Graduating students intending to embark on the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps will now provide their projects and thesis before mobilization can be effected.
This is coming after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a reform linking the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation process to the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD). By invoking Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act, Tinubu directed that no graduate — whether from a Nigerian or foreign institution — will be mobilised for or exempted from NYSC without proof of compliance with the NERD policy.
The directive, conveyed through a circular by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, takes effect from October 6.
Under the NERD framework, students are required to deposit academic outputs, including thesis and project reports, as part of a national effort to curb certificate fraud and preserve Nigeria’s intellectual assets. According to Section 6.1.23 of the policy, this requirement serves as an independent quality assurance measure and proof of academic enrolment.
Earlier in March 2025, while issuing the Declaration of Effectiveness for NERD, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said that following the declaration, “the approved stipulations for mandatory submission of academic outputs as provided in Sections 2.3, 4.3(1), and 7.6.11(c), among others, of the approved National Policy for the NERD Programme shall become obligatory requirements in Nigeria.”
Highlighting the importance of the directive, NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima explained that every student submission will include the full names of the student, supervisor, co-supervisor (where applicable), and Head of Department, along with the sponsoring institution and department.
“Apart from the mandate to verify for authenticity as a national flagship, the NERD digitisation programme has a clear objective – to raise the bar in the quality of academic content, output and presentation nationwide.
One way NERD intends to accomplish this task, based on its mandate, is to strengthen the supervision processes in the nation’s higher institutions without getting involved in the processes.
If our eminent scholars are aware that their names will appear next to those of the students they supervise on a globally available digital platform, there is the likelihood that each lecturer would up his or her standard.
Very few lecturers would want their names associated with poorly produced academic works. NERD is therefore poised to help each lecturer earn his ‘earned allowances’ by providing thorough supervision.”
