*Says Surge In Fake Foreign Degrees Exposes Regulatory Lapses
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ASUU President Osodeke blamed regulatory bodies for Nigerians’ craze for dubious foreign degrees. He said if agencies like the Ministry of Education and NUC performed their duties, people wouldn’t run abroad. Osodeke wondered why students choose Benin over reputable Nigerian universities, concluding it’s the easy path to degrees.
“This is what we have been talking about; if our system is working you will not see people running outside the country to study,” he said.
He added:”The regulatory bodies – the National Universities Commission, Federal Ministry of Education, National Youth Service Corps, Immigration, even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are not doing their work. If they are doing their jobs we will not have what we are having now.
“It is a terrible thing for a country like Nigeria.
“Will you compare any university in Benin or Togo to University of Ibadan or UNN or ABU? But our people are running there because they have found out that it is the easy way to get degrees.”
Osodeke also questioned the certificates being issued by some private universities operating in Nigeria.
He urged the regulatory bodies to beam their searchlights on such private universities to ensure that the certificates they issue to their students are genuine and credible.
His words: “It is happening everywhere and we believe that the regulatory bodies will check it.
“In Nigeria today, we have universities where up to 10 – 15 per cent of the students are getting first class. Does that happen anywhere? Where will 10 – 15 per cent of students get 90 per cent because to get a first class you have to score up to 90 per cent, 4.5 CGPA. And the regulatory body is doing nothing about it. It is not investigating it.
“Even in UI, one per cent cannot get first class but if you go to many of these universities we are creating, you will see 20 per cent of students getting first class. It means something is going on. The NUC should investigate this. When you see things that are not regular you investigate. That is the function of the regulatory body and 20 per cent getting first class means something is wrong.
“These are the things that are ridiculing Nigeria all over the world.
“Nigeria should ensure that anybody with a degree is a real degree. People should be rewarded for excellence. The government should check where the degree is coming from. It sounds somehow that Nigerian students now go to Benin Republic to study. That means something is wrong. It means you can get a degree in one year.
“When we were students in those days, if you were studying outside the country, the assumption was that you didn’t pass through JAMB. But today everybody is running outside the country. Nigerians are now running to Sudan.”
He appealed to the administration of President Bola Tinubu to fund the sector to avoid Nigerians going to foreign countries to acquire education.
“I appeal to this administration to take a comprehensive look at our education system with a view to ensuring that this idea of people going to procure a degree is put to rest. You can only do that by funding the education system appropriately.”
Recall that the Federal Government banned accreditation of Benin and Togo university degrees following an exposé. There, a journalist bought a degree without attending classes. With an estimated 15,000 Nigerians studying in Benin alone, the institutions risk losing N7.5billion annually if the ban holds.
Some Benin universities target Nigerians, even quoting fees in Naira and offering English lectures. Despite French as the official language, they lure Nigerians for their lucrative tuition revenue. However, an association representing Nigerian students in Benin appealed for leniency, fearing many genuine students would suffer from a blanket ban.
The connection emphasizes ASUU’s blame on oversight agencies for enabling foreign degree fraud, which Osodeke urges addressing through proper funding. The Benin ban follows a specific fraud revelation, but has financial impact on Nigerian students, highlighting the scope of degree tourism.
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