The Federal Government has been urged by the House of Representatives to remove the general prohibition on degree credentials from Togo and the Republic of Benin.
Following the House Committee on Public Petitions’ presentation and successful adoption of its findings during Wednesday’s plenary session, the call was made.
The suggestions were made in response to “a petition submitted by Sovereignty Legal Practitioners on behalf of stakeholders in the education sector,” according to committee chairman Laori Kwamoti.
The government’s decision to revoke degrees from schools in the two West African nations, which was first spurred by worries about academic fraud, was contested in the case.
The committee warned that “the measure could unfairly penalize graduates who legitimately earned their qualifications” and encouraged the federal government to reevaluate the blanket invalidation.
Rather than penalizing all certificate holders, the MPs suggested putting in place a case-by-case verification system to find and deal with fraud.
In order to improve verification processes, stop fraudulent activities, and guarantee the correct authentication of foreign qualifications, the House also demanded more cooperation between the Federal Ministry of Education and educational authorities in Benin and Togo.
Following an undercover study that exposed rampant certificate racketeering, the Federal Government halted the accreditation and examination of degree certificates from Benin and Togo in January 2024.
