President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a significant overhaul of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilization procedure, mandating that adherence to the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) is a necessary condition for all graduates who wish to be mobilized or exempted.
This directive, citing provisions found in Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act, was detailed in Item 2(ix) of an enforcement circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.
The circular communicated the presidential endorsement for modifications to the NYSC mobilization requirements, necessitating all prospective Corps members, irrespective of their training location, to present evidence of compliance with the NERD Policy.
Government officials have indicated that this initiative aims to protect Nigeria’s intellectual property, mitigate certificate fraud, and reinstate the integrity of academic qualifications.
Among the essential requirements introduced under the federal education policy is the submission of academic work by students. This includes project reports, theses, and dissertations, which must be uploaded to the NERD database.
The NERD Policy denotes in Section 6.1.23 that these submissions will function as “a quality assurance check and as an annual independent proof of ongoing academic enrollment and affiliation,” while establishing a lasting academic presence for each student, independent of their location.
Related News
This policy was implemented earlier this year following its official launch by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa. At that time, Alausa articulated that “the mandated stipulations for the compulsory submission of academic outputs as outlined 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 enforceable requirements in Nigeria.”
He further emphasized that the NERD Policy applies to all educational institutions, irrespective of ownership whether public, private, military, or civilian. It is relevant to universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, nursing schools, agricultural institutions, research centers, and other specialized schools.
With the recent circular from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, it has been made clear that starting from October 6, no Nigerian graduate, regardless of their training location, will be eligible for NYSC mobilization or exemption without complying with NERD standards.
The government reiterated that this policy will not impact Corps members currently serving or graduates who have enrolled before the enforcement date.
A document detailing the NERD Policy acquired by our correspondent revealed that President Tinubu also greenlit a monetization and reward system for academic outputs. This system allows students and lecturers to earn lifelong royalties from their academic works archived in the repository.
This proposal, first presented by Dr. Alausa to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), aims to incentivize students and supervisors to enhance the quality of academic contributions and research.
The revised framework also promotes the establishment of local repositories by higher education institutions throughout Nigeria, which will contribute to the central databank, thereby encouraging collaboration within a previously isolated system.
The circular additionally directed Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and all institutions of higher learning to initiate immediate enforcement of the NERD Policy. It also instructed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to aid the initiative through inter-agency data exchanges using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to facilitate smooth onboarding and verification processes.
Related News
In discussing the policy’s significance, spokesperson for NERD, Haula Galadima, outlined the unique characteristics of the system. She highlighted that each student’s submission will include the full name of the student, the names of the supervisor and co-supervisor, if applicable, as well as the Head of Department and the sponsoring institution.
She mentioned, “In addition to the responsibility of ensuring authenticity as a national flagship, the NERD digitization initiative has a specific goal to enhance the quality of academic content, output, and presentation across the country.
One method that NERD plans to achieve this goal, in line with its mandate, is by improving the supervisory processes in higher education institutions without intervening in the procedures. If our distinguished scholars realize that their names will be linked alongside those of the students they supervise on a globally accessible digital platform, it’s likely that each lecturer will elevate their standards.”
She further stated that the platform aims to deter subpar academic practices. “Very few lecturers would desire their names to be associated with inadequately produced academic works. Therefore, NERD is committed to assisting each lecturer in earning their ‘earned allowances’ by providing comprehensive supervision.”
Subscribe to receive jobs, grants, recruitment & scholarship alert.
Be among the first to know whenever new jobs, grants and scholarships are going on. Enter your email address and click the Subscribe button ↓
Join us on social media ↓
