For Nigerian graduates, here’s the reality: your NYSC clearance now depends on NERD registration. No verified record on the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD), no NYSC service.
The Federal Government is cracking down on certificate fraud and weak record-keeping, making it clear that only verified academic credentials will be recognised.
Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, spoke at a national training programme for school representatives on Thursday, emphasising the importance of reliable data for education reforms and governance.
“Data is the lifeblood of effective governance. Without it, we are flying blind,” he said.
NERD is designed to digitise, standardise, and authenticate academic records across all accredited tertiary institutions. Within just four months, it has:
—Registered over 133,000 students and 6,800 lecturers
—Onboarded 250+ universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education
—Preserved nearly 100,000 digital student submissions
—Created 1,000+ digital service centres generating over 3,000 jobs
Alausa also revealed that Nigerians who previously obtained fake degrees abroad, including from non-existent universities, have been removed from the civil and public service.
“Education is a covenant between the State and its citizens. A certificate is not just paper — it’s a national guarantee that due process was followed. That guarantee is only as strong as the integrity of our record-keeping systems,” he said.
NERD compliance is now mandatory for NYSC clearance, but its reach extends to other government agencies, including TETFund, NUC, NBTE, NCCE, and the Industrial Training Fund, and all accredited tertiary institutions must enforce it.
The government also launched the NERD Annual National Laureate Prize and Awards Programme, set to reward outstanding undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral research with prizes ranging from ₦5 million to ₦20 million.
Engineer Tunji Ariyomo, CEO of NERD, described the initiative as a crucial step toward preserving Nigeria’s academic knowledge and ensuring that students’ hard-earned credentials can always be verified.
For students and graduates, the takeaway is clear: register on NERD, or risk being blocked from NYSC and future opportunities. Compliance isn’t optional — it’s now a gateway to service and credibility in the Nigerian education system.
(NAN)
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.