The Federal Government has unveiled a new regulation requiring all prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) participants to submit their theses or final year project reports to the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) before they can be mobilised.
Starting October 6, no graduate — whether from a domestic or foreign institution — will be eligible for NYSC mobilisation or exemption unless they provide evidence of compliance with this directive.
This requirement was formalised in a circular signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, reflecting President Bola Tinubu’s endorsement. The document specifies that students must upload their academic works to the NERD database, thereby enabling a verification process tied into NYSC’s mobilization criteria.
Under the NERD framework, submissions must include key metadata such as the student’s full name, their supervisor and co-supervisor, their department, and their institution. Advocates for the policy argue that public access to these works will motivate higher standards from supervisors and deter subpar research.
The education minister had earlier signaled the compulsory nature of this output submission under NERD. The policy also introduces a monetization model, under which students and lecturers could derive lifetime earnings from deposited works.
The FG says the policy aims to curb certificate fraud, protect national intellectual property, and bolster the credibility of Nigeria’s higher education credentials.
Importantly, this directive does not apply to current corps members or those mobilised before the October 6 enforcement date.
