17/08/2026
*PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY AND SACREDNESS OF UNIVERSITY DEGREES IN NIGERIA* BREAKYOURBREAD.ORG URGES EVERYONE TO SILENT ATTENTIVELY!
*BY*
*PROF B. CHIMA ONUOHA*
Universities are generally assumed to have originated in medieval Europe as “self-governing corporations of teachers and scholars”. The term is derived from Latin - _Universitas magistrorum et scholarium,_ meaning a community of masters and students. The first formal university in the entire world was founded in 1088. It is the _University of Bologna_ in Italy. Other records have it that it is the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco, founded in 859 AD. This institution is recognised by both UNESCO and Guinness World Records as the oldest running higher-learning institution.
It is common that imperialists will always not be ready to credit Africa with any noble thing. Imagine that al-Qarawiyyin has been in existence for about 129 years before University of Bologna. In any case, distorted historical records by colonialists and imperialists is not my interest in this article.
Universities are where teaching and learning take place. They offer advanced education across many disciplines, the major goal being to ensure critical thinking and produce new knowledge via research and innovation. Universities engage in community service and public engagements. In other words, universities are naturally expected to apply knowledge and expertise in solving or addressing societal challenges or problems. The implication is that the “gown must go to town”.
Over the decades and centuries, universities have strived to protect the integrity and sacredness of their certificates, across degrees – undergraduate and postgraduate. These earn them (the degrees) authenticity, recognition and respect. Let me start with the Ivy League Institutions (the oldest schools in USA: Harvard – Cambridge 1636; Yale – New Haven 1701; Princeton – Princeton, New Jersey 1746; Columbia – New York 1754; Penn – Philadelphia 1754; Brown – Providence, Rhode Island 1764; Dartmouth – Hannover, New Hemisphere 1769; and Cornell – Ithaca, New York 1865). They are all in the North-Eastern Region of United States. Others include Ivy League Plus Institutions – MIT, Stanford, NYU, SUNY, Duke, John Hopkins, UCLA, North-western, Georgia Tech, etc. Yet others include: the Coimbra Group/Universities (in Europe) and Russell Group/Universities (in United Kingdom).
What are the selling and remarkable features of these institutions? They include: having world-class libraries, low student-lecturer ratio, focus on critical thinking, emphasis on cutting-edge research and innovations, societal relevance, discussion-based lectures, case study approach, etc. In these institutions, students, lecturers and researchers have free access to Turnitin for similarity index, for checking the level of plagiarism in their works. In all, they have high standards, high reputation and global visibility, respect and employability. They also rely heavily on extensive and massive global alumni networks and contributions, leading to huge endowments. These go further to assist the institutions with internships, industrial attachments (students industrial work experience scheme – SIWES) and job creation for their graduates. See my articles – (1) “Nigeria University System and Endowments” and (2) “The Nature of An Entrepreneurial University”, April 26, 2026.
Universities all over the world do everything possible to ensure the integrity and sacredness of their certificates. They guide against forgery and any form of abuse. Instead of lowering standards, they work assiduously to improve them. They look for very bright students and exceptional academics, researchers and administrators. They compete among themselves for visibility, positive ranking and continuous improvements in all areas – academics, research, corporate governance, national and international development.
In the contrary, what do we have here in Nigeria? In this country, there is under-funding of education by successive administrations; the National Universities Commission (NUC) is almost imposing similar programmes on all universities; many universities have not distinguished themselves in certain fields of study (that is, clearly known to be the best in some disciplines); there is no university autonomy in the real sense of it; there is politicisation of the university system; there are Abuja and state government Houses’ lists for employments and admissions and many aspects of the university culture have been deliberately eroded to serve certain interests. See my article – “Erosion of Academic Culture in Nigeria’s University System”, August 9, 2026.
On their own part, Nigerian universities are not doing much to safeguard the integrity and sacredness of their degrees. They lower cut-off points, needlessly waive courses, allow students carrying many courses over to graduate, there is pathetic academic amnesty programmes; they have weak internal control measures and their certificates don’t have strong security features which make forging them very easy.
Let me dwell a little on internal control measures. Virtually, all Nigerian universities have Degree Result Verification Committees (DRVCs). Their core mandates include:
Ensuring compliance with graduation guidelines of each department.
Checking the accuracy of students’ data – name, matric number, additions of both grade points, credit units and cumulative grade point average (CGPA).
Ratifying the computations and results, for on-ward submission to Senate for final approval. It is important to note that these Committees (DRVCs) have carried out their core functions very excellently well.
Unfortunately, these committees do not have the luxury of time, and terms of reference of checking the integrity of these results and their entries, from the source – the departments. These ordinarily should be the responsibilities of the various departments, via their examination officers. This is a major flaw. And students know this. Here is where unethical examination officers short-change the system, thereby adversely affecting the integrity and sacredness of some of the degrees.
If not for this obvious lacuna known to students, why would students that don’t attend lectures, have many carry overs, or are absent from school for the greater part of the semester or academic session boast that they will surely graduate with the other serious students? Or that they must go to Youth Service (Orientation camps) with other graduates? Why would students with carryovers have the courage or temerity to engage in lavish “Signing out” ceremonies or activities?
