The Federal Government, through the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), has discovered and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across Nigeria.
According to reports, the action followed a nationwide inspection exercise aimed at identifying and eliminating unauthorized institutions undermining the country’s education system. During the operation, the commission also conducted audits of staff and financial records in all 21 federal colleges of education.
The crackdown forms part of a broader effort by the federal government to safeguard the credibility of academic qualifications and protect students from falling victim to unaccredited schools, often described as “certificate mills.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently directed education regulatory agencies, including the NCCE, National Universities Commission (NUC), and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), to intensify their oversight and clamp down on fake institutions. Represented at the 14th convocation of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) by the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, the President emphasized the importance of maintaining high standards across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Other agencies, including the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), are also collaborating in the campaign to ensure quality assurance, prevent forgery, and dismantle unapproved schools both within Nigeria and abroad.
The federal government’s decisive move has been welcomed by stakeholders, with calls for further measures, including the prosecution of the promoters of these illegal institutions.
