The Nigerian Government has expressed commitment to safeguarding academic records and curbing irregularities through the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD).
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, stated this at the National Capacity Building Programme for school representatives held in Abuja, Nigeria.
He said that the NERD initiative was aimed at strengthening institutional compliance, safeguarding integrity, and curbing academic fraud in Nigeria.
“The Nigeria Education Repository and Databank is not merely a technology platform but a strategic national infrastructure for securing and verifying academic records.
“The platform is a strategic national digital infrastructure designed to secure, standardise, digitise, and authenticate academic records across post-secondary and tertiary institutions nationwide,’’ he said.
According to him, the initiative highlighted the Federal Government’s commitment to data ownership, zero tolerance for academic fraud, and the preservation of Nigeria’s academic history.
He explained that NERD was established as the digitisation vehicle of Nigeria’s education sector, with a mandate that includes the administration of the National Credential Number (NCN), the National Credential Verification Service (NCVS), the National Students Clearing House, a federal repository of academic texts and abstracts, and a national academic publication and indexing database.
The Minister informed that within four months of enforcement, the platform had curated nearly 100,000 digital student submissions and onboarded more than 350 universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education for real-time credential verification.
“More than 133,000 students and 6,800 lecturers are currently enrolled on the platform, supported by more than 655 focal persons nationwide,’’ he said.
Digital Service Centres
He explained that 1,060 digital service centres had been established in collaboration with Nigerian tech entrepreneurs, creating over 3,000 direct jobs within four months, stressing that NERD is a reform with measurable impact.
He said while NERD compliance is a prerequisite for participation in, or exemption from, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), enforcement extends far beyond NYSC.
He said the Federal Government has directed all relevant regulatory agencies to align with and enforce the NERD policy.
“Institutions must adhere strictly to compliance timelines, establish robust internal verification systems, designate competent personnel, and prioritise continuous digital capacity development.
“In line with local content regulations, only nationally developed applications should be procured for ICT-related services within our institutions. NERD has developed robust repository software and an indigenous anti-plagiarism system. It would contradict national interest to ignore what we fully own in favour of foreign alternatives,’’ he said.
Alausa emphasised that protecting academic certificate integrity was vital for maintaining trust in Nigeria’s education system, saying that certificates represented national guarantees that due process and standards were followed in the course of studies.
He urged tertiary institutions to establish robust internal verification systems, designate competent personnel, and prioritise digital capacity development to strengthen compliance and accountability and enhance global competitiveness.
Prize and Award Programme
The minister also announced the establishment of the NERD Annual National Knowledge Prize and Award Programme, which would reward outstanding undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral theses with prizes ranging from ₦5 million to ₦20 million.
The Chief Executive Officer of NERD, Tunji Ariyomo, said preserving the country’s knowledge and historical records was critical for development.
He said that poor documentation or lack of data had created gaps in economic development as well as knowledge growth in the country, hence the need for NERD.
“Nations that have preserved knowledge over time and can be validated are the ones leading the world. Nigeria is now keying into that direction. We thank the federal government for accelerating the implementation of NERD. It will help Nigeria participate more effectively in the global knowledge economy,’’ he said.
Ariyomo explained that the platform documented academic projects, theses, and dissertations along with supervisors, co-supervisors, and departmental heads, aimed at strengthening accountability and improving the quality of academic supervision.
He urged participants at the training to study the NERD regulations in order to understand the issues contained in it, such as copyright and intellectual property, among others.