Certificate verification now mandatory for NYSC – Minister

Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, on Thursday, said graduates whose academic records are not captured in the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD) will not be eligible for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The NERD platform is designed as a national digital infrastructure to standardise, authenticate and store academic credentials across Nigeria’s […]

Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, on Thursday, said graduates whose academic records are not captured in the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD) will not be eligible for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

The NERD platform is designed as a national digital infrastructure to standardise, authenticate and store academic credentials across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

Dr Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday during a national capacity-building programme for school representatives organised to support the implementation of NERD.

The programme focused on improving the accuracy, security and authenticity of academic records across institutions nationwide.

Alausa said linking access to verified academic records will serve as a strong deterrent against certificate forgery and other forms of academic fraud.

He said within four months of enforcement, the system had already preserved nearly 100,000 digital student submissions and onboarded more than 250 universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.

He said over 133,000 students and 6,800 lecturers are currently registered on the platform, supported by more than 655 institutional focal persons nationwide.

The minister also announced the establishment of the NERD Annual National Laureate Prize and Awards Programme to promote academic excellence.

Outstanding undergraduate, master’s and doctoral theses will receive prizes ranging from N5 million to N20 million, with the maiden edition scheduled for November.

Beyond NYSC participation, Alausa said compliance with NERD would become mandatory for institutions seeking access to services from agencies such as TETFund, the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education, the National Commission for Colleges of Education and the Industrial Training Fund.

The minister added that the government had already acted against fraudulent qualifications obtained abroad, particularly from unaccredited institutions in neighbouring countries, noting that individuals found with such certificates had been removed from public service.