The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu Has announced that the Federal Government of Nigeria is ready to shut down 134 illegal tertiary institutions across the nation.

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, disclosed this at a media conference on Saturday in Abuja. Mallam Adamu Adamu provided a list which contained 66 illegal universities and 68 polytechnics, monotechnics and specialised technical and vocational institutions.

The minister complained that there has been an increase in the number of illegal higher institutions especially, universities. The minister also explained that increase in the number of illegal institutions has become a source of embarrassment to the government.

Below is an extract of the Minister’s statement;

“I want to use this opportunity to direct all regulatory agencies in the public education sector, namely, The National Universities Commission
(NUC), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), to work with relevant security agencies to immediately crack down hard on all illegal tertiary institutions within their jurisdictions.

“Promoters of such institutions should immediately be apprehended and prosecuted. Let me warn those promoting illegal institutions that the days of treating promoters of such
institutions with kid gloves are over. Anyone caught in the act will be severely punished

“Most of the unapproved higher institutions are usually manned by unqualified and unrecognized personnel. While some of the illegal providers are operating illegal institutions based in Nigeria, some are online in unapproved linkages and affiliations with substandard foreign institutions that have no accreditation or recognition of regulatory bodies either in Nigeria or their home countries.

“They have no admission quota, they run unaccredited courses with practically no standards. Their products are half baked and unemployable.”