President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a new rule that will make compliance with the National Education Repository and Databank (NERD) policy a compulsory condition for graduates to be mobilised into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) or to qualify for exemption.
The directive, which takes effect from 6 October 2025, was contained in a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
The circular stated that the “NYSC mobilisation criteria” will now include proof of compliance with the NERD policy for every graduate, whether trained in Nigeria or abroad.
The NERD policy, introduced earlier this year, requires all students in higher institutions to deposit their academic work, including theses and project reports, into a national database.
According to the policy, this is meant to serve as proof of study, improve the quality of supervision in schools, and prevent certificate forgery.
Section 6.1.23 of the policy explains the requirement “as a quality assurance check and as a yearly independent proof of continuous academic enrolment and affiliation.”
When he declared the policy effective in March 2025, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stressed that “the approved stipulations for mandatory submission of academic outputs… shall become obligatory requirements in Nigeria.”
He added that the policy applies to all institutions, public or private, civilian or military, as well as specialised colleges such as nursing and agriculture.
The SGF’s circular further clarified that the new rule will not affect serving corps members or those already mobilised before 6 October.
A copy of the approved policy obtained by Pilot News also shows that President Tinubu gave approval for an academic output monetisation scheme.
Under the plan, both students and their lecturers will be able to earn revenue from their deposited academic work. Each higher institution is expected to establish its own local repository, which will feed into the national databank.
The Federal Government’s circular to all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and institutions (public, private, civil or military) mandates full enforcement.
Key data agencies, including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), are to provide inter-organisation data exchange support via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable onboarding and validation of records.
NERD spokesperson, Haula Galadima, explained that every deposited project must bear the names of the student, the supervisor, the head of department, and the sponsoring institution.
She said the aim is not only to keep an authentic record but also to push up standards in higher institutions.
“Very few lecturers would want their names associated with poorly produced academic works,” Galadima said. “NERD is therefore poised to help each lecturer earn his ‘earned allowances’ by providing thorough supervision.”
- ASUU Gives FG 14-Day Ultimatum to Meet Demands - September 30, 2025
- Graduates Must Submit Projects to National Database Before NYSC – FG - September 30, 2025
- Nigeria @ 65: FG Calls Off Independence Day Parade - September 30, 2025