The Federal Government has taken a significant step to combat fake degree mills in the country by mandating all higher institutions to submit their matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education within three months after matriculation ceremonies.

This initiative is aimed at flushing out holders of fake degrees from Nigerian and foreign universities.

The move is a recommendation of the Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling, set up in March to probe the activities of certificate racketeers. 

The committee’s investigation followed an exposé by Daily Nigerian, which revealed the activities of fake degree mills in the Benin Republic, where a reporter obtained a degree in just six weeks and even completed the mandatory youth service in Nigeria.

The investigative report, which exposed the illegalities perpetrated by some tertiary institutions in the West African countries, led to the Nigerian government placing a ban on the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo.

The  Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, having received the report of the committee, noted that holders of fake degrees from Nigerian and foreign universities will be flushed out of the system.

In a memo addressed to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on July 15, 2024, the education ministry said, “You may recall that following the publication of allegations of certificate racketeering involving some foreign institutions, especially in Cotonou, Benin Republic, and other countries, the ministry constituted an inter-ministerial committee to investigate the allegations to find lasting solutions.

“The committee has submitted its report and the Honourable Minister of Education has approved its recommendations for implementation.

“In that regard, I hereby convey the request of the honourable minister for the implementation of the following recommendations of the committee:

“Enforce the mandatory requirement for all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to exclusively conduct their admissions processes through the Central Admissions Processing System under the auspices of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board; mandate all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to regularly submit their matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education not later than three months after matriculation ceremonies through the dedicated channel of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

“You are kindly requested to implement the above recommendations and furnish the ministry with implementation updates.”