The Federal Government has issued a ban on 18 foreign universities operating in Nigeria, cautioning Nigerians against enrolling in these institutions. The Ministry of Education, through the National Universities Commission, referred to these universities, including five from the United States, six from the United Kingdom, and three from Ghana, as “degree mills.” The closure follows the government’s suspension of the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from the Republic of Benin and Togo.
In an official statement on its website, the National Universities Commission declared that the affected universities had not obtained the necessary license from the Federal Government and were consequently shut down for violating the Education (National Minimum Standards, etc.) Act of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. The listed institutions include the University of Applied Sciences & Management, Port Novo, Republic of Benin; Volta University College, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana; International University, Missouri, USA; Collumbus University, United Kingdom; Tiu International University, UK; Pebbles University, UK; London External Studies UK; Pilgrims University; West African Christian University; EC-Council University, USA; Concept College/Universities (London); Houdegbe North American University; Irish University Business School London; University of Education, Winneba Ghana; Cape Coast University, Ghana; African University Cooperative Development, Cotonou, Benin Republic; Pacific Western University, Denver, Colorado; and Evangel University of America & Chudick Management Academic, Lagos.
The Ministry of Education also announced the temporary suspension of the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from the Republic of Benin and Togo. This decision was prompted by an investigative report titled ‘How Daily Nigerian reporter bagged Cotonou varsity degree in 6 weeks,’ which exposed the production of fake university degrees by some officials of a Beninese University for a fee.
