The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed, revealed in a bulletin released by the commission in November that fraudulent individuals claiming to be professors had been identified. Professor Rasheed disclosed this information during the annual retreat for Vice-Chancellors of all universities in Nigeria, which took place from October 28 to November 5 at the NUC Headquarters in Abuja.
The NUC, responding to the discovery, posted the details of these fake professors on its website, prompting the commission to request verification from the respective universities. Professor Rasheed encouraged vice-chancellors to assign desk officers to thoroughly check and confirm the list of professors in their institutions before uploading the information on the designated website.
Despite the challenges posed by the presence of fake professors, Professor Rasheed commended the cooperation of the vice-chancellors with the NUC Strategy Advisory Committee. This collaboration resulted in the publication of the Directory of Full Professors in the Nigeria University System (NUS) and Statistical Digest of the NUS 2017-2018. He announced plans to release updated versions of these documents by December 2019, emphasizing the aim of enhancing the visibility of the NUS both domestically and internationally.
Furthermore, Professor Rasheed assured that the statistical digest would undergo regular updates every first quarter of the year. Emphasizing the collective responsibility in combating fake professors, he urged vice-chancellors to maintain accurate statistics of staff, students, and other components within their universities. Notably, he highlighted anomalies found in private universities, such as individuals awarded professorship with minimal teaching experience.
The NUC Secretary appealed to vice-chancellors to promptly inform the commission about any identified fake professors within their institutions and surrounding areas. Expressing gratitude, Professor Rasheed acknowledged the cooperation of universities in compelling professors to upload their curricula vitae on the website. This proactive measure contributed to the compilation of the directory of full professors in the NUS and facilitated the identification of fraudulent claims.
The retreat, organized in separate meetings for federal, state, and private universities' vice-chancellors, aimed at fostering discussions on their responsibilities in the NUS and addressing challenges collectively. Professor Rasheed assured vice-chancellors of federal universities that the government would continue appointing technocrats and elder statesmen as Chairmen and Pro-Chancellors of Governing Councils to uphold the quality and integrity of higher education institutions.
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