The Federal Government has accused Nigerian universities and colleges of education of illegally admitting more than 258,000 students, warning that institutions and officials responsible for the practice will face consequences.

Specifically, it said 58,000 students were illegally admitted into colleges of education, while his estimate put the number of illegal admissions in universities at not less than 200,000.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja at the inauguration of Committee on Strengthening the Accreditation and Quality Assurance System for Tertiary Institution. The panel is chaired by the immediate past Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

“The estimate of students illegally admitted to our universities today are in the hundreds of thousands. It might not even be less than 200,000… It’s more than that,” he said.

Alausa described the development as a “shame”, warning that the government could not continue to legitimise illegal admissions through repeated amnesty or “condonement”.

He disclosed that the figure for colleges of education was far higher than initially anticipated after the government considered a one-time amnesty for students who had been illegally admitted.

According to him, the ministry had initially expected the exercise to involve only about 5,600 students, but the eventual figure stood at 58,000 across colleges of education nationwide.

Alausa cited the case of one institution where 8,593 students were legally admitted, while 9,872 were illegally admitted, meaning the number of illegal students exceeded those admitted through the approved process.

He said the development pointed to a deeper crisis in the country’s tertiary education system, with institutions admitting students beyond their approved capacities and programmes.

The minister also warned that the consequences were being felt in the labour market, as employers struggle to find qualified graduates despite receiving hundreds of applications for available positions.

“We cannot continue to deceive our citizens,” Alausa said, stressing that the government would no longer tolerate practices that undermine the quality of tertiary education.

He said the ministerial committee on strengthening the accreditation and quality assurance system for tertiary institutions had a critical role to play in eliminating illegal admissions and strengthening the system.

Alausa further warned that once new measures were put in place, officials who failed to comply could lose their jobs, while private institutions could have their licences withdrawn.

He listed the terms of reference of the committee to include reviewing the existing accreditation and quality-assurance framework for tertiary institutions in Nigeria and recommending measures to strengthen the credibility, integrity, transparency, efficiency and sustainability of accreditation exercises.

He said the committee would specifically develop mechanisms to ensure that institutions are assessed based on their actual and sustainable capacity to deliver approved programmes.