The Federal Government has approved a sweeping new policy that makes the submission of final year projects and theses into the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) a compulsory requirement for mobilisation into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
According to a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, with the approval of President Bola Tinubu, the directive takes effect from October 6, 2025. Under the new rule, no graduate—whether trained in Nigeria or abroad—will be mobilised for or exempted from NYSC without proof of compliance.
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New Rule Targets Academic Quality, Certificate Fraud
The policy requires every graduate of universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to upload their theses or project reports into NERD before qualifying for service. The Federal Government said the move is designed to curb certificate racketeering, protect Nigeria’s intellectual property, and raise the standard of academic content nationwide.
NERD spokesperson, Haula Galadima, explained that the database will capture every detail of each academic work, including the names of the student, supervisor, co-supervisor (if any), Head of Department, and sponsoring institution.
“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 raise his or her standard. Very few lecturers would want their names associated with poorly produced academic works,” Galadima said.
She added that the programme serves both as a quality assurance measure and as yearly proof of continuous academic enrolment and affiliation across higher institutions.
The circular stressed that the rule is binding on all Nigerian and foreign-trained graduates seeking NYSC mobilisation or exemption after the October 6 enforcement date. Serving corps members or those mobilised before the deadline are not affected.
Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who first announced the NERD programme in March, had emphasised that submission of academic outputs would become obligatory. He explained that the repository would also feature a monetisation mechanism approved by President Tinubu, allowing students and lecturers to earn lifetime royalties from their deposited works.
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“This ensures students and lecturers can earn revenues from their academic deposits while discouraging plagiarism and poor supervision,” a section of the approved policy read.
The Federal Government believes the directive will strengthen the credibility of higher education qualifications, safeguard intellectual assets, and boost investor confidence in the country’s academic and labour market sectors.
As the October enforcement date draws near, universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education have been instructed to integrate NERD submission requirements into their graduation processes to ensure smooth compliance.
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