The Beninois and Togolese universities which were temporarily derecognised last week by the Federal Government, are at risk of losing about N7.5billion which they make annually from their Nigerian students, according to projections.
The Federal Ministry of Education on Tuesday suspended the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from universities in the two countries following a newspaper report alleging certificate racketeering from an institution in Benin.
The reporter who wrote the story revealed how he obtained a degree certificate in Mass Communication from the institution in six weeks without attending any classes or writing an examination.
President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in Benin Republic Ugochukwu Favour put the number of Nigerians studying in tertiary institutions in that country alone at 15,000.
Checks by this newspaper showed that institutions in the two countries charge tuition fees ranging between N50,000 and N500,000 per annum. The tuition fees exclude application form, accommodation, textbooks and living expenses.
Some of the institutions appear to target Nigerians or were established to cater largely for Nigerians with their websites posting messages in English even though the official language in the two countries is French.
They also quote their fees in Naira and take the pain to explain that lectures are in English language. Some of them even have accounts in Nigerian banks into which students could pay.
If the estimated 15,000 Nigerian students in Benin alone spend an average of N500,000 annually on fees and sundry expenses, it stands to reason that the universities make about N7.5billion from the Nigerians.
In suspending the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from universities in the two countries, the Federal Government expressed concern over the tendency by some Nigerians to resort to unethical tactics to obtain degrees to secure job opportunities they aren’t qualified for.
The ministry said the newspaper expose “ lends credence to suspicions that some Nigerians deploy nefarious means and unconscionable methods to get a degree with the end objective of getting graduate job opportunities for which they are not qualified.”
Education Minister Tahir Mamman said the ban would be extended to some other African countries. “We are going to extend the dragnet to countries like Uganda, Kenya, even Niger [Republic] here where such institutions have been set up,” he said.
However, Ugochukwu Favour, called for leniency over the ban. “For now, I will say that the Federal Government should look into the issue. Now, you can’t, because it is happening in this school, punish everyone because it involved close to 15,000 students in the Benin Republic,” he said on Channels Television.
According to him, the government should step up efforts to probe the matter and punish those involved in the saga.
But he said NANS in the Benin Republic had constituted a committee to probe the matter, expressing confidence that the report of its findings will be vital in curbing future occurrences.
“I have really not validated if it has been happening for a long time. This is just like what just came out on social media and we are still trying to find out how long it has been happening,” the NANS president said. “So, that is why I set up a committee as the president to investigate it.”
Responding to the development, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) President, Emmanuel Osodeke, blamed regulatory bodies like the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) for some Nigerians’ craze for fake foreign degrees.
Osodeke told our correspondent that if the regulatory bodies were up to their responsibilities, the situation would have been different.
“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.”
