President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a major reform of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation process, making it mandatory for all graduates to comply with the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).
The directive, contained in an enforcement circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, invokes Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act. It stipulates that, with effect from October 6, 2025, no graduate whether from Nigerian or foreign institutions will be mobilised for or exempted from NYSC without proof of compliance with the NERD policy.
A central provision of the NERD policy is the mandatory deposit of academic outputs such as theses or final-year project reports into a national repository. According to Section 6.1.23 of the policy, this measure serves as a quality assurance check and provides an independent record of a student’s academic enrolment and scholarly activity. It also seeks to combat certificate forgery and protect the nation’s intellectual property.
The policy applies to all tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, schools of nursing and specialised research institutes, whether public, private, civilian or military.
The NERD policy was formally launched in March 2025, when the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced that the submission of academic outputs would become a compulsory national standard. The government’s aim is to restore credibility to Nigeria’s academic system and curb certificate racketeering.
In addition, President Tinubu has approved an academic output monetisation and reward system, allowing students and their supervisors to earn lifetime royalties from works deposited in the repository.
The SGF’s circular directs all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as higher institutions to fully enforce the policy. Key national data agencies, including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), are required to support the initiative through secure data-sharing via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to ensure smooth onboarding and verification.
NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima explained that each deposited work will display the names of the student, supervisor(s), Head of Department and the sponsoring institution. She noted that this visibility will encourage lecturers to maintain high standards, knowing their supervision will be publicly attributed.
“Few lecturers would want their names associated with substandard academic work,” Galadima said. “By strengthening supervision processes, NERD will raise the quality of academic content and presentation across the country.”
The directive will not affect current corps members or those who completed their studies and were mobilised before the October 6 enforcement date.
This initiative represents a significant step toward safeguarding Nigeria’s intellectual assets and ensuring the integrity of academic qualifications nationwide.
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