FG Vows to Weed Out Employees with Fake Certificates in Public, Private Sectors

The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, has pledged to eradicate individuals in both public and private organizations who are operating with counterfeit certificates.

Mr. Mamman’s commitment came to light during his address in Abuja on Friday, following the submission of a report by an inter-ministerial investigative committee on degree certificate fraud, chaired by Prof. Jubrila Amin.

The minister had initiated the committee on January 9 to investigate allegations of degree certificate fraud within domestic and international private universities. The committee was tasked with assessing the involvement of government agencies or officials in facilitating the acquisition of fraudulent certificates.

Expressing his dismay at the findings of the investigation, Mr. Mamman emphasized the ministry’s determination to collaborate with relevant authorities in purging the education sector of fraudulent practices.

“We cannot allow the reputation of our education system to be tarnished by the actions of a few individuals,” Mamman stated. “It has come to our attention that there may be individuals holding counterfeit certificates within public and private organizations, and we are committed to rooting them out. This report underscores the necessity for thorough reform.”

He further pledged decisive action to uphold standards within the education system, asserting, “We cannot afford to compromise on quality when it comes to education.”

Presenting the committee’s report, Chairman Jubrila Amin decried the deteriorating standards of education in certain institutions, highlighting the urgent need for intervention. He recommended the digitization of education systems across all agencies to enhance monitoring and accountability.

“In the course of our investigation, we found significant deficiencies in the accreditation and evaluation processes,” Amin remarked. “Expanding the number of universities and prioritizing the training of PhD holders domestically would mitigate the prevalence of counterfeit certificates.”

Amin also urged the National Universities Commission (NUC) to intensify oversight of institutions offering part-time or sandwich programs to prevent a recurrence of past incidents involving unaccredited courses.

“It is imperative that we take stringent measures to identify and penalize individuals presenting fraudulent certificates,” Amin asserted. “The responsibility lies with the Ministry of Education to identify and address these cases accordingly.”