The Federal Ministry of Education has instituted a committee tasked with scrutinizing the operations of private universities established within the last 15 years, as announced by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on Tuesday.

This comprehensive investigation aims to assess whether these private institutions adhere to prescribed standards such as the provision of requisite facilities, a sound management structure, adequate funding for programs, among other essential criteria.

During the inauguration of the inter-ministerial committee on degree mills, the Minister outlined the committee's functions, which encompass reviewing the role of government officials in facilitating the recognition and procurement of fake certificates, examining existing policies related to accreditation, identifying any unapproved foreign institutions (Degree Mills) operating in Nigeria, and evaluating the effectiveness of accreditation processes conducted by regulatory bodies like the NUC.

The decision to initiate this investigation comes in the wake of heightened concerns about the prevalence of degree mills, spurred by an investigative report by Umar Audu from the Daily Nigerian newspaper. The report highlighted the ease of obtaining a degree within an exceptionally short timeframe and even participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program based on such degrees obtained from institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.

Read more; https://punchng.com/fake-degrees-fg-orders-probe-of-nigerian-private-varsities/