President Bola Tinubu has shaken up the nation’s education and youth service system with a game-changing directive that no graduate will be mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) or granted exemption without first submitting their thesis, project, or academic output into the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).
The enforcement order, conveyed through a circular by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, takes effect October 6 and applies to all graduates, whether from Nigerian universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, or foreign institutions.
“The NYSC mobilisation criteria in accordance with the President’s regulation require proof of NERD Policy compliance for all prospective Corps members, regardless of where they were educated,” the circular read.
The federal government insists the move will end certificate racketeering, restore credibility to Nigeria’s education system, and safeguard intellectual assets.
Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, earlier declared that “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.”
NERD spokesperson, Haula Galadima, stressed that the repository will not only boost academic quality but also hold lecturers accountable. “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,” she said.
With the new rule, graduates now face a simple reality: no thesis, no NYSC.
