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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has invoked the provisions in Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act and approved a significant reform that makes adherence to the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank, NERD, a compulsory criterion for mobilisation into or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.
This compliance directive was outlined in Item 2(ix) of an enforcement circular recently released by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume. The circular conveyed the approval for the modification of “NYSC mobilisation criteria in accordance with the President’s regulation requiring proof of NERD Policy compliance for all prospective Corps members, regardless of where they were educated.”
In addition to policy provisions intended to curb certificate fraud and the misuse of honorary academic awards, one of the federal government’s new mandatory requirements for Nigerian students is the submission of academic works, such as theses or project reports.
According to Section 6.1.23 of the policy, this requirement is introduced “as a quality assurance check and as a yearly independent proof of continuous academic enrolment and affiliation,” and it is expected to serve as a time-stamped record of scholarly activities, irrespective of location.
It will be recalled that in March 2025, during the formal declaration of the NERD policy’s implementation, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stated that “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.”
He further explained that “The NERD Policy applies in equal measures to all education delivery institutions regardless of ownership type (public, private, military or civilian) whether within or outside the direct supervision of the federal ministry of education, such as colleges or schools of nursing, agriculture, specialised research institutions and institutes, etc.”
The circular issued by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, has now clarified that, from 6th October onwards, no Nigerian graduate – whether from a Nigerian university, polytechnic, college of education, or an institution overseas – will be mobilised for or granted exemption from NYSC without proof of NERD compliance.
This measure is intended to safeguard Nigeria’s intellectual property and restore integrity to academic procedures and qualifications.
However, the directive does not apply to current Corps members or those who enrolled before the 6th October enforcement deadline.
A copy of the approved NERD policy obtained by our correspondent revealed that President Tinubu also endorsed a proposal from Dr Alausa to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for an academic output monetisation and reward system. This system is designed to ensure that students and their lecturers can earn a lifetime income from their submitted academic works.
The policy further encourages each tertiary institution to establish its own local repository.
Specifically, the policy establishes a structured collaborative model to bridge the gap between autonomous institutions that had previously operated in isolation.
The federal government’s circular to Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and higher education institutions (both public and private, military and civilian) calls for full implementation of the NERD Policy.
Moreover, vital data agencies, such as the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, are mandated to provide inter-agency data exchange support through Application Programming Interfaces, APIs, to enable integration and data verification.
Highlighting the importance of the directive, NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima explained that each academic item submitted by a student must include the full name of the student, his or her supervisor, co-supervisor (if applicable), Head of Department, and the name of the institution and department involved.
She also noted that, “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.”
She continued, “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.”
She added, “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.”
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