By Agbafo Ijeoma
Some graduates of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) have raised concerns over prolonged delays in the release of their certificates, saying the situation has negatively affected their career progression, employment opportunities and retirement processing. The affected graduates, from NTI study centres in Ibadan, Lagos and Kaduna, said some had waited several years after completing their programmes without receiving their credentials.
One of the affected graduates, Mrs Bamidele Akinde, who works with the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, said she completed her programme in 2018 but had yet to receive her certificate. She said the delay had affected her promotion and that repeated efforts by her and other graduates to resolve the matter had produced little result. She also alleged that some affected graduates had faced demotion and retirement-related difficulties.
Another graduate, Mr Njoku Sylvester from Kaduna, said the inability to produce his original NTI certificate contributed to the loss of his job at a private school. He said the delay had remained a major setback since 2018, particularly for graduates who needed their certificates to sit for promotion examinations. Mr Ismaila Oyewole, another graduate from the Ibadan study centre, said the delay had also affected his retirement process after an accreditation letter issued to him was rejected when he was asked to provide his certificate.
Mrs Olasumbo Ogundairo, an NTI graduate from Ibadan, said some students spent between three and four years completing their programmes and paid more than N300,000, only to remain without certificates after graduation.
She claimed that more than 3,000 graduates nationwide had been affected and also raised concerns over errors in some certificates already issued, including incorrect matriculation numbers, names and years of completion. She called for the release and correction of outstanding certificates and NYSC exclusion letters where required.
Responding to the complaints, Dr Anuoluwapo Oyinlola, Oyo State Coordinator of NTI, said the certificate delays were not limited to Oyo State or the Southwest. She explained that affected programmes and graduates were being categorised according to their affiliations and the institutions responsible for processing their certificates, noting that some were processed through the University of Maiduguri while certificates for earlier programmes were obtained through the National Open University.
Oyinlola said 608 certificates had already been released, with efforts ongoing to clear the backlog, and expressed optimism that the outstanding certificates would be released by October. She urged affected graduates to accept attestation letters where necessary and assured them that outstanding issues and errors would be addressed.
