The Federal Government has uncovered and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across Nigeria as part of its ongoing efforts to sanitise the country’s education sector.
The development was disclosed in the National Commission for Colleges of Education’s (NCCE) recent report of achievements, obtained by our correspondent.
According to the NCCE, the discovery was made during a nationwide crackdown on unapproved institutions offering education programmes without government accreditation.
‘The NCCE identified and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across the country. The NCCE also conducted personnel audit and financial monitoring in all the 21 federal colleges of education’, the commission said.
The move comes weeks after President Bola Tinubu ordered federal education agencies to intensify efforts to eliminate illegal higher institutions across the country.
Speaking at the 14th convocation ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja, President Tinubu, who was represented by the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, warned that ‘certificate millers’ are undermining the credibility of Nigeria’s education system.
‘At this juncture, it has become imperative to reiterate that this administration remains committed to strengthening the integration of all agencies involved in the administration of education to enhance efficiency and quality’, the President said.
He added that the Federal Government is working with relevant agencies to ensure the credibility of educational certificates.
‘The National Youth Service Corps, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education are working in alignment to improve the quality of education and ensure that cases of forgery and unrecognised institutions both within and outside the country have no place in our education ecosystem’, President Tinubu stated.
