The Tinubu-led Federal Government has placed a ban on 18 foreign universities operating in the country while warning Nigerians to desist from enrolling in such institutions because they are unlicensed.

The Federal Ministry of Education referred to the banned universities – five universities from the United States, six from the United Kingdom, and three Ghanaian tertiary institutions – as “degree mills’’.

This comes after the Ministry announced the temporary suspension of evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from the Republic of Benin and Togo

Announcing the ban in a statement published on its website, the National Universities Commission explained that the Federal Government had not licensed the affected universities and they had been closed down.

It stated, “The National Universities Commission wishes to announce to the general public, especially parents and prospective undergraduates that the under-listed ‘degree mills’ have not been licensed by the Federal Government and have therefore been closed down for violating the Education (National Minimum Standards, etc.) Act of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”

The affected schools are the University of Applied Sciences & Management, Port Novo, Republic of Benin, or any of its other campuses in Nigeria; Volta University College, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana, or any of its other campuses in Nigeria; the International University, Missouri, USA, Kano, and Lagos Study Centres, or any of its campuses in Nigeria and the Collumbus University, United Kingdom operating anywhere in Nigeria.

The list also included Tiu International University, UK; Pebbles University, UK, operating anywhere in Nigeria; London External Studies UK operating anywhere in Nigeria; Pilgrims University operating anywhere in Nigeria; West African Christian University operating anywhere in Nigeria; EC-Council University, USA, Ikeja, Lagos Study Centre and Concept College/Universities (London) Ilorin or any of its campuses in Nigeria.

Others are Houdegbe North American University campuses in Nigeria; Irish University Business School London, operating anywhere in Nigeria; University of Education, Winneba Ghana, operating anywhere in Nigeria; Cape Coast University, Ghana, operating anywhere in Nigeria; African University Cooperative Development, Cotonou, Benin Republic, operating anywhere in Nigeria; Pacific Western University, Denver, Colorado, Owerri Study Centre and Evangel University of America & Chudick Management Academic, Lagos.

The Ministry of Education said it was temporarily suspending the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from the Republic of Benin and Togo.

This comes after an investigative report titled, ‘How Daily Nigerian reporter bagged Cotonou varsity degree in 6 weeks’ was published by the Daily Nigerian newspaper. The report exposed how some officials of the Beninese University produced fake university degrees for a fee.