The Governing Council and Academic Board of Centre for the Development of Technical, Economics and Commercial Learning (CPTEC), a degree-awarding institution in Togo Republic, has countered the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, that only three universities have been accredited to award degrees to Nigerian students in the West African country.
Addressing a news conference yesterday in Lagos, CPTEC Governing Council and Academic Board members led by its president, Prof. Tunde Adeyemi, asserted that over 40 universities, including CPTEC, are legally accredited in Togo Republic and recognised as degree-awarding institutions.
Adeyemi claimed that the minister misinformed Nigerians by announcing that only eight universities have been accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic.
Mamman, while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme and also during a news conference last Friday to mark his one year in office, disclosed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from the two countries, and such certificates would be cancelled.
He said the revelation was part of a report submitted to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) by a committee with a mandate to probe degree certificate racketeering by foreign and local universities in Nigeria.
Mamman listed the public universities that the Federal Government approved to offer degree programmes in Togo for Nigerian students as Universite De Lome, Universite De Kara and the Catholic University of West Africa.
The minister also mentioned five accredited universities authorised to provide degree programmes in Benin Republic for students from Nigeria.
But, Adeyemi said CPTEC was aware that the minister’s announcement came in the aftermath of the Nigerian government’s decision to suspend the accreditation and evaluation of degree certificates of Nigerian students who studied from the Republic of Togo, “Following an incident that happened in Benin Republic, and not Republic of Togo, of which a committee was set up to investigate and came up with reports of their investigation of the culprits after which the suspension will be lifted, which is the reasonable thing to do.”
The university’s proprietor noted that to the surprise of everyone, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Education, failed to give the details of its findings and recommendations to enable stakeholders to identify the indicated institutions and the officials in the ministry that are involved.
According to him, the minister’s statement had been debunked by the Ministry of Higher Learning in Togo.
Adeyemi added: “The logical explanation to this is that the committee from the Nigerian Ministry of Education misinterpreted the information from the ministry in Togo, as they were informed of the structure of academics in Togo, which is also been employed in other French speaking countries, developed countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
“They were informed about the French education ranking of higher learning institutions that awarded degrees, which are: universities that consist of faculties/ colleges; institutes/ centres; and higher colleges.
“Note that all the above categories are degree-awarding institutions. Also, aside from the three universities mentioned by the Minister of Education, there are over 40 degree-awarding institutions in the Republic of Togo and the list was made available to the committee through the official diplomatic channels.
“For further clarification and information, the Nigerian ministry and the general public can access the lists of some of the private higher institutions in Togo, through the registered association by the Ministry of Higher Learning in the Republic of Togo from this website www.cepes.tg.
“Hence, there is no need for the misinformation of the government and the general public by the committee set up by the Nigerian government.
Adeyemi asserted that the committee set up by the Nigerian Ministry of Education took a hasty decision by misinforming the Nigerian government that due to the non-inclusion of “universities” in the names of the schools, colleges, institutes and faculties mentioned, they were not degree-awarding institutions.
-Thenation
