FG Moves to End Borrowing of Staff, Equipment for Tertiary Accreditation

The Federal Government has begun efforts to reform the accreditation system for Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, warning universities, polytechnics and colleges of education against borrowing staff, equipment and facilities to create a false impression of their capacity during accreditation exercises.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the government plans to transform accreditation from an occasional exercise into a continuous, digital and data-driven quality assurance process.

Alausa spoke on Wednesday during the inauguration of a Ministerial Committee on Strengthening Accreditation and Quality Assurance Systems for Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.

He said the existing accreditation system must become more transparent, efficient, evidence-based and resistant to manipulation, stressing that accreditation exercises should provide an accurate reflection of an institution’s ability to deliver quality education.

According to the minister, institutions should no longer be allowed to temporarily improve their appearance or resources simply because an accreditation team is visiting.

“An institution should not be able to prepare a temporary picture of itself simply for the purpose of an accreditation visit.

Sadly, this is what persists in the majority of instances,” he said.

Alausa also expressed concern over the practice of temporarily moving academic and non-academic staff between institutions for accreditation purposes.

He said similar measures must be taken against the temporary borrowing or movement of laboratory equipment, workshop resources, library materials and other infrastructure.

The minister insisted that everything presented to accreditation teams must reflect the institution’s actual and sustainable capacity.

To achieve this, he said the government would deploy technology, including geospatial mapping, geotagging and digital identification systems, to verify institutional infrastructure, equipment and personnel.

He explained that critical equipment presented during accreditation should have digital identities linked to specific institutions and physical locations.

On staffing, Alausa called for a comprehensive digital identity and staff verification system that would enable regulators to confirm the identity, presence and institutional affiliation of personnel presented by tertiary institutions.

He said the system could leverage national identity infrastructure and
interoperable government databases while complying with data protection regulations.

The minister also proposed collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission to use the National Identification Number, together with BVN infrastructure and other secure technologies, to establish the principle of one individual having one verifiable identity and a clearly declared institutional affiliation.

Such a system, he said, would help detect cases where an individual is improperly presented as full-time staff by more than one institution.

Alausa said the reforms were necessary because the current accreditation system largely operates as a periodic exercise conducted every three to five years.

He advocated a shift from accreditation being treated as an event to becoming a continuous quality assurance process.

Under the proposed system, institutions would be required to maintain prescribed standards throughout the year instead of making special preparations only when accreditation teams are expected.

The minister said a robust digital accreditation platform would allow regulators to continuously maintain and verify information on institutional staffing, facilities, laboratories, workshops and equipment.

He added that physical accreditation visits would remain important but should increasingly be used to validate already verified data rather than restart the verification process from scratch.

According to him, the system would also enable the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education and National Commission for Colleges of Education to maintain reliable records of institutions instead of depending mainly on information gathered during periodic accreditation exercises.

Alausa disclosed that the Ministry of Education had recently held a collaborative meeting with the three major tertiary education regulatory agencies as well as professional regulatory bodies.

He added that the government was awaiting advice from the Attorney-General of the Federation on the next steps.
The minister said a digital platform serving as a single source of verified institutional information could help reduce regulatory conflicts and improve coordination among the various agencies.

He noted that many of the accreditation toolkits currently in use were developed decades ago and had contributed to inconsistencies and conflicts within the system.

Alausa described the newly inaugurated committee as timely, saying it had been established to develop a framework capable of improving coordination between accreditation, regulatory and professional bodies.

He said a central platform where regulators could access verified institutional data would make the system more standardised, efficient and transparent.

The minister maintained that the fundamental principle of the reform was that what an institution presents for accreditation must be what actually exists and remains sustainably available to its students.

“Technology should enable us to move from declarations to verification and from assumptions to evidence,” he said.

He added that the use of technology was not merely for modernisation but was intended to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s tertiary education system and safeguard students’ interests.

Alausa charged the committee to review the accreditation procedures of the NUC, NBTE and NCCE and submit practical recommendations for their modernisation.

He said the ultimate goal was to establish an accreditation system that is credible, transparent, technology-driven, efficient and of Polytechnic Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Amy Igwe, said the committee was expected to contribute to developing a stronger, more transparent and credible accreditations framework.

Igwe said the initiative reflected the government’s commitment to improving Nigeria’s education sector and protecting the interests of students.

She acknowledged that some institutions had previously been known to temporarily move or borrow staff and resources for accreditation exercises, adding that the proposed reforms should help eliminate such practices.

She urged committee members to dedicate their time and expertise to strengthening the accreditation system for the benefit of Nigerian students.

The proposed reforms come as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to improve quality assurance and strengthen the integrity of Nigeria’s tertiary education system amid concerns about academic standards, infrastructure, staffing and the alignment of educational programmes with national development needs.

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