Over the past 48 hours, derogatory accounts from former and current students of the purported tertiary school in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Harvarde College of Science, Business and Management Studies, have gained traction on X (previously Twitter), where they are accused of defrauding desperate applicants by pretending to be an accredited university.

Many of the commenters came forward after Oluwabunmi Michael, an X user, posted a letter by a former student who, in regret, warned of the impending doom awaiting current students should they finish their programmes.

An institution is named HAVARDE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS SCIENCE and MANAGEMENT STUDIES, yet they admit students to study Law, Nursing and other courses. Lying that they’re afliated to institutions like OOU, AAUA, and other institutions. https://t.co/vDYh5dCT43 pic.twitter.com/b4GE3H3mJN

— Oluwabunmi Michael Awoyemi🇳🇬🇺🇳 (@Harwohyehmi1) December 13, 2023

Michael said that although the institution is named Harvarde College of Science, Business, and Management Studies, they admit students to study law and nursing while also claiming that they are affiliated with other prestigious institutions of higher learning, such as Olabisi Onabanjo University, which is untrue.

Past students of Harvarde said that while the institution has had to change its name three times, it started with the name OOU Consult before it became Harvarde.

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Sharing how she found herself in the institution, a former student who dropped out voluntarily said that Havarde lured her in with a text about a scholarship in 2021 to study nursing but she soon found out the school was a scam.

According to her, whenever she and her course mates went for clinical postings, the management of the college told them to identify as students from Cotonou’s Penothiel College.

Olajumoke Taiwo-Ibiyemi, another former student who left, said that when she got a text message from Harvarde in 2011 that she was a recipient of a scholarship, she was so happy until she entered.

She said when the journey started, she and her coursemates began to receive lectures at Saint Louise and then at Lisabi Grammar School, and despite being a full-time student, she only received lectures in the evening.

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Sensing that many things did not seem right with the course and the institution, she said she had to leave the institution for another.

“That school needs to be closed down; it’s a waste of time and money. Mind you, some of my colleagues finished and were taken to Cotonou to get their certificates so they could serve. The so-called provost would promise heaven and earth and brainwash unsuspecting students,” Taiwo-Ibiyemi said.

Supporting Taiwo-Ibiyemi’s claim, Gbemmy, another X user who also had to drop out of Harvarde, said that students used to receive lectures in the evening after the students of Lisabi Grammar School had gone home.

Another former student identified as Tolani said that she gained admission to Harvarde in 2018 after they issued her a scholarship but left after her first year when she saw through the anomalies in the school.

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“We were given admission under the disguise of a scholarship, and we were told that 70 percent of the school fees would be subsidised. Since admission is the biggest problem for Nigerian teenagers, a lot of people took the bait,” Tolani said.

“Eventually, the school was charging more money than the scholarship plan. It wasn’t a problem until we discovered that OOU had severed affiliation with them. Then we were told by the dean of students’ affairs that the affiliation had been changed to Atiba University.

“I had to leave after 100 level when I saw through the bullshit. A lot of my friends graduated from the school, while some people like me had to start over again. It was a depressing journey for me, having wasted my time, money and energy.”

Tolani said that the students who persevere with the institution are taken to universities in Cotonou for certificate conversion, which costs more than N400,000.

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This claim is corroborated by Bowale, who said the school takes their graduates to Cotonou and enrols them for conversion with N400,000. He says, “You may [study] elect elect and they will give you computer engineering certificate in Cotonou.”

When FIJ called Harvarde via the phone number on its website for comments, a female respondent said that their programmes were accredited and that the school was affiliated with other schools for certain courses.

When this reporter asked for the institutions Harvarde was affiliated with for programmes like law, the respondent said, “I can’t disclose that to you, but we have not been accredited for nursing.”

According to her, all students at Harvarde came in through the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), although this claim cannot be true as past students were sent a text that they had been given a scholarship, which lured them. Also, admission into any tertiary institution has to be accepted on the JAMB CAPS, but this is not the case.

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FIJ checked the website of the Nigerian University Commission to see if Harvarde was accredited, but its name did not appear on the NUC portal after many searches.

FIJ checked the website of the National Board for Technical Education and found that the latest directory of accredited programmes in Nigeria is the 2021 edition, which Harvarde appears on.

The directory shows that Harvarde was accredited in 2021 by the NBTE to give out only a national diploma for business administration and management, accounting, mass communication, and computer science. The school’s representative told FIJ that they also give out higher national diplomas, which they should not.

Harvard’s licence to issue national diplomas to students expired in October 2022, according to the directory, but since the latest edition has not been released by the NBTE, one cannot say exactly what their status is.