From 6 October, no Nigerian graduate will be allowed to join or secure exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) without first complying with the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).
The federal government, through a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, confirmed the policy’s enforcement, citing sections of the NYSC Act.
The NERD databank, introduced earlier by the Ministry of Education, is designed to curb academic fraud and certificate racketeering by mandating all students and institutions to upload verifiable academic outputs including final-year projects, dissertations, and theses.
According to the directive, every submission must carry the full names of the student, supervisors, head of department, and sponsoring institution.
“This is both a quality assurance check and independent proof of genuine academic enrolment,” the circular stated.
The policy applies across the board — federal, state, private, military, agricultural, and nursing colleges. Overseas graduates seeking NYSC enrolment or exemption will also be required to show proof of NERD compliance.
Serving corps members and those mobilised before the October deadline are exempt.
To strengthen the rollout, agencies like the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have been ordered to provide seamless data exchange support. From March 30 each year, all higher institutions and organisations must file compliance reports to NERD.
Interestingly, the policy also carries a reward mechanism, allowing both students and lecturers to earn lifetime revenues from their academic uploads.
With the new rule, the federal government hopes to restore credibility to Nigeria’s education system and ensure the NYSC scheme is reserved only for graduates with verifiable credentials.
