Subscribe: Gist E-Paper
The Federal Government has uncovered the illegal admission of more than 58,000 students into colleges of education across the country, warning that similar practices in universities and polytechnics will no longer be tolerated.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the inauguration of a ministerial committee on strengthening accreditation and quality assurance in tertiary institutions. The committee is chaired by former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.
Alausa said the number of illegally admitted students was far higher than the 5,600 initially discovered when investigations began, describing the findings as alarming.
According to him, one institution legally admitted 8,593 students but had an additional 9,872 students admitted outside approved procedures, meaning the number of illegal admissions exceeded legitimate ones.
The minister said the government would treat the current exercise as a one-time amnesty, stressing that it would no longer regularise illegal admissions through what he described as “condonement.”
He added that the problem extends beyond colleges of education, estimating that universities alone could have more than 200,000 illegally admitted students, while investigations into polytechnics and other institutions are ongoing.
Alausa blamed the practice on institutions exceeding their approved admission quotas and programme capacities, warning that it undermines educational standards and contributes to the declining quality of graduates entering the labour market.
He also criticised institutions for manipulating accreditation exercises by temporarily moving lecturers, equipment and facilities to satisfy regulators during inspection visits.
To address the problem, the minister directed that accreditation should move from periodic inspections to a continuous, technology-driven quality assurance system capable of tracking students, staff, facilities and equipment in real time.
He warned that officials who fail to enforce regulatory standards could lose their jobs, while private institutions found guilty of violating the rules risk losing their operating licences.
Alausa charged the committee, led by Prof. Oloyede, to recommend practical reforms that would eliminate loopholes, strengthen transparency and restore confidence in Nigeria's tertiary education system.
