President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a reform that links the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation process to the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).
Invoking Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act, President Tinubu directed that no graduate, whether from a Nigerian or foreign institution, will be mobilised for or exempted from NYSC without proof of compliance with the NERD policy.
According to Daily Trust, the directive, communicated through a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, is set to take effect from October 6.
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Under the NERD framework, students are required to deposit academic outputs, including theses and project reports, as part of a national initiative to combat certificate fraud and preserve Nigeria’s intellectual assets.
According to Section 6.1.23 of the policy, this measure serves as both proof of academic enrolment and an independent quality assurance mechanism.
Earlier in March 2025, while announcing the declaration of effectiveness for NERD, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, stated that following the declaration, “The approved stipulations for mandatory submission of academic outputs as provided in Sections 2.3, 4.3(1), and 7.6.11(c), among others, of the approved National Policy for the NERD Programme shall become obligatory requirements in Nigeria.”
Highlighting the significance of the directive, NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima explained that every student submission will include the full names of the student, supervisor, co-supervisor (where applicable), and head of department, along with the sponsoring institution and department.
Galadima further noted, “Apart from the mandate to verify for authenticity as a national flagship, the NERD digitisation programme has a clear objective – to raise the bar in the quality of academic content, output and presentation nationwide.
“One way NERD intends to accomplish this task, based on its mandate, is to strengthen the supervision processes in the nation’s higher institutions without getting involved in the processes.
“If our eminent scholars are aware that their names will appear next to those of the students they supervise on a globally available digital platform, there is the likelihood that each lecturer would up his or her standard.
“Very few lecturers would want their names associated with poorly produced academic works. NERD is therefore poised to help each lecturer earn his ‘earned allowances’ by providing thorough supervision.”
