The National Universities Commission (NUC) has blamed the alarming rise of illegal degree-awarding institutions on parents’ fervent desire for university certification.
The Acting Executive Secretary, Mr Chris Maiyaki in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday emphasised the persistent ban on unaccredited degree-awarding institutions and satellite campuses across the nation.
He urged parents to meticulously vet institutions before enrolling their wards, emphasising the need to discern legitimate educational establishments from potentially fraudulent ones.
Maiyaki underscored the challenges posed by the gap between the demand for university education and its limited supply, leading parents to seek alternative avenues for their children.
This vulnerability, he noted, exposes them to unscrupulous individuals with commercial motives.
“Everybody is right to pursue university education, but how you go about it is the crux of the matter.
“The challenge of access, the huge gap between supply and demand makes parents desperate about getting university education for their children and this makes them vulnerable to greedy and fraudulent persons with commercial undertone,” he said.
To tackle this menace, Maiyaki highlighted the establishment of a committee aimed at eradicating illegal institutions nationwide.
He recounted the NUC’s earlier actions, including a comprehensive resource assessment of outreach centers in 2000, leading to the total ban on satellite campuses.
He said in spite of these measures, the issue persisted, prompting the reconstitution of a committee in 2021 to identify and prosecute operators of illegal institutions, resulting in significant successes. (NAN)
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