Academic records verification strengthened as FG launches NERD platform to curb certificate fraud and ensure integrity of Nigerian tertiary education credentials

The Federal Government of Nigeria has intensified measures to combat certificate fraud by tightening the verification of academic records across tertiary institutions, as part of broad reforms to enhance the credibility of the country’s education system.

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Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, disclosed the initiative on Thursday during a national capacity-building programme for school representatives organised to support the implementation of the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD).

The programme, themed “Strengthening Institutional Compliance and Academic Records Integrity,” aims to reinforce compliance frameworks and ensure the accuracy, security, and authenticity of academic records nationwide.

Alausa highlighted the importance of reliable data in governance, stating, “Data is the lifeblood of effective governance.

It enables us to understand the challenges we face so that we can design and implement effective solutions, as well as monitor and evaluate our progress. Without data, we are flying blind.”

The NERD platform is designed to digitise, standardise, and authenticate academic records, administering national credential numbers, a National Credential Revocation Service, a National Student Clearinghouse, a federated repository of theses and abstracts, and a national academic publication and indexing database.

Within four months of enforcement, NERD has preserved nearly 100,000 digital student submissions and onboarded more than 250 universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education for real-time credential verification.

The platform now supports over 133,000 students and 6,800 lecturers, aided by 655 focal persons nationwide.

The programme has also generated employment, with more than 1,000 digital service centres established in partnership with Nigeria Digital Entrepreneurs government action following reports of Nigerians obtaining fake degrees from unaccredited institutions abroad.

“Before President Bola Tinubu came into government, whistleblowers reported people acquiring PhDs in six months from non-existent universities. Today, those illegal practices have been halted, and offenders removed from public service,” he said.

In addition, the minister announced the establishment of the NERD Annual National Laureate Prize and Awards Programme to recognise outstanding undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral research, with prizes ranging from N5 million to N20 million. The maiden edition will hold in November.

Alausa stressed that NERD compliance is mandatory across agencies such as TETFund, National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education, National Commission for Colleges of Education, and all accredited tertiary institutions, extending beyond National Youth Service Corps participation.

The minister encouraged institutions to prioritise locally developed technology platforms, affirming that only Nigerian-built platforms would be deployed by the Federal Ministry of Education.

He praised the Chief Executive Officer of NERD, Tunji Ariyomo, for his work in preserving educational data, describing it as critical to national development and sustainability.

Ariyomo explained that many academic records and research outputs in Nigeria had been lost historically due to weak documentation, and preserving knowledge is essential for the country to participate effectively in the global knowledge economy.

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Nigeria has faced persistent challenges with certificate fraud and weak record-keeping, prompting the government to enforce stronger verification mechanisms and ensure transparency, traceability, and accountability in the issuance of academic credentials.