Fact Check: 700 Nigerian Nurses In The UK Didn’t Fake Qualification – Report Reveals

Reports making the round in some media space about 700 Nigerian nurses in the United Kingdom (UK) faking their qualifications to work in the health care sector has been described as false, Naija News has learned.

Recall that posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook, recently circulated, claiming that about 700 Nigerian nurses were found by the National Health Service (NHS) to have faked their qualifications to work in the country.

The post on X, which had reportedly gotten about 1.3 million times, said, “In the UK, the NHS found 700 Nigerian nurses had fake qualifications as people stood in for their exam.

“Nigeria is considered as a ‘red list’ country for the recruitment of health professionals, meaning poaching of staff could endanger its own health and care system.”

However, a fact check of this post by Reuters revealed that the claim that 700 Nigerian nurses were discovered by the NHS to have faked their qualifications to work in the UK is false.

According to the platform, the NHS declined to comment on the  allegation and referred Reuters instead to an investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

It was learned that NMC is an independent entity that regulates and oversees the professional standards of 780,000 nursing and midwifery professionals in the UK.

However, the platform, in its findings, said, “No registered nurses in the investigation have been confirmed to have fake qualifications.

“Forty-eight registered nurses are under suspicion and will be reviewed by an independent panel. This is also an NMC-related matter, not NHS.”

Meanwhile, in a September 20 statement, the NMC said it had uncovered widespread suspected exam fraud at the Yunnik Technologies Test Centre in Ibadan, Nigeria.

The NMC, in response to an enquiry email, told the platform that 48 professionals already on the NMC register, as well as 669 applicants to the register, were believed “more likely than not” to have achieved their scores in a computer-based test (CBT) fraudulently.

The 48 registered nurses suspected of fraud will be assessed by an independent review panel.

Another 467 registered nurses and midwives who took the CBT at Yunnik, but who aren’t suspected of fraud, will still be required to retake the test.

An estimated 1,440 applicants from Yunnik not on the NMC register, both suspected and non-suspected, will also need to redo the CBT.

The NMC  said, “To be clear, no final decision has been made, and this does not relate to people’s original nursing/midwifery qualification.”