The Federal Government has issued a directive requiring all higher institutions in Nigeria to submit their matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education within three months after their matriculation ceremonies.
This measure, to be carried out through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, is part of a broader effort to crack down on fake degree mills and certificate racketeering in the country.
This initiative stems from recommendations made by the Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling, established by the government in March 2024.
The committee was tasked with probing the activities of fake degree mills after a report by Daily Nigerian exposed the alarming ease with which degrees could be obtained from institutions in the Benin Republic.
In the investigative report, journalist Umar Audu detailed how he secured a degree within six weeks from a Beninese institution and later used it to participate in Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps scheme.
The exposé revealed significant illegalities within certain West African tertiary institutions, prompting the Nigerian government to suspend the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo.
The Education Minister Tahir Mamman, who received the committee’s report, emphasized that the government is committed to eliminating fake degree holders from the system, whether they obtained their credentials in Nigeria or abroad.
According to the PUNCH, a memo dated July 15, 2024, the Ministry of Education instructed JAMB to enforce the committee’s recommendations.
These include the mandatory requirement for all Nigerian tertiary institutions to conduct their admissions exclusively through JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System.
Additionally, institutions must submit their matriculation lists to the ministry within three months of their ceremonies.
The memo stressed the importance of these measures in curbing the spread of fake degrees.
“The committee has submitted its report, and the Honourable Minister of Education has approved its recommendations for implementation.
“In that regard, I at this moment convey the request of the honorable 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.”
