The federal government is strengthening digital collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to combat certificate fraud, improve qualification verification and ensure that genuine graduates are not denied opportunities.
Key Highlights:
- Education Ministry and NYSC are strengthening digital verification to fight certificate fraud.
- A new API system is being developed for faster sharing and verification of academic records.
- Government plans to introduce a national Learner Identification Number to reduce identity and name discrepancies.
- NERD certification will remain part of NYSC mobilisation to ensure only qualified graduates are admitted.
- NYSC says QR codes have virtually eliminated document cloning within the scheme.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday during a meeting with the NYSC Director-General, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, who led a delegation of the corps to the ministry in Abuja.
Alausa said the digital reforms being implemented under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda were aimed at closing loopholes in the management and verification of academic records while making it easier for institutions and employers to authenticate qualifications.
“The digital transformation of Nigeria’s education system under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is strengthening the integrity of academic qualifications, tackling certificate racketeering and ensuring that genuine students and graduates are not disadvantaged,” he said.
The minister said the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank (NERD) was collecting and verifying university certificates, tracking learners across the education system and providing support to tertiary institutions through help-desk officers.
He added that the Nigerian education data infrastructure would connect records from different stages of a learner’s educational journey.
According to Alausa, the ministry has also digitised its education support services, including certificate verification and processes involving foreign applicants.
He disclosed that discussions were ongoing with the NYSC on developing an application programming interface (API) to enable faster verification and seamless exchange of relevant information between both institutions.
“Discussions were ongoing with the NYSC on an application programming interface that would facilitate faster verification and seamless exchange of relevant data between both institutions,” he said.
Alausa said the reforms were expected to address administrative and data-related challenges that have prevented some qualified graduates from participating fully in the national service scheme and labour market.
He identified discrepancies in names, issues involving graduates of part-time National Diploma programmes and the admission of National Certificate in Education holders into Higher National Diploma programmes among the issues requiring urgent attention.
The minister said the Ministry of Education would collaborate with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other relevant agencies to develop lasting solutions.
He said the proposed reforms would include a national Learner Identification Number and a uniform framework for recording and sequencing names across government education and identity databases.
According to him, establishing accurate identity records from the beginning of a learner’s educational journey would help minimise discrepancies that could later affect graduates.
The minister also said the government has intensified efforts against examination malpractice, including the leakage of examination questions, stressing the need to sustain and extend the progress to tertiary institutions.
The latest initiative is part of broader government efforts to strengthen the authentication of academic credentials used for employment and NYSC mobilisation.
In September 2025, the government directed ministries, departments and agencies to begin using the National Credential Verification Service to authenticate academic certificates presented by existing staff and new employees. The policy was scheduled to take effect in October 2025.
The government subsequently moved to incorporate NERD authentication into the NYSC mobilisation process.
In March 2026, Alausa said prospective corps members would be required to provide NERD certificates authenticating their academic qualifications before registering for national service.
The NYSC announced in June 2026 that it would strictly enforce the requirement as part of efforts to prevent unqualified or fraudulent graduates from entering the scheme.
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Concerns over fraudulent academic credentials have also featured in recent investigations. In November 2025, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed that about 15,000 candidates had allegedly forged admission letters in attempts to qualify for NYSC mobilisation.
Similarly, a federal government investigation into the academic credentials of former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, resulted in a panel finding in March 2026 that his University of Nigeria, Nsukka, degree certificate was forged.
The matter also involved questions surrounding an NYSC certificate.
Speaking at the meeting, Nafiu commended the ministry’s digital reforms and pledged the continued support of the NYSC towards transforming the education sector.
He said the corps has been pursuing digitalisation since 2014 and has developed systems designed to provide reliable information for corps members and support their deployment.
Nafiu added that the NYSC has complied with the Federal Executive Council’s directive on collaboration with the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank and was ready to deepen its partnership with the Ministry of Education.
The NYSC Director-General said technology has significantly strengthened the integrity of the corps’ operations, particularly through the introduction of QR codes, which he said had “virtually eliminated document cloning” within the scheme.
