Editorial: Dealing with illegal universities

Posted by admin Headlines Thursday, October 6th, 2011

The NUC recently alerted the nation to the increasing number of fake universities in the country. The Commission, which has responsibility for regulation of university education in Nigeria, said the number of illegal universities in Nigeria has increased from 44 to 51. The information is contained in its weekly news bulletin.

Eight of the universities have been charged to court to facilitate prosecution of their proprietors, while others are undergoing investigation. Among the fake universities listed by the Commission are the National University of Nigeria, Keffi, Nassarawa State, North Central University, Oturkpo, Benue State and Christ Alive Christian Secondary and University, Enugu State.

The NUC Executive Secretary, Professor Julius Okojie, while warning the public against patronage of the institutions, said they were closed down for lack of minimum academic standards and violation of the Universities Act Cap E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The existence of fake universities in the country is worrisome, even though not entirely surprising. This is so because Nigeria has a fertile environment for establishment of such illegal institutions on account of the crisis of limited admission spaces in the nation’s universities.

Out of over one million applicants seeking admission into tertiary institutions in the country annually, only a little over 200,000 are admitted. There are too many people chasing limited admission spaces, thereby making it easy for unscrupulous persons to lure desperate applicants into illegal tertiary institutions. This is especially more so because of the undue emphasis on paper qualifications in the country.

What we find surprising, however, is that fake institutions have continued to increase in number, long after the identification of the problem by NUC. There can be no justifiable reason for flourishing of fake universities in the country. The situation is worrisome. It is a bad development that can only further sully the image of graduates of Nigerian universities. It will lead to graduation of persons who lack the knowledge attested to by certificates issued by the illegal institutions. This is bad for tertiary education development in the country.

The increasing number of these questionable institutions raises questions on efforts to stop their establishment and operation by the regulatory authorities. We expect the government to be proactive and decisive in shutting them down. This will deter establishment of more of the universities. If the laws guiding establishment of universities in the country give unscrupulous businessmen leeway to establish and run the institutions while taking the NUC on a wild goose chase in the courts, let the NUC call for a review of the laws.

Illegal universities should not be allowed to exist for even a day. There should be no ambiguity in the authority of the NUC to close down such institutions summarily wherever they exist. If the laws do not constrain NUC, it then stands indicted for allowing the proliferation of the institutions in the first place. Some reports in the past tended to suggest collusion between officials of university regulatory authorities and some of the fake universities. Some of the institutions, at that time, claimed to have been visited and approved by certain NUC officials, even without the knowledge of the highest authorities of the Commission.

Let the regulatory authority clean its house and rid the country of illegal universities that do not meet up with the requirement for operation of such tertiary institutions. The NUC and Federal Ministry of Education should be empowered and committed to shutting down fake universities. If they are doing enough to stop the menace, we believe the number should be going down, rather than increasing. There is no arguing the fact that the institutions are a dent on Nigeria’s image.

Students also need to be educated that getting an academic certificate is not an end in itself. Acquisition of knowledge should be their priority. They should be wary of unapproved institutions, and the NUC will do well to publicize a comprehensive list of these fake schools to warn prospective candidates.

Beyond the campaign against fake universities, NUC should also ensure that even the approved universities do not issue questionable certificates via unaccredited courses and poorly operated distance learning and sandwich programmes. Let all registered universities be made to do what they are licensed for, even as the illegal ones are closed down.

-Sunwp_posts