The Federal Government has announced a new policy mandating graduates to submit their thesis or final-year projects into the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) before they can be mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The directive, which takes effect from October 6, was contained in a circular issued by George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), conveying President Bola Tinubu’s approval.
According to the circular, no graduate, whether trained in Nigeria or abroad, will be mobilised for or exempted from NYSC without proof of compliance.
“NYSC mobilisation criteria [have been adjusted] in accordance with the President’s regulation requiring proof of NERD Policy compliance for all prospective corps members, regardless of where they were educated,” it stated.
Under the NERD policy, all students are required to upload their academic work to the national database. Section 6.1.23 of the guidelines describes the measure as a “quality assurance check and a yearly independent proof of continuous academic enrolment and affiliation.”
Explaining the intent of the reform, NERD spokesperson, Haula Galadima, said,”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.”
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She added that the repository will include full details of deposited works. “Each item shall feature the full name of the student, those of his supervisor, co-supervisor if any, and that of the Head of Department, as well as the sponsoring institution and department,” she noted.
Galadima also highlighted the policy’s potential impact on supervision standards: “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.”
In March, while declaring the NERD policy effective, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, had emphasised that submission of academic outputs would become obligatory.
“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,” Alausa said.
A copy of the approved policy also revealed that President Tinubu endorsed an academic output monetisation mechanism to reward students and lecturers.
“This ensures students and lecturers can earn lifetime revenues from their academic deposits,” the document stated.
The SGF clarified that the new rules apply to graduates of Nigerian universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and foreign institutions.
It clarified that the new rules “do not affect serving corps members or those mobilised before the October 6 enforcement date.”
With the reform, the Federal Government said it aims to curb certificate racketeering, secure Nigeria’s intellectual property, and strengthen the credibility of higher education qualifications.