Nigerians scramble for unapproved foreign online degrees

Although the NUC has said that certificates from such universities would not be recognised and graduates from such schools would not be allowed to participate in the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, some working-class Nigerians who just needed any academic certificate to gain promotion in their places of employment still apply for the […]

Although the NUC has said that certificates from such universities would not be recognised and graduates from such schools would not be allowed to participate in the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, some working-class Nigerians who just needed any academic certificate to gain promotion in their places of employment still apply for the online degree programmes of the foreign universities.
One of such Nigerians, Taiwo Odesola, an accountant at a beverage company in Igbesa, Ogun State, told our correspondent that he is currently enrolled with a university in the United Kingdom for a master’s degree in Business Administration via the online platform.
He said this is because many employers in Nigeria respect foreign university certificates more than the certificates issued by Nigerian universities.
“Whether the certificate is gotten through the online platform or not, the most important thing is to have the certificate,” he said, adding that he is not bothered if the NUC does not recognise the master’s degree certificate he will receive on completing the programme.
He said: “After attending a conventional university in Nigeria and bagging my bachelor’s degree and NYSC certificate, my postgraduate degree programme has gone beyond the control of NUC.”
Another foreign online degree student, Angelina Ikechukwu, told our reporter that since she enrolled for the programme of a US-based university, she had never bothered about NUC’s threat of non-recognition of certificates obtained through online studies.
An Ordinary National Diploma (OND) certificate holder working with a first generation bank in Ogba, Lagos, Ikechukwu said that it would be foolhardy of her to resign her appointment to attend a conventional university “simply because I want to obtain a degree certificate, which I can as well get by studying online and still retaining my job.”
She said further: “I am proud of the online programme I am undergoing. Many of my colleagues have bagged similar degrees from other foreign universities via online platforms and have gone ahead to secure promotions. I cannot because of my desire to attend a conventional university resign my appointment.
“Do you know the number of graduates roaming the streets daily or those who come to my office daily to drop their application letters and CVs in the name of looking for job? I am not ready to join that league. So, I am not bothered by the NUC’s threat.”
Another online degree student of a South African university, Emeka Nwachukwu said: “The online study gives me time to work and study at the same time. It is also cheap and fast. It is not subjected to the dictates of Nigerian universities where the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes often cripple students’ educational progress.”
Daily Trust investigation further showed that while some of the foreign varsities wooed prospective students mainly through internet platforms and popular websites, others have gone a step further by having representatives in the country who help in the recruitment drive.
Foreign universities such as the University of Liverpool, UK, Edinburg Napier University, UK, as well as Atlantic International University, Honolulu, Hawaii, among others, are some of those that use the internet platform to woo prospective students from Nigeria.
The United States of America-based school, Our Saviour University (OSU), however, is among the few foreign universities that have representative offices in Nigeria.
Our reporter, who visited the Idimu, Lagos office of OSU, met the representative of the foreign university, who simply identified himself as Engineer Raufu.
“With 50 US dollars registration fee, a prospective online student of Our Saviour University can indeed kick-start the process of being admitted to the school,” Raufu said.
He added that all that a newly-admitted student needed to pay was 200 US dollars as tuition, while the university offered courses in virtually all disciplines.
“With your Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE), you can kick-start your bachelor’s degree programme with us. In two years, you are through,” he stated.
A lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano, Dr. Sa’idu Ahmad Dukawa said Nigerians are patronising such programmes because of two reasons.
“One; the inadequacy of universities in the country. There is so much demand for higher education in the country and because of that people who could not fit into the few existing approved institutions are just willing to grab any opportunity to further their education.
“Two; out there in the market for people with certificates, there are opportunities and employers who can employ you provided you have certificate,” he said.
Dr. Dukawa however, said the earlier government did something the better, adding that “the NUC should think of how to sanitise the online programmes and accredit them, rather than making a pool of it pretending that it doesn’t give accreditation so people should not patronise them.”
He added that government should also provide more opportunities by encouraging private entrepreneurs to key into the business of university education, saying “university is a virgin land where job opportunities would be created for others.”
The NUC, however, insisted that students, who engaged in the online degree programmes of the foreign universities, whether directly or through local representatives, were on their own.
Deputy Director, Public Relations, NUC, Ibrahim Usman Yakasai told our reporter that the commission was aware of the operations of some online degree awarding institutions in Nigeria, and that some “desperate” Nigerians were patronising such institutions.
He said: “We know that some people, despite our various disclaimers against such schools, still patronise them. We have been running a lot of awareness and sensitisation campaigns, both in the print and broadcast media, against the patronage of such schools. But some people will just not hear. Those who are still patronising them are on their own.”
The NUC spokesman further stated that the regulatory body has a mechanism in place to detect students who attended online degree universities.
“We do know if such a person comes to apply for NYSC. One of the requirements is for such graduate to show us his or her residence permit within the four-year period in the country where such school is situated.
“Secondly, the foreign school graduate must show us his international passport which must surely reflect records of his ‘in and out’ travels in the country where his school is located, within the four-year period. Anything short of this will definitely communicate to us that such graduate had not attended a conventional foreign school but an online foreign school,” Yakasai said.