The Federal Government has intensified efforts to protect the credibility of Nigeria’s education system with the deployment of the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD), a national digital platform designed to secure, digitise, and authenticate academic records across tertiary institutions.
Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, announced the initiative during a National Capacity Building Programme for institutional representatives, describing the platform as critical national infrastructure for safeguarding academic credentials and strengthening education data governance in the country.
According to the minister, the NERD platform aligns with the education reform agenda of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and is aimed at ensuring reliable digital preservation and verification of academic records nationwide.
Alausa disclosed that within four months of implementation, the system has preserved nearly 100,000 digital student submissions, integrated more than 250 tertiary institutions, and enrolled over 133,000 students alongside 6,800 lecturers.
He explained that the initiative is also designed to address the growing challenge of certificate fraud, noting that recent investigations uncovered cases involving fraudulent foreign academic credentials obtained from unaccredited institutions.
The minister further revealed that participation in the NERD system will soon become a prerequisite for participation in, or exemption from, the National Youth Service Corps scheme.
He said the move is expected to strengthen transparency, improve verification processes, and enhance the global credibility of Nigerian academic qualifications.
The Federal Government reaffirmed its commitment to building a transparent, digitally verifiable, and globally respected education system through the adoption of modern technology and improved data management.
