The Federal Government has directed that, beginning October 6, compliance with the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) will be a prerequisite for mobilisation into, or exemption from, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
This was contained in a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, invoking provisions of the NYSC Act.
Under the new directive, no Nigerian graduate, whether from a local university, polytechnic, college of education, or a foreign institution, will be cleared for service or granted exemption without proof of NERD registration.
NERD, introduced by the Federal Ministry of Education, serves as a national databank to check academic fraud, certificate racketeering, and abuse of academic titles.
The policy requires all graduates and students to deposit evidence of their academic work, such as projects and theses, into the databank as a quality assurance measure.
The circular clarified that the directive will not affect serving corps members or those already enlisted before October 6.
Speaking on the development, NERD spokesperson, Haula Galadima, explained that the policy is designed to strengthen supervision in tertiary institutions and improve the quality of academic content.
According to her, deposited works will bear the full details of students, supervisors, departments, and institutions.
The policy also includes a reward system that allows students and lecturers to earn lifetime revenues from their academic submissions.
Meanwhile, government agencies, including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), have been directed to provide data exchange support through APIs to ease onboarding and verification processes.
From March 30 of every year, all higher institutions and organisations are expected to file annual compliance reports to the NERD databank.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa had earlier declared the policy effective in March, noting that it applies equally to federal, state, private, military, nursing, and agricultural institutions nationwide.