Examination boards in Kenya and Uganda have begun writing to Nigeria to verify the academic records of Nigerian candidates seeking admission to tertiary institutions in their countries.
According to the PUNCH, this development was disclosed in a document prepared by JAMB for the 2024 policy meeting.
The board emphasized its commitment to maintaining the integrity of Nigeria’s tertiary education system, stating that it would not falsify the records of any students.
The move comes in the wake of the Nigerian Federal Government’s decision to suspend the verification of degree certificates from several countries, including Uganda, Kenya, Benin Republic, and Togo, amid allegations of widespread certificate fraud.
In March, the Federal Government established an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers.
This decision followed an investigative report by Daily Nigerian that exposed the operations of fake degree mills in the Benin Republic. The report by journalist Umar Audu revealed how he obtained a degree within six weeks and even participated in Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps program using the fake certificate.
The expose led the Nigerian government to impose a ban on the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from institutions in the Benin Republic and Togo.
Following the committee’s investigation, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, pledged to remove holders of fake degrees from both Nigerian and foreign universities from the system.
One of the committee’s key recommendations was that Nigerian universities should conduct their admissions exclusively through the Central Admissions Processing System and ensure the mandatory submission of matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education.
“Examination boards in Uganda and Kenya are now writing to JAMB to verify the records presented by candidates seeking admission. JAMB will not falsify any records,” the Nigerian exam body stated.
It was reported on Monday that the Federal Government has mandated all higher institutions in Nigeria to regularly submit their matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education no later than three months after matriculation ceremonies.
The lists must be submitted through the dedicated channel of JAMB, as part of efforts to combat the proliferation of fake degrees in the country.
