An educationist, Mr Festus Ajibade, has advised students, especially admission seekers, to be wary of unapproved institutions and unaccredited courses in their bid to further their academics.
Ajibade, a retired Principal and Proprietor, Hopeland Academy, Osi in Kwara, said this on tuesday in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara.
According to him, experience has shown that embarking on such illegal academic venture will only amount to waste of energy and resources.
“Many stories abound about students who are being denied participation in the National Youths Service upon graduation due to their enrollment in such illegal institutions or unaccredited courses.
“Scores of victims of this dastardly act are also denied their certificates upon graduation or such certificates, when even presented, are rendered useless,” he said.
Ajibade mentioned the recent protest by students of Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa in Oyo State, over issues bordering on non-accreditation of their Higher National Diploma (HND) courses.
He advised students to dedicate enough time toward studying the status of every institution and their courses, urging them not to be carried away by the excitement of admission.
“It is better to do it right in the beginning than suffering and regretting at the end.
“The Nigeria University Commission (NUC) had, time without number, rolled out list of unapproved institutions and unaccredited courses in institutions across the country.
“So, it is the duty of every student, either already in higher institutions or seeking for admission, to do thorough investigation on schools and their courses.
“This is the only way they will not fall for the antics of these illegal school operators who are only bent on making illicit money at the expense of genuine academic standard,” he said.
Ajibade urged NUC to evolve workable synergy and work closely with the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in enlightening students more on the important issue.
The educationist said it was not enough to list illegal schools and unaccredited courses on social media or other platforms.
Ajibade advised that a periodic phamplet or journal dedicated to this should be made available to students, especially at the point of entry.
He said that no institution would come out boldly to say it was operating illegally or that so and so numbers of its courses were not accredited.
“Some of them will only tell you that the approval or accreditation processes are already on, but in actual sense, nothing is on ground.
“So, the students need to be thorough in scrutinising the institutions and their courses to know the truth before enrolling,” he said.
Ajibade also advocated that education regulators should put in place stringent punishment for defaulters in order to serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.
“Education is the best legacy a government can give to its citizens, and it must not be toyed with in any ramification,” he said.
