Nigeria Extends Ban on Degree Accreditation to Kenya and Uganda
Nigeria has announced that it will suspend degree accreditation in additional countries, including Kenya and Uganda.
This comes just days after the West African country suspended the accreditation of Benin and Togo degrees.
“We are not going to stop at just Benin and Togo,” Education Minister Tahir Mamman said on Wednesday during an interview on Nigeria’s Channels Television channel.
He added, “We are going to extend the dragnet to countries like Uganda, Kenya, even Niger here where such institutions have been set up.”
Following an exposé by the Daily Nigerian newspaper, the new directive is an attempt to stop fraudulent qualifications from foreign degree mills.
In an undercover investigation, newspaper reporter Umar Audu revealed how he completed a four-year program at a Benin university in less than two months.
Mr Tahir says he has “no sympathy” for those who have fake certificates from other countries, and that they are “part of the criminal chain that should be arrested,” rather than victims.
Nigeria has launched a formal investigation into the ministries and agencies in charge of accrediting foreign academic qualifications.
According to Mr. Tahir, the measure will protect Nigeria’s employers as well as the integrity of the country’s qualifications.