President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved major reforms to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation process, mandating compliance with the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) as a prerequisite for all graduates seeking mobilisation or exemption.
The directive, which is backed by Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act, was communicated in a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume.
With the policy now in force, all tertiary institution graduates—whether from Nigerian universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, or foreign institutions—will be required to register and comply with the NERD framework before they can be mobilised for the mandatory one-year service or processed for exemption.
Officials say the move is aimed at strengthening the integrity of Nigeria’s educational records, curbing forgery, and ensuring transparency in the NYSC mobilisation process.
The NERD, designed as a central repository for academic qualifications and records, will also serve as a tool for tracking educational trends and improving national policy planning.
While implementation guidelines are expected to be rolled out by the Federal Ministry of Education and the NYSC Directorate, the government stressed that strict adherence will now be a compulsory requirement.
The development has already triggered discussions among stakeholders, with some describing it as a step toward sanitising Nigeria’s education system, while others raised concerns about possible delays in mobilisation timelines.