President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved sweeping changes to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation process, making adherence to the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) a mandatory requirement for all graduates seeking either mobilisation into, or exemption from, the NYSC scheme.
This directive is backed by Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act and was formally conveyed through a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
The enforcement, listed as Item 2(ix) in the circular, stipulates that all prospective Corps members—regardless of whether they studied in Nigeria or abroad must now show proof of compliance with the NERD policy.
One of the central requirements of the NERD policy is the submission of academic work—including final-year projects, theses, and other scholarly outputs—by Nigerian students. This move is intended to serve as a national quality assurance mechanism and a reliable indicator of academic engagement over time.
Section 6.1.23 of the policy explains this as a tool to “time-stamp” academic involvement, helping to preserve the integrity of Nigeria’s educational qualifications while curbing certificate fraud and the misuse of honorary academic titles.
In a prior statement from March 2025, Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa confirmed that the submission of such academic materials would become compulsory under provisions outlined in various sections of the NERD policy, including 2.3, 4.3(1), and 7.6.11(c).
According to the SGF’s circular, the new rule takes effect from October 6, 2025. From that date onward, no Nigerian graduate—whether from a local university, polytechnic, college of education, or an international institution—will be processed for NYSC or granted exemption without meeting NERD compliance requirements.
However, the policy does not affect those currently serving in the NYSC or those who were mobilised prior to the October 6 enforcement date.
Read Also
READ ALSO: NYSC Boss Urges National Unity, Integration Among Corps Members
The new directive is part of a broader federal strategy to protect Nigeria’s academic integrity, restore trust in higher education credentials, and ensure greater oversight of academic production.
President Tinubu has also approved a monetisation and reward scheme for academic contributions submitted to NERD. This initiative, proposed by Dr. Alausa and endorsed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), allows students and lecturers to earn lifetime royalties from the scholarly work they upload to the national repository.
To ensure seamless implementation, the federal government has instructed all Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and educational institutions—both public and private, military and civilian—to enforce the NERD policy in full. Institutions are also encouraged to establish local digital repositories to support compliance.
Key government data agencies, such as the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), are required to provide technical support through data-sharing interfaces (APIs) to enable identity validation and system integration.
NERD spokesperson, Haula Galadima, emphasised that each deposited academic work must include the full names of the student, their supervisor(s), head of department, and sponsoring institution. She noted that the visibility of these names on a national platform would motivate supervisors to demand higher academic standards from their students.
“NERD aims to elevate the quality of academic work across the board,” Galadima said. “Knowing that their names will be publicly linked to a student’s work encourages supervisors to take their roles more seriously. We believe this will naturally lead to better research, better mentorship, and better outcomes.”
She added that this system is not intended to interfere with internal academic processes but to reinforce them, positioning NERD as both a digital archive and a standard-setting tool for higher education in Nigeria.
