The National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) has uncovered and closed 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across the country.

The crackdown, revealed in the commission’s latest achievements report, is part of efforts to sanitize the teacher education sector. The NCCE also confirmed that it had conducted a personnel audit and financial monitoring across all 21 federal colleges of education.

The move comes shortly after President Bola Tinubu directed education regulatory agencies to intensify efforts against illegal institutions undermining Nigeria’s academic system. Speaking recently at the 14th convocation of the National Open University of Nigeria, Tinubu, represented by the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, urged the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the NCCE to dismantle so-called “certificate millers.”

The President stressed that his administration is committed to safeguarding the integrity of higher education. He noted that agencies such as the NUC, NBTE, NCCE, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) are working together to curb the activities of unaccredited institutions and prevent academic forgery.