By FUNMILAYO ADEYEMI

The Federal Government has inaugurated a homegrown ‘Plagiarism Detection Software Code’ called EagleScan to enhance the integrity of higher institutions.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the inauguration of the software in Abuja on Tuesday, said that plagiarism was a form of corruption.

Osinbajo said that the initiative was part of the core mandates of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration that announced the zero tolerance for plagiarism.

According to him, the Federal Government is fully committed to support all initiatives that will continue to build and enhance the integrity of higher institutions.

“Let me also say that the government will give all that is needed to ensure that anti plagiarism measures are instituted across the country,” Osinbajo added.

Speaking, the Minister of Education, Mr Adamu Adamu, while lauding the indigenous anti plagiarism software, said it would facilitate the desired quality expected in institutions of higher learning.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, emphasised the need to institutionalise an anti-plagiarism policy in all higher institutions.

Rasheed said that doing this would encompass various aspects of Plagiarism.

“Having the software is one aspect of the battle against plagiarism, universities must take concrete steps to institutionalise anti plagiarism policy that forbids all aspects of the intellectual theft.

“For so long the issues of Plagiarism amongst others such as copyrights as well as abuses of infringements have robbed our universities the much desired integrity,” he said.

Similarly, the Chairman of the occasion and the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Higher Education, Prof. Sandy Onor, said the software would address the challenges of academic research authentication and validation.

“The EagleScan Plagiarism Detection Software integrates global open source and closed source repositories, local Open Education Repositories and allows users to validate titles abstracts and generate originality report,” he said.

The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Prof. Elias Bogoro, promised that the Fund on plagiarism would be committed to work with the Committee of Vice Chancellors to fight plagiarism.

Bogoro said that the fund was not only committed to the initiative but had effectively proceeded to make funding commitment towards the project.

“TETFund recently realised the need for software on anti-plagiarism for the National Research Fund.

“We are also working on a software to package the impact of research but in respect of Plagiarism, we are happy to work with the Committee of Vice Chancellors to fight plagiarism.

“We are convinced of deepened content of academic engagement particularly research, the idea of operations must stop hence, the establishment of the Research & Development committee,” Bogoro added.

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede called for an all-inclusive concentration on the EagleScan.

Oloyede pleaded that the Plagiarism Detection Software be tagged a National Repository, saying that this would create more opportunities for all institutions across all sectors to subscribe.

Also, the Chairman, Association of Vice Chancellors, Prof. Timothy Olagbemiro, said the EagleScan would make the Nigerian University system more authentic.

Olagbemiro added that it would add value to education both in Nigeria and International.

He, however, said the cost of development, deployment, maintenance and marketing of the software over the next three years, had been projected at a total sum of N251,298,000.00 . (NAN)

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