The Association of African Private Universities (AAPU) has announced the constitution of a fact-finding committee, which will visit the neighbouring Benin Republic on the heels of a report by a Nigerian online newspaper, which exposed certificate racketeering in a Cotonou University.
This is even as AAPU commended Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, for resolving to investigate certificate racketeering in some universities both at home and outside the country.
The Deputy Secretary of the Association (West Africa), Salissou Mamoudou, made the commendation in a statement issued in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on Saturday.
He said the bold steps taken by the Nigerian Minister of Education to investigate the issue would go a long way in facilitating and promoting international certification standards as well as restoring the confidence of students and parents.
He said AAPU as an international forum for African Private Universities was ready to support the Minister of Education in his determined effort to checkmate the activities of universities in Africa that have no regard for integrity.
“AAPU as a forum that encourages and empowers member institutions to become Centre of Excellence in Research and Development, will support whatever measures taken by the Minister to save the reputation of private universities in Africa,” he said.
While urging the government of Benin Republic to take necessary measures to check the ugly trend, the Deputy Secretary of the association, however, called on the Nigerian Minister of Education not to use the report as a yardstick for judging other reputable universities in Africa.
“The report should not be a yardstick to brand other universities as the same because there are reputable universities in Benin Republic,” he said.
He disclosed that AAPU would also dispatch a fact-finding committee to Cotonou with a view to finding out what exactly happened after which it would come out with a comprehensive report on the committee’s findings.
He said the committee, which is expected to find out the truth about what happened, would submit its report to the association within the next 10 days to enable it brief officials of the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria.
The AAPU Deputy Secretary commended the Nigerian online newspaper, which exposed the certificate racketeering syndicate in a Cotonou university, adding that the association would meet with the undercover Journalist to thank him.
He called on the African Union (AU) to recognise the online newspaper by honouring the undercover reporter for doing “an excellent and patriotic job.”