It is unfortunate that many public universities are treating cases of exam malpractices with levity. Decades ago, immediately after each semester’s examinations, the authorities will set up many exam malpractices panels across the university. For example, a panel going to Faculty of Humanities will have chairman and members from other faculties. Same for other faculties. Students knew this and were serious with their studies and examinations. Currently, students also know about the laxity on the part of the university, and take advantage of the lacuna. Some have moved from the traditional forms of cheating in examinations – _omokirikiri,_ microchips, dubbing, giraffing, _mgbo,_ reminder, etc, to modern gadget – aided methods – phones, wrist watches, eye glasses, etc. Yes, there are exam malpractice forms, which invigilators submit. Most times, these cases are not treated by the authorities.
Due to this overt un-seriousness from departments and university management, lecturers/invigilators use their discretion to handle exam malpractice cases, which sometimes may be abused by unethical persons. These include: standing the student up for some time; giving the student fresh scripts; s*xual harassments; ceasing the student’s gadget; demanding money for ceased gadgets; or giving a carryover.
It is important to state that a “smart” student can cheat from year one to graduation. In this instance, the integrity and sacredness of the certificate are greatly undermined.
In a handbook I wrote as far back as 1996, with the title – _The Evils of Campus Life_ which was revised in 2009 with a modified title – _The Evils of Campus Life: The Problems of Education in Nigeria,_ all the problems bedevilling the educational system in Nigeria were discussed. They are but not limited to the following: underfunding of the educational sector by successive governments in Nigeria, examination leakages, examination malpractice (mentioned above), laziness on the part of the students, cultism, rag day scandals, rudeness and ingratitude, s*xual harassment and victimisation, commercialisation and exploitative tendencies (sell of grades – the students call it _"sorting”),_ lack of facilities and motivation, fake life and exotic living, wrong course allocations, s*x for grade, industrial unrest, students’ riots and demonstrations, tarting and pimping (see my article – “Tarting and Pimping in Tertiary Institutions”, May 10, 2026), indiscipline, r**e, smoking and drug abuse, among others. Some parents also aid and abet in all these campus evils. For example, sponsorship of writing WASSC/NECO and JAMB examinations by impersonators for their children/wards and encouraging needless signing out activities. All these are contributing factors to low quality education and disregard or disrespect for our certificates nationally and globally.
Many Nigerian universities’ certificates don’t have strong security features hence, are very easy to forge, for various reasons – to secure jobs, for international travels/schooling and politics.
Other negative influences on the students and youths are: interference in and manipulation of student union elections (SUG’s elections) by university authorities and inexplicable interests in SUG’s elections by political elites. The students also observe that warped values are encouraged by academic, religious, traditional, political and national leaders. The students/youths hardly see role models. They are learning that the ends justify the means. The society keeps deteriorating in all spheres of human endeavour.
Discerning Nigerians cannot see the justifications why many governors, principal officers of the National Assembly, ministers, and other top government officials stormed Osun state few days before the governorship election of August 15, 2026. Was it for altruistic or solidarity purpose? Obviously, they are idle government officials or were meddlesome interlopers in Osun politics, or purely for sinister motives. Honestly, Nigerians must agree on the type of society they want to bequeath to the youths presently and future generations. I am just thinking aloud…
In conclusion, Nigerian universities and indeed other higher institutions should put strong mechanisms in place to protect the integrity and sacredness of their certificates and degrees. These include:
Have effective and difficult-to-forge security features on their certificates. They should know that the “experts” in Oluwole street (on Lagos Island – Breadfruit/Oju Olobun area) and other notorious centres are also upgrading their forgery skills and techniques.
Ensure that nobody undeserving of their certificate gets it. It is very embarrassing when Human Resource Managers, private and public organisations, and people regularly complain about the low quality of graduates from the university system. We have also observed the woeful outings of some government officials and politicians in public.
Investigate and prosecute cases of certificate forgery, as deterrence.
Keep close marking on the activities of examination officers and Heads of departments. There should be severe disciplinary measures against unethical persons messing up with the corporate identify and reputation of the university’s degrees.
One undeniable fact about Ivy League and similar institutions is employing top-rate lecturers and researchers. Many are Nobel Laureates. Due to faulty, politicised or compromised employment practices, Nigerian universities host a number of lecturers that have no business being in the ivory tower. They don’t attend classes, are high handed to cover their short-comings and hardly supervise projects. They set exams when students have not learnt anything. Departments and faculties should check the unwholesome behaviours of this set of lecturers. They are contributing to producing half-baked graduates.
Publish in advance the lists of those not graduating in the departments, each academic session.
Professors playing their mentorship and leadership roles should ensure that the degrees from their departments are authentic and that the holders deserve them. They should be ready to expose unethical activities in this direction.
All institutions, particularly universities in Nigeria should make concrete efforts to confront headlong all the evils of campus life listed above.
Universities and leadership of all hue in Nigeria should encourage students to imbibe the virtues of hard-work, ethical conduct, transparency, fairness, equity, justice, no easy harvest and most importantly, delayed gratification.
These recommendations have become urgent and important because most private and public universities will commence their second semester examinations in the next few days and weeks. We are already in August.
With all these measures, students will work hard for their certificates, those likely to aid and abet academic fraud will be aware of the dire consequences if caught and the universities will have the confidence to have protected the integrity and sacredness of their degrees. And society and humanity will be better for it.
As usual, I come in peace.
*_Onuoha, Professor of Management and development activist, wrote from University of Port Harcourt, Sunday, August 16, 2026._*
Our comprehensive suite of professional services caters to a diverse clientele, ranging from homeowners to commercial developers.
