The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has closed 22 unaccredited Colleges of Education across the country as part of a sweeping crackdown on illegal institutions.

According to The PUNCH, the regulatory body explained that the affected colleges were discovered to be operating below its minimum standards. This followed a personnel audit and financial monitoring exercise carried out in all 21 federal colleges of education.

In a statement, the commission noted, “The NCCE identified and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across the country. The NCCE conducted personnel audit, financial monitoring in all the 21 federal colleges of education.”

The move comes shortly after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed education regulators to intensify efforts against illegal higher institutions in the country.

Speaking at the 14th convocation of the National Open University of Nigeria in Abuja, Tinubu — represented by Rakiya Ilyasu, Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education — tasked the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the NCCE to take decisive steps against operators of fake schools.

He warned that “certificate millers” were threatening the credibility of Nigeria’s education system and stressed that his administration would not allow such practices to thrive.

“At this juncture, it has become imperative to reiterate that this administration remains committed to strengthening the integration of all agencies involved in the administration of education to enhance efficiency and quality,” the President said.

He further added, “The National Youth Service Corps, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education are working in alignment to improve the quality of education and ensure that cases of forgery and unrecognised institutions both within and outside the country have no place in our education ecosystem.”

NDDC: IPF Intensifies Calls For EFCC to Probe Ogbuku Over Corruption

The Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF) has commended the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for speaking against the corrupt activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) under the Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku.

The media practitioners while intensifying the call for a thorough investigation into the leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to borrow a leaf from the ICPC to expose suspected corrupt activities such as contract scams, unauthorized spending, ghost project-Hope, unrealistic youth intensive programs, failure to pay/third-party payment of contractors, execution of substandard contracts, abandoned contracts and other failed projects of the commission to recover looted funds.