The Federal Government has issued a directive requiring all higher institutions in Nigeria to submit their matriculation lists to the Federal Ministry of Education within three months following their matriculation ceremonies. This submission must be done through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
This mandate is part of a broader effort by the government to combat the proliferation of fake degree mills and certificate racketeering in the country. The directive follows the recommendations of an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling, which was established in March 2024. This committee was tasked with investigating and addressing the activities of fake degree mills, particularly in response to an investigative report by *Daily Nigerian* that exposed the operations of such mills in the Benin Republic.
The *Daily Nigerian* report, conducted by journalist Umar Audu, detailed how he was able to obtain a degree within six weeks from a degree mill in the Benin Republic and subsequently participate in Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program. The revelations led the Nigerian government to ban the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from institutions in the Benin Republic and Togo.
Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, who received the committee’s report, emphasized that the government is committed to eliminating holders of fake degrees from both Nigerian and foreign universities from the system.
In a memo dated July 15, 2024, addressed to JAMB, the Ministry of Education outlined the new measures. These include the enforcement of the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) for all admissions in Nigerian tertiary institutions and the mandatory submission of matriculation lists to the ministry via JAMB.
The ministry has urged JAMB to implement these recommendations and provide updates on their progress.
