We don't operate in Nigeria - UCC reacts to Nigeria government ban

In response to rumors that the Nigerian federal government prohibited awarding dubious degrees, the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has responded.

 

A sprinter bus knocked down and murdered a UCC level 100 student.

The esteemed Ghanaian university made it clear in a statement dated January 4, 2024, that it neither runs direct operations in Nigeria nor has it permitted any school to administer its programs there.

 

According to media sources, eighteen (18) tertiary institutions, including three Ghanaian universities—UCC, University of Education, Winneba, and Volta University College, Ho—have been prohibited by Nigeria from conducting business there.

However, UCC asked the public to ignore the reports in reaction to them.

 

"The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has not issued a franchise to any institution in Nigeria to run its programs, nor does it have any campus or outlet operating in that country.

 

"All foreign students who want to study at UCC—including Nigerians—apply directly to the university to be considered."The University's management wants to reassure its valued stakeholders and the broader public that it values its strong reputation as a top academic institution with international recognition and that it won't do anything to damage its hard-earned status as the top University in Ghana and West Africa and the seventh best University in Africa (according to the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings).

 

Eighteen foreign universities have been targeted by the Nigerian government, which has warned Nigerians not to enroll in these "degree mills" and condemned them.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) imposed the embargo, affecting universities in neighboring nations like Togo and Benin. The United States has five universities affected, and the United Kingdom has six.

The NUC made it clear in an official statement on its website that the impacted colleges had been closed because they did not have the required federal government license.

 

According to the press release, "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."

This action is a reaction to a journalist's investigative article that exposed dishonest practices in the conferment of degrees by Benin and Togo institutions. The Daily Nigerian exposé exposed a thriving certificate racketeering gang that offered university degrees to eager purchasers in Nigeria, especially in neighboring African countries.

 

The undercover investigation documented how a reporter received a university degree from Cotonou within six weeks at an "affordable rate." According to the transcript and certificate, the reporter allegedly started the program in 2018 and graduated on September 5, 2022, using the official scan code of Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Benin Republic.