The Federal Government has announced stricter enforcement measures under the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD), declaring that compliance with the platform is now mandatory for participation in or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

The Minister of Education, Maruf Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday during his keynote address at a national capacity-building programme organised to support the implementation of NERD.

The programme, themed “Strengthening Institutional Compliance and Academic Records Integrity,” was designed to reinforce compliance frameworks and ensure the accuracy, security, and authenticity of academic records across tertiary institutions nationwide.

Addressing participants, the minister emphasised the critical role of data in governance and policymaking.

“I have this quote right in my office that I read every day. Data is the lifeblood of effective governance. It enables us to understand the challenges we face, so that we can design and implement effective solutions, as well as monitor and evaluate our progress. Without data, we are flying blind. And that is not what this government is about,” he said.

He also commended President Bola Tinubu for what he described as bold reforms aimed at repositioning the country for sustainable growth.

Alausa explained that NERD is a strategic national infrastructure established to digitise, standardise, and authenticate academic records across tertiary institutions. The platform administers national credential numbers, a National Credential Revocation Service, a National Student Clearinghouse, and a federated repository of academic theses and abstracts, alongside a national academic publication and indexing database.

According to him, within four months of enforcement, the system has preserved nearly 100,000 digital student submissions and onboarded more than 250 universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education for real-time credential verification.

“More than 133,000 students and over 6,800 lecturers are now enrolled on the platform, supported by over 655 focal persons nationwide,” he stated.

He further disclosed that over 1,000 digital service centres had been established in partnership with Nigeria Digital Entrepreneurs, generating more than 3,000 jobs within the same period.

On certificate fraud, the minister revealed that the government acted decisively after reports emerged of Nigerians obtaining fake degrees from dubious institutions abroad, particularly in neighbouring West African countries.

“Before President Tinubu came into government, there was a whistleblower who reported about Nigerians going to the Republic of Benin to study. Some people were getting PhD certificates in just six months, universities that never existed, universities in one-room apartments, giving certificates.

“But today, I can report to you that we moved quickly as a government. Based on the President’s directive, we conducted full investigations. That has been put to a complete stop. And all of those people that got those illegal certificates have all been thrown out of our civil service, public service,” he said.

Alausa announced the establishment of the NERD Annual National Laureate Prize and Awards Programme to reward outstanding undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral theses, with prizes ranging from five million to twenty million naira. The maiden edition is scheduled for November.

He clarified that enforcement of NERD compliance extends beyond NYSC. Agencies such as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) are mandated to ensure institutional compliance as a condition for accessing services.

“NERD is therefore a reform instrument, anchored on transparency, traceability, and accountability. The National Credential Verification Service component will maintain a national digital footprint of every academic award obtained in accredited Nigerian institutions. We will aggressively enforce compliance to end credential falsification and eliminate disputes over academic records,” he added.

The minister also urged institutions to prioritise locally developed technology platforms in line with the Federal Government’s local content policy.

In his remarks, NERD Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Ariyomo, described the initiative as a crucial step toward preserving Nigeria’s academic knowledge and history, noting that weak documentation systems had historically led to the loss of valuable research outputs.

“Nations that have preserved knowledge over a long period of time, and where that knowledge can be validated, are the ones leading the world,” he said.

Nigeria has long grappled with certificate fraud and weak record-keeping systems, raising concerns about the credibility of academic qualifications both locally and internationally.

The renewed enforcement of NERD represents one of the most comprehensive attempts in recent years to restore confidence in Nigeria’s education sector and eliminate the proliferation of fake or unverifiable academic credentials.