FG Moves To End Certificate Fraud As Education Minister Leads NERD DATA Revolution

.... As Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Maruf Alausa describes NERD as an initiative critical to national infrastructure designed to protect the credibility of Nigeria’s academic qualifications and strengthen the integrity of educational records.

By Juliet Oyoyo 

Poised to protect the credibility of Nigeria’s academic qualifications and strengthen the integrity of educational records, Nigeria's Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa has called for full institutional cooperation in the implementation of the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD).

The Minister who described NERD as an initiative critical to national infrastructure designed to protect the credibility of Nigeria’s academic qualifications and strengthen the integrity of educational records, made this call while delivering a keynote address at the National Capacity Building Programme on the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD).

The event was attended by directors of the Federal Ministry of Education, heads of regulatory agencies, ICT directors from universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, as well as representatives of key education stakeholders across the country.

According to the Dr Alausa, Nigeria is currently undergoing a significant transformation under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose policies are designed not only to address present challenges but also to secure the future of coming generations.

“Nigeria is experiencing a positive transformation that is placing our nation firmly on the path of sustainability,” the Minister stated. “When leadership decisions are guided by long-term national interest, citizens can be confident that those decisions are in the best interest of the country.”

The Minister emphasized that reforms in the education sector are being driven by evidence-based policy, planning, intervention, and monitoring, noting that reliable data systems are essential to effective governance.

He described the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD) as a strategic digital platform established with the approval of the Federal Executive Council to secure, standardize, digitize, and authenticate academic records across Nigeria’s tertiary education system.

The platform is designed to promote education data sovereignty, eliminate academic fraud, and preserve Nigeria’s academic heritage.

Key components of the NERD system include the National Credential Number, the National Credential Revocation Service, the National Student Clearing House, the Federated Repository of Academic Theses and Abstracts, and the National Academic Publication and Indexing Database.

The Minister revealed that within just four months of enforcement, the system has already curated and preserved nearly 100,000 digital student submissions that might otherwise have been lost.

In addition, more than 250 universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education are now connected to the system, enabling real-time credential verification.

Over 133,000 students and 6,800 lecturers have already been enrolled on the platform, supported by more than 655 institutional focal points nationwide.

Through collaboration with Nigerian technology entrepreneurs, the initiative has also facilitated the creation of over 1,000 digital service centres across the country, generating more than 3,000 jobs.

Dr Alausa stressed that academic certificates represent a national guarantee of educational standards and due process.

“When a certificate is issued, it is not merely a piece of paper. It is a national guarantee that due process has been followed and academic standards have been upheld,” he said.

He cited recent investigations that uncovered cases where individuals obtained fraudulent degrees from unaccredited foreign institutions and attempted to use them for employment in Nigeria. Following directives from President Tinubu, the government conducted investigations that resulted in the removal of such individuals from the public service.

To further promote academic excellence, the Minister announced the establishment of the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank Annual National Laureate Prize and Award Programme, which will recognize outstanding undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral theses.

The prizes will range from ₦5 million to ₦20 million, with the maiden edition scheduled for November this year.

The Minister also announced that participation in the NERD system will now be a mandatory prerequisite for participation in or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Compliance will also be enforced through key agencies including the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

All accredited institutions must therefore comply with NERD requirements as a condition for accessing services from these agencies.

To encourage institutional participation, the Federal Government has approved that 40 percent of revenues generated from credential verification services will be returned to participating institutions.

The Minister further reiterated the government’s commitment to supporting locally developed technology solutions, stating that platforms deployed by the Federal Ministry of Education should be built by Nigerian innovators.

He added that the future of Nigeria’s education system will be data-driven, transparent, and digitally verifiable, urging education administrators to prioritize integrity, accountability, and strong record-keeping systems.

Also speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Muhammad Bugaje, represented by Aliyu Imafidor Hassan, General Manager of the NBTE Centre of Excellence for TVET commended the initiative, noting that the integrity and verifiability of academic records are increasingly essential in a globally interconnected education system.

Prof. Bugaje highlighted NBTE’s introduction of QR code-enabled certificate verification within the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, adding that strong institutional record-keeping remains critical for validating individual academic records.

In his welcome remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank, Engr. Tunji Ariomo, emphasized the importance of preserving knowledge and academic documentation for future generations.

He noted that many important historical and scientific contributions by Nigerians have been difficult to trace due to poor documentation practices, stressing that knowledge preservation is central to national development and participation in the global knowledge economy.

Representing the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mrs. Racheal Idawo expressed the Scheme’s readiness to support the initiative, describing the early progress of the project as encouraging.

“We remain very optimistic and reaffirm our readiness to support this project and wish it every success,” she stated.

The National Capacity Building Programme was designed to strengthen institutional capacity in academic data management, digitization of records, and compliance with national education data standards, ensuring that Nigeria’s academic credentials remain credible both locally and internationally.