The Federal Government has announced that compliance with the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD) will now be a prerequisite for participation in or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday during a national capacity-building programme organised to support the implementation of the NERD platform.
The programme, themed “Strengthening Institutional Compliance and Academic Records Integrity,” was organised to reinforce compliance frameworks and ensure the security, accuracy and authenticity of academic records across Nigerian institutions.
Alausa said the initiative was part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening the credibility of the country’s education system and tackling certificate fraud.
He noted that reliable data remained critical to effective governance and policy formulation.
“Data is the lifeblood of effective governance. It enables us to understand the challenges we face so that we can design and implement effective solutions as well as monitor and evaluate our progress,” he said.
According to the minister, the NERD platform is a national infrastructure designed to digitise, standardise and authenticate academic records across tertiary institutions in the country.
He explained that the system administers national credential numbers, a National Credential Revocation Service, a National Student Clearinghouse and a federated repository of academic theses and abstracts, alongside a national academic publication and indexing database.
Alausa revealed that within four months of enforcement, the system had preserved nearly 100,000 digital student submissions and onboarded more than 250 universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.
He added that over 133,000 students and 6,800 lecturers had enrolled on the platform, supported by more than 655 institutional focal persons nationwide.
The minister also disclosed that over 1,000 digital service centres had been established in partnership with Nigeria Digital Entrepreneurs, creating more than 3,000 jobs within four months.
Speaking on the fight against certificate fraud, Alausa said the Federal Government had acted swiftly after reports emerged that some Nigerians were obtaining questionable degrees from unaccredited institutions abroad.
He stated that investigations revealed cases where individuals acquired certificates from non-existent universities or institutions operating from small apartments.
According to him, such practices had now been stopped following directives from President Bola Tinubu.
“All those who obtained illegal certificates have been removed from the civil and public service,” the minister said.
Alausa also announced the establishment of the NERD Annual National Laureate Prize and Awards Programme to reward outstanding academic research.
He said the awards would recognise exceptional undergraduate, master’s and doctoral theses, with prizes ranging from N5 million to N20 million, adding that the maiden edition would hold in November.
The minister directed ICT directors and tertiary institutions across the country to cooperate fully with the initiative, stressing that compliance with the national academic data system was compulsory.
He further explained that agencies such as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education, the National Commission for Colleges of Education and the Industrial Training Fund would require NERD compliance before institutions could access their services.
According to him, the reform aims to eliminate disputes over academic records and strengthen transparency and accountability in the country’s education sector.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of NERD, Engineer Tunji Ariyomo, said the initiative would help preserve Nigeria’s academic knowledge and research output.
He noted that many valuable academic records had historically been lost due to weak documentation and preservation systems.
Ariyomo said nations that successfully preserve and validate knowledge over time are those that lead global development, adding that the repository would help position Nigeria more competitively in the global knowledge economy.
