ASUU STRIKE: We Will Do Everything Possible To Make Sure We Don’t Go On Strike..... Education Minister
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Professor Tahir Mamman, |
..... Says Over 22, 500 Nigerians Are Parading Fake Certificates Obtained From Benin Republic/Togo between 2019 and 2023.
Professor Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education on Friday gave an insight into the activities of his Ministry, ranging from making sure that out of school children are removed from the streets and back to classrooms, to fishing out those with fake certificates from Benin Republic and Togo, and to making sure that the strike by ASUU does not hold, through negotiations and dialogue.
The Minister disclosed these during a press briefing in Abuja to mark his one year in office.
Speaking on the planned strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) he disclosed that the Federal Government will meet with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other stakeholders on Monday to address the strike notice issued by the union.
The Minister said letters of invitation had been sent to ASUU leadership and other relevant organisations.
According to Prof. Mamman, "Most of the issues raised by ASUU are being attended to.
"The issue of exit from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) has been resolved by the President, but bureaucracy has caused delays.”
The Minister who expressed optimism that the meeting on Monday would yield positive results, said, “By the time we meet on Monday, some of these issues would be discussed and resolved.”
It could be recalled that ASUU had earlier issued a 21-day strike notice to the government over unresolved issues, including revitalisation funds for public universities, payment of outstanding earned academic allowances, and release of withheld salaries.
Assuring that President Bola Tinubu was committed to academic stability and would provide support to prevent academic disruption, he stated that, “Most of ASUU’s demands started in 1981, and every government has faced ASUU strikes.”
The minister emphasised that the government was committed to finding a lasting solution to the issues, saying, “We will do everything possible to make sure we don’t go on strike.”
Tahir Mamman, also disclosed on Friday, that over 22, 500 Nigerians are parading fake certificates obtained from Benin Republic and Togo between 2019 and 2023.
He said that over 21, 600 obtained the certificates from a unaccredited universities in Benin Republic within the time frame, while about 1,105 also obtained theirs at some unaccredited Universities in Togo.
He added that some of the numbers were harvested from records from the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) and other sources.
According to him, “From all indications, the figure is higher than what we have already. This is because some of the people choose not to participate in the mandatory NYSC scheme and other engagements that would have enabled us to harvest their data,” Tahir said.
“Sadly, these people have used the fake certificates to apply and secure job opportunities in government and private organizations with the mindset that they schooled abroad, while people who studied day and night are out there looking for job opportunities.
“Even within the countries, Benin and Togo, these universities are not accredited to offer degree programme. I don’t know how Nigerians chose to go to unaccredited institutions abroad to ‘study’. Our investigations also indicated that many of the people never even attended the school physically. ”
The Minister who confirmed that a circular is being prepared from the Office of Head of Service of the Federation that would enable the fish out of these people for due prosecution, stated that “Private sector operators are also encouraged to carry out further investigations on their staff who are parading foreign certificates, and ensure that anyone parading a certificate obtained from these countries between 2019 and 2023 are fished out and handed over to the Federal Ministry of Education for prosecution. Because the circular from the Head of Service will also be binding on private sector operators.”
It could be recalled that the activities of degree mills came to the centre of discussions in Nigeria, following an investigation by a reporter, Umar Audu, with the Daily Nigerian newspaper on the activities of degree mills in Benin Republic and Togo.
The reporter had revealed how he obtained a degree within six weeks and even proceeded to embark on mandatory youth service under the National Youth Service Corps scheme.
According to Audu, who reached out to the syndicate that specialises in selling degree certificates in December 2022, graduated in February 2023 and was issued a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication certificate from the Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Audu's report exposed the illegalities perpetrated by some tertiary institutions in the West African states led to the Nigerian government placing a ban on the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo.
Professor Tahir Mamman also gave an insight into the plans of his Ministry to make sure that out of school children are back to classrooms.
The Minister who disclosed that about four million out-of-school children have been pulled off the streets back to the classrooms through several of the Ministry's programmes, championed by the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-school Children.
According to the Minister, “Our target is to see about 3 to 4 million children leave the streets and return to school annually, and if that is successfully achieved, then by the end of the administration, a significant achievements would have been made as regards the out-of-school children,” he said.
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