In response to revelations about a certificate syndicate issuing counterfeit degrees from West African universities, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged the Federal government to intensify efforts in identifying top officials in the education sector responsible for compromising standards.
Highlighting how an investigative report by a Nigerian online newspaper exposed a syndicate providing university degrees within months for a fee, HURIWA criticized the National University Commission (NUC) and the Ministry of Education for their reactive measures, demanding a public apology from key officials for failing in quality control.
HURIWA recalled that Nigeria’s National Universities Commission (NUC) recently banned 18 universities in the West African subregion, including five from the United States, six from the United Kingdom, and three from Ghana, citing violations of education standards and lack of government licenses.
The rights group stressed the need for a thorough investigation into the involvement of government officials in the scandal and called for the nullification of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates obtained through fake degrees.
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In addition, HURIWA criticized the Department of State Services for failing to detect the compromise in quality control and recommended national honors for the publisher and investigative reporter who uncovered the educational scams in West African nations.
HURIWA has also asked the Federal government to confer national honours on both the publisher and the investigative reporter who uncovered the scams within the educational system of the West African nations.
