The federal government says compliance with the national policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) is now mandatory for mobilisation into, or exemption from, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The policy, effective from October 6, invokes provisions in Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act.
It was communicated in a circular from the office of the secretary to the government of the federation, George Akume, obtained by TheCable.
Earlier, the education ministry had announced a nationwide enforcement of the NERD, a data bank to combat the rising abuse of academic titles and certificate racketeering.
The directive mandated the verification of academic credentials for all staff and recruits across all government and higher education institutions through the NERD.
In a follow-up compliance directive, Nigerian students are now required to deposit evidence of their academic outputs, such as thesis or project reports, into the NERD databank.
This requirement is to serve as a crucial “quality assurance check” and “yearly independent proof of continuous academic enrolment and affiliation.”
The SGF circular stated that no Nigerian graduate, whether from a domestic university, polytechnic, college of education, or an overseas institution, will be mobilised for or exempted from NYSC without proof of NERD compliance after the enforcement date.
The directive does not, however, affect serving corps members or those enrolled before October 6, 2025.
Tunji Alausa, the education minister, issued a declaration of effectiveness for NERD in March 2025.
It stated that the mandatory submission of academic outputs stipulated in the policy would become obligatory.
The policy applies equally to all educational institutions, regardless of ownership or supervision, including private, military, nursing, and agricultural colleges.
Haula Galadima, NERD spokesperson, explained that the initiative is poised to raise the quality of academic content nationwide by strengthening supervision processes.
Each deposited item will feature the full names of the student, supervisor(s), head of department, and the sponsoring institution.
An aspect of the approved NERD policy is a reward mechanism for students and lecturers, which allows them to earn lifetime revenues from their academic deposits.
Critical data bodies like the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the circular stated, have been directed to provide data exchange support via application programming interfaces (APIs) to facilitate onboarding and data validation.
It stated that, from March 30 each year, all organisations and higher institutions are to file mandatory compliance reports to NERD.
Source: The Cable
