Illegal Conducting Of Diploma In Some Nigerian Universities

The findings of visitation panels to federal universities in Nigeria have been released, along with a white paper responding to them. The reports have accused leaders and councils in most of the 26 universities of abusing autonomy, and some vice-chancellors may lose their jobs for deliberately flouting university statutes.The white paper has directed the National Universities Commission, NUC, and the Federal Charter Commission to ensure strict compliance by publicly funded universities with laid-down rules and regulations, with a view to raising academic standard and ethics.

It was a day of reckoning for university leaders and councils. At a well-attended media briefing in the Nigerian capital Abuja, Education Minister Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai presented the highlights of the “Visitation Panels Reports” and the white paper.

She warned ominously: “The era of principal officers who constitute themselves into tin gods is over as the system has now been revitalized, with stronger enabling laws to curtail the excesses of overbearing managers.

“Furthermore, members of governing councils that have been indicted in these reports will not have a place in our transformation agenda, as the new policy approved by the president has directed the ministry not to engage such persons.”

The highlights of the reports have sparked debate within and outside campuses.

Lecturers and students have welcomed the visitation panels to universities. The laws creating universities stipulate, among other things, visitation panels every five years to examine the books of institutions and assess their overall performance.

“This aspect of university laws has been neglected by previous regimes. I must congratulate President Jonathan Goodluck, who is also a former university teacher, for taking this initiative. Now we have an overall and holistic view of the state of our federal universities,” said a former vice-chancellor, who did not want to be named.

The reports accuse some universities of running diploma and degree courses not approved by the NUC or in the edicts creating them.

For example, it was stated that some universities of technology and agriculture were running degree courses in law and management. And some universities were offering diploma and higher diploma programmes meant to be provided by polytechnics and colleges of education.

“I have directed the NUC to ensure that the affected universities discontinue these illegalities forthwith,” said the minister, who is a professor of education.

Officials of the Joint Matriculation Examination Board (JAMB), a government agency charged with organising the common entrance examination into Nigeria’s universities, also welcomed the new directive.