In a move to enhance the credibility of academic qualifications, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping reform, making the submission of academic theses or project reports a mandatory requirement for all Nigerian graduates seeking mobilization or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The new directive comes as part of the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD), aimed at protecting the nation’s intellectual assets and tackling widespread academic dishonesty.
The policy mandates that all graduates, regardless of their educational institution—be it a Nigerian university, polytechnic, college of education, or an overseas institution—must submit their academic outputs for verification in order to be eligible for NYSC. This directive, outlined in an enforcement circular recently issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has far-reaching implications for the nation’s academic community.
As per the policy, effective October 6, 2025, all prospective Corps members must provide proof of NERD compliance before they can be mobilized for service or granted exemption. The initiative aims to safeguard the quality and integrity of academic qualifications in the country, tackling issues such as certificate fraud and the abuse of academic honours.
“This is a crucial step in ensuring that Nigerian graduates’ academic achievements are authentic and verifiable,” explained Dr. Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, during the announcement of the policy. “The NERD policy will serve as a quality assurance mechanism, offering an independent proof of academic enrolment and affiliation that will be time-stamped to prevent the manipulation of academic records.”
The policy mandates the deposit of all academic outputs, including theses and project reports, into a central database. This measure is designed to provide a digital footprint of every student’s academic journey, making it easier to track and authenticate qualifications. Furthermore, it will strengthen the supervision process in Nigerian institutions by holding lecturers accountable for the quality of academic work produced under their guidance.
“The NERD digitisation programme is aimed at improving the overall quality of academic content and output in Nigerian higher institutions,” stated Haula Galadima, a spokesperson for NERD. “By linking supervisors to the works they oversee, we anticipate a significant improvement in the standard of research and projects across the country. Lecturers will be more motivated to provide rigorous supervision if they know their names will appear next to their students’ work on a global platform.”
While this reform is a significant step forward for the Nigerian education system, it does not affect those who are already enrolled in the NYSC before the October 6 deadline. The new policy applies exclusively to students graduating after this date, ensuring that the NYSC mobilization process is more transparent and merit-based moving forward.
In addition to enhancing the academic process, the NERD policy also includes provisions for monetizing academic outputs. The policy introduces a reward mechanism that will allow students and their lecturers to earn revenue from the academic content they deposit into the system. This initiative, aimed at incentivizing quality academic contributions, will encourage scholars to take greater ownership of their work.
The full enforcement of this policy will also require collaboration between various government bodies, including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to ensure smooth data exchange and verification processes.
The NERD initiative promises to streamline Nigeria’s education system, improve accountability, and raise the standards of academic qualifications nationwide.
