ICPC Partners NUC, Others on Integrity Ranking for Tertiary Institutions

…As Don Advocates Leadership Training for Top Government Officials, Politicians

Participants at a three-week integrity workshop organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), a training arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), rose with a resolution to introduce integrity ranking for tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The proposed Integrity Ranking is targeted at rating tertiary institutions in accordance with the levels of integrity found in their systems.

The participants drawn from universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria, in a communiqué issued at the end of the workshop, felt strongly that the introduction of integrity ranking in tertiary institutions would deal with all corruption-related cases in the institutions.

The participants were worried that corruption was taking centre stage in tertiary institutions due to alleged lack of integrity on the part of management and the students. They believed that the integrity ranking would curb vices such as abuse of procurement process, frauds, examination malpractice amongst others.

Part of the communiqué reads, “ACAN should work with the regulatory authorities (NUC for Universities, NBTE for Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Allied institutions, and NCCE for Colleges of Education), and with the Committees of chief executives of tertiary institutions (Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Committee of Heads of Polytechnics and Allied Institutions, Committee of Provosts of Nigerian Colleges of Education), to introduce Integrity Ranking for Nigerian tertiary institutions.”

The resolution also includes the requirement that tertiary institutions should employ technology to tackle corrupt activities such as examination fraud, plagiarism amongst students and other fraudulent activities in tertiary institutions.

The communiqué further reads, “Where appropriate, institutions should deploy technology to tackle corruption in academic processes. Specifically, institutions should procure and periodically update anti-plagiarism software to routinely check students’ projects, dissertations, postgraduate thesis, and staff research work.”

Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Professor Godwin Onu in his vote of thanks at the end of the programme advocated for a mandatory leadership training on integrity at ACAN for people seeking leadership positions in Nigeria.

He said the integrity training would equip the leaders with skills to avoid administrative mistakes that would result in corruption upon assumption of office.

He said, “It should be made possible that anybody seeking position of leadership in Nigeria, not just politicians but everybody, should undergo integrity training at ACAN.) This is because ICPC has gotten a more sustainable approach to fighting corruption. ICPC’s approach is uprooting it from the root which is very good for us. With the training, people would avoid administrative mistakes because no Rector wants to go to jail.”