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Plagiarism is an issue of concern in institutions of learning across the world. There are several widely held ideas about plagiarism in Nigeria, but they have not been substantiated because of a lack of empirical findings. However, a recently completed doctoral research project on student plagiarism in Nigerian universities has thrown more light on the matter.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board or JAMB, the sole agency mandated to conduct entrance examinations for universities in Nigeria, has held its first computer-based tests for more than 1.4 million candidates at some 400 information and communications technology, or ICT, centres countrywide. “This system was thought out as the only way, for now, that can address the challenges of examination malpractices.”

The secretary-general of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) last week urged universities to be stricter on plagiarism, especially among postgraduate students, reports the Nigerian Bulletin.

Campus politics dates back to 1925 when African students schooling in London formed a union known as the West African Students' Union (WASU), headed by a Nigerian as the first president of the union. Inflation of financial figures for projects, misappropriation of funds and bribery by school management to okay anti-students' management decisions have become the order of the day among most student union leaders.

The economic and financial crimes commission and the police have begun the prosecution of proprietors of three illegal private universities operating in the country. The proprietors of the institutions are being prosecuted for operating illegally and for collecting money illegally from innocent students.

From 1995 to 2001, Nigerian degree mills produced annually about 15 percent of total university graduates in the country. In the past 9 years, a flurry of activity has been directed at eradicating the degree mills. In 1999, the National Council on Education (NUC) directed the closure of all local and foreign satellite campuses. It also partnered with the Department of State Services (Nigeria's secret service) in locating, arresting, and prosecuting operators of unapproved universities and satellite campuses. Finally, it directed approved universities to make full disclosure of their programs, which have been listed in the Directory of Approved Programmes in the Nigerian University System.