President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a major policy reform mandating the submission of academic outputs—such as theses, dissertations, and project reports—as a requirement for mobilisation into or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The directive aligns with the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD), aimed at curbing certificate racketeering, ensuring quality assurance, and creating a verifiable record of scholarly activity.
In a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, the Federal Government directed that proof of NERD compliance must now be provided by all prospective corps members, regardless of their place of study—whether in Nigeria or abroad.
The new rule takes effect from October 6, 2025 and applies to all fresh graduates. However, it will not affect those currently serving or already enrolled for the NYSC programme before the enforcement date.
According to Section 6.1.23 of the NERD policy, academic outputs will be time-stamped to serve as independent proof of continuous enrolment and institutional affiliation.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, clarified that the policy applies to all institutions—public, private, military, civilian, and overseas—without exception.
Beyond verification, the policy also introduces a monetisation and reward system, allowing students and lecturers to earn revenue from uploaded academic works. Each institution is expected to maintain a local repository linked to the national platform, fostering collaboration among previously isolated institutions.
NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima stressed the programme’s broader goal of raising the quality of academic content nationwide:
“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. Very few lecturers would want their names associated with poorly produced academic works.”
To ensure transparency, each submission will display the names of the student, supervisor, co-supervisor, head of department, and sponsoring institution. Key government agencies, including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), will support the initiative through inter-agency data exchange to validate records across institutions.
This policy, the government says, is designed not only to combat fraud but also to strengthen supervision, accountability, and academic integrity in Nigeria’s education system.
