From October 6, graduates seeking mobilisation into the National Youth Service Corps must submit their theses or final-year projects into the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank, following a new directive by the Federal Government.
The policy was approved by President Bola Tinubu and conveyed in a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
According to the circular, no graduate—whether trained in Nigeria or abroad—will be mobilised for or exempted from the NYSC without proof of compliance.
The SGF stated that the directive adjusts the mobilisation criteria “in accordance with the President’s regulation requiring proof of NERD Policy compliance for all prospective corps members, regardless of where they were educated.”
Explaining the rationale, NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima said the measure was designed to improve quality control in higher institutions.
“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,” she said.
According to her, each uploaded work will include the names of the student, supervisor, co-supervisor (if any), head of department, and the 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 up his or her standard. Very few lecturers would want their names associated with poorly produced academic works,” Galadima added.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, had earlier stressed that the 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 stated in March when announcing the policy.
A copy of the approved framework also indicated that President Tinubu endorsed an academic output monetisation scheme.
This mechanism would allow students and lecturers to earn revenues from their deposited works.
The Federal Government said the reform is aimed at curbing certificate racketeering, protecting Nigeria’s intellectual property, and boosting the credibility of the country’s higher education system.
The SGF clarified that the enforcement applies to all graduates from universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, as well as those trained abroad.
However, the directive “does not affect serving corps members or those mobilised before the October 6 enforcement date.”
