Nigeria Warns Institutions Over Borrowed Staff
Education Minister Tunji Alausa has warned heads of Nigerian tertiary institutions against borrowing academic staff and facilities for accreditation, saying officials who manipulate the process risk losing their jobs and private institutions risk having their licences revoked.
Alausa spoke in Abuja at the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on Strengthening the Accreditation and Quality Assurance System for Tertiary Institutions. He said the government would no longer accept inflated or temporary records of staffing, laboratories and equipment presented only for visits by the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education or the National Commission for Colleges of Education.
According to the minister, institutions must not assemble a temporary picture of themselves for an accreditation visit. “An institution should not be able to prepare a temporary picture of itself simply for the purpose of an accreditation visit. Sadly, this is what persists in the majority of instances.” He added that standards should be met every day of the year, not only when a team is expected.
The minister linked weak accreditation to employer complaints that large numbers of graduate applicants, including engineers, often yield few qualified hires. He cited controversy over the law programme at a private university in Oyo State, where the Council of Legal Education has imposed a 10-year moratorium over inadequate facilities and the admission and graduation of students without required approval. Alausa said affected students and parents have sought government help, including possible transfers to accredited law faculties.
Alausa also directed the committee to verify that academic and non-academic staff presented for accreditation are authentic and continuously available, and that facilities and equipment are owned, functional, adequate and on site. He called for a digital accreditation platform, geospatial mapping and geotagging of infrastructure and major equipment, and a digital identity system for staff. Physical visits would then validate existing data.
Former JAMB registrar Professor Is-haq Oloyede, who chairs the committee, said accreditation should not be an exercise for which institutions prepare only in advance of a visit, and that continuous monitoring is required. He said the committee would also look at how regulatory and professional bodies can align their processes so students are not blocked from professional training after completing a programme. Mrs Kalau Igwe, director of polytechnic education, said borrowing staff and facilities also occurs in polytechnics and colleges.
In a separate statement on the same tertiary-education file, Alausa said only 18 vice-chancellors attended the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation National University Advancement Programme forum, and that only 30 of 78 federal universities have taken part in the ministry–NHEF advancement programme launched in January with the Africa Finance Corporation. He instructed vice-chancellors to rebuild Advancement Offices, place them under the vice-chancellor’s office, give advancement directors a minimum five-year tenure, and pursue research grants, alumni giving, philanthropy, private partnerships and endowments in addition to government allocations. He thanked NHEF chairman Wale Adeosun.
The committee’s terms of reference include reviewing accreditation policies and procedures, identifying loopholes, strengthening staff and resource verification, and improving the independence of accreditation panels.
