The Federal Government has announced a new policy that will make the possession of a verified Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) certificate compulsory for all graduates seeking mobilisation into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed the directive while speaking on ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening the credibility of Nigeria’s academic credential system. The new rule means that graduates whose academic records are not captured and verified on the national education database will not be eligible to participate in the mandatory one-year national service programme organised by the National Youth Service Corps.
The reform centres on the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank, a digital platform designed to store, verify and manage academic credentials issued by tertiary institutions across the country. According to the Federal Ministry of Education, the repository is intended to create a unified national database that can authenticate certificates issued by Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Under the new arrangement, graduates must ensure that their academic credentials are uploaded and validated on the NERD platform through the National Credential Verification Service before they can be considered for NYSC mobilisation. Once verified, each certificate is assigned a unique National Credential Number which allows government agencies, employers and institutions to confirm the authenticity of academic qualifications electronically.
Education authorities say the policy forms part of a broader effort to eliminate certificate fraud and restore trust in Nigeria’s higher education system. In recent years, the Federal Government has intensified efforts to tackle the proliferation of fake degrees and questionable academic credentials, particularly following investigations that revealed that some Nigerians obtained forged or unaccredited degrees from foreign institutions.
Officials believe the introduction of a centralised credential verification system will make it significantly harder for individuals to present fake academic records during employment processes or when applying for national service.
The minister explained that compliance with the repository will gradually become a standard requirement across the education sector and beyond. Several government agencies are expected to rely on the system when verifying academic credentials for recruitment, scholarships, professional licensing and other official purposes.
Beyond NYSC mobilisation, institutions and regulatory bodies including those responsible for supervising universities, polytechnics and colleges of education are expected to integrate their databases with the repository to ensure seamless verification of academic records.
The Federal Government had previously introduced the NERD system as part of a phased reform programme and initially allowed a transition period for institutions to begin uploading academic records into the national database. With the latest announcement, authorities say the system will now be fully enforced for graduates seeking entry into the national service programme.
Education stakeholders believe the new directive could affect thousands of prospective corps members if universities fail to upload and validate their graduates’ records promptly. As a result, institutions are expected to accelerate efforts to integrate their databases with the national repository to avoid delays in the mobilisation process.
