The Federal Government has introduced a new policy requiring Nigerian graduates to submit their academic theses or project reports before they can participate in or be exempted from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the directive in line with Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act, making compliance with the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) a compulsory criterion for NYSC mobilisation.
The enforcement was communicated through a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume. It mandates that, starting October 6, no graduate from universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, or foreign institutions will be mobilised for or exempted from NYSC without proof of NERD compliance.
The requirement, according to Section 6.1.23 of the NERD policy, is intended as a quality assurance measure to track academic activities, prevent certificate racketeering, and safeguard the nation’s intellectual assets. Students are now mandated to deposit their final projects, dissertations, or theses in an official repository system.
Earlier in March, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, had announced that academic output submissions under the NERD programme would become obligatory across all educational institutions, including specialised schools like nursing and agriculture, whether public, private, civilian, or military.
The policy also introduces an academic output monetisation and reward system to allow students and their supervisors to earn lifetime royalties from their deposited works. Institutions are further encouraged to establish local repositories to feed into the national databank.
NERD spokesperson, Haula Galadima, explained that every deposited academic work will display the names of the student, supervisor(s), Head of Department, and the sponsoring institution. She noted that this would improve supervision standards and academic integrity, as lecturers would avoid having their names linked to substandard work.
The circular further directed all Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and higher institutions to ensure full enforcement of the NERD policy. Agencies like the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) are expected to provide data integration support through APIs to aid verification.
The directive, however, does not affect current corps members or graduates already mobilised before the October 6 enforcement date.
