa; North Central University, Otukpo; Christ Alive Christian Seminary and University, Enugu State; Richmond Open University, Alochukwu, Abia State; West Coast University, Umuahia; St Clements University, Iyin, Ekiti State; Volta University College, Aba, Abia State; Illegal Satellite Campuses of Ambrose Ali University and L.I.F.E Leadership University, Benin City, Edo State.

However, the execute secretary of NUC, Professor Abubakar Rasheed has warned that anybody who patronizes or obtains any certificate from any of the illegal institutions does so at his or her own risk. Certificates obtained from such universities, he said, will not be recognized for the purposes of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), employment and further studies. The commission he said is further working with relevant law enforcement agencies for necessary action since NUC lacks the power to prosecute the offenders.

In an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, he urged members of the public to assist in reporting illegal universities wherever they operate.

“The task of safeguarding the quality of university education is not only that of the NUC. We will continue to publish all the names of approved universities on our website. We have set up a committee to look into that and I can tell you that we are doing a lot to end the ugly trend of the illegal mills,” he said.