THE National Universities Commission (NUC) has identified and shut down at least 58 illegal universities or satellite campuses operating in Nigeria, while the certificates obtained from the institutions would not be recognised for mandatory one-year national service, employment and further studies.
Acting Executive Secretary of NUC, Mr. Chris Maiyaki, who disclosed this on a television programme on Wednesday, January 3, said arrests had been made in connection with the illegitimate universities, with the Department of State Service (DSS) playing a role in cracking down on the unlawful institutions and those behind them.
The Commission, in a public announcement signed by Maiyaki, added that nine other institutions/campuses, labeled as “Degree Mills,” were under investigation or subject to ongoing court actions, stressing that the actions were taken to prosecute proprietors and recuperate illegal fees levied on subscribers.
“For the avoidance of doubt, anybody who patronises or obtains any certificate from any of these illegal institutions does so at his or her own risk.
“Certificates obtained from these sources will not be recognised for NYSC, employment and further studies,” Maiyaki warned.
He urged parents to check the Commission’s website for illegal and legal varsities in Nigeria, so that their wards would not fall victims of these institutions.
