The leaders in Nigeria, working with the Education Ministry, plan to check 107 private universities that opened in the last 15 years. This is to deal with the growing problem of fake degrees in Nigeria’s schools, which a report recently highlighted.
Right now, there are around 79 private universities in the country.
You could get a degree in weeks rather than years
Umar Audu, a Nigerian reporter, found out that fake degrees are a big problem in Nigeria. He said many young Nigerians are in a rush to get degrees and this is hurting the country’s education.
Audu pretended to be someone he’s not and found out you can get a fake degree fast. He got a fake Mass Communications degree in six weeks without going to classes from a school in Benin.
Using this fake degree, he easily joined Nigeria’s youth service program, even though a real Mass Communications degree takes 3-4 years to earn.
Audu wanted to make the government and people aware of the problem, especially with fake degrees from Benin and Togo.
After Audu’s report, Nigeria stopped recognizing degrees from at least 18 schools, including some in Benin, Togo, the US, and the UK. Over 10,000 Nigerian students in Benin and Togo could be affected by this decision.
Nigeria might also stop accepting degrees from Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. Since Audu shared his findings, he’s been getting threats from people who sell fake degrees and those who have them.
Ibrahim Shatambaya, a lecturer, says fake degrees make Nigeria’s education and work less reliable and valuable.
“What has happened over the years, how these universities have been taking advantage of Nigeria, shows clearly that those universities have contributed in actually producing ill-prepared and unprofessional graduates,” Shatambaya told DW.
He said graduates who cut corners to gain certificates later lack the effectiveness and efficiency to deliver and carry out the required functions when they are employed.
For journalist Audu, the government is on the right track in seeking to stop the practice.
“It won’t be right for us to allow these things to be going on,” Audu said, adding that it is not fair for those who work hard and spend sleepless nights to achieve academic excellence.
“Some people will sit in the comfort of their homes and order an unmerited certificate to be delivered to them in a very short period of time,” he said, adding that this didn’t reflect well on Nigeria as a nation.
