The Federal Government has shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across the country in a move aimed at sanitising Nigeria’s higher education sector. The action followed a nationwide crackdown carried out by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), which revealed that the institutions were running without proper accreditation or approval.
According to the commission, a special task force was deployed across all geopolitical zones and completed inspections within a week. Findings showed that many of the illegal colleges operated from dilapidated buildings, abandoned primary schools, and makeshift structures. Some of them also engaged unqualified teachers and offered poor conditions of service, falling far short of the minimum standards required for teacher training.
The NCCE noted that alongside the closures, it conducted a comprehensive personnel audit and financial monitoring exercise in all 21 federal Colleges of Education. This, it said, was part of its renewed drive to strengthen accountability, enhance teaching quality, and ensure compliance across the sector.
The clampdown comes on the heels of President Bola Tinubu’s directive at the 14th convocation of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja. At the event, the President ordered education regulatory agencies, including the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the NCCE, to root out what he described as “certificate millers” undermining the credibility of the country’s education system.
Tinubu, represented by the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, stressed that his administration is committed to protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s academic institutions. He explained that agencies such as the NYSC, JAMB, NUC, NBTE, and NCCE are working together to raise standards and ensure that fake or unrecognised institutions have no place in the country’s education ecosystem.
