The Federal Government is set to deepen the digital integration of education records with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to tackle certificate racketeering and strengthen qualification verification.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday during a meeting with the Director-General of NYSC, Brig Gen Olakunle Nafiu, who led a delegation to the ministry in Abuja.
Alausa said the digital reforms being implemented under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda were designed to close loopholes in the management and verification of educational records.
“The digital transformation of Nigeria’s education system under President Bola Ahmed 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.
He explained that the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank (NERD) was collecting and verifying university certificates, tracking learners across the education system, and supporting tertiary institutions through help-desk officers.
He added that the Nigerian Education Data Infrastructure would link records across different stages of a learner’s educational journey.
Alausa disclosed that the ministry had also digitised its Education Support Services end-to-end, including certificate verification and processes involving foreign applicants.
He said discussions were ongoing with NYSC on an application programming interface that would facilitate faster verification and seamless data exchange between both institutions.
The minister said the reforms would address administrative and data-related challenges that had prevented some qualified graduates from participating fully in national service and the labour market.
He identified discrepancies in names, issues affecting graduates of part-time National Diploma programmes, and the admission of National Certificate in Education holders into Higher National Diploma programmes as some of the challenges requiring urgent attention.
Alausa said the ministry would work with the National Board for Technical Education, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the National Identity Management Commission and other stakeholders to develop lasting solutions.
He said the proposed measures would include a national Learner Identification Number and a consistent framework for recording and sequencing names across government education and identity databases.
Alausa also commended NYSC for deploying technology to curb fraudulent activities and enhance its operations.
“I would like to commend you for all the transformation that you have brought to NYSC and the use of technology to ensure seamless operations and deployment of Corps Members,” he said.
He recalled that NYSC’s decision to embrace technology in its registration process initially faced resistance from some sections of the public but noted that digitisation had significantly improved efficiency.
In his response, Nafiu informed the minister that NYSC had strengthened the security features of Corps Members’ Call-up and Posting Letters following incidents of individuals cloning the documents and issuing fake letters to prospective employers.
He explained that the enhanced security measures had made the letters more resistant to manipulation, adding that employers could now easily verify their authenticity.
He disclosed that a joint committee comprising officials of NYSC and the Federal Ministry of Education had been constituted to strengthen collaboration between the two institutions.
Nafiu said the NYSC had pursued digitalisation since 2014 and developed systems that provided reliable information for Corps members and their deployment.
He disclosed that NYSC had complied with the Federal Executive Council’s directive on collaboration with NERD and was ready to deepen its partnership with the ministry.
He said the use of technology had significantly strengthened the integrity of NYSC operations, noting that the introduction of QR codes had virtually eliminated document cloning within the Corps.
The development comes amid renewed efforts by the Federal Government to tighten the authentication of academic credentials used for employment and mobilisation for national service.
In September 2025, the government directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies to begin using the National Credential Verification Service to authenticate academic certificates of staff and new hires, with the policy scheduled to commence in October 2025.
The government subsequently moved to make NERD authentication part of the NYSC mobilisation process. In March 2026, Alausa said prospective corps members would be required to present NERD certificates authenticating their academic qualifications before registering for national service.
NYSC also announced in June 2026 that it would strictly enforce this requirement to prevent unqualified or fraudulent graduates from entering the scheme.
Concerns over fraudulent credentials have 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 an attempt to qualify for NYSC mobilisation.
Similarly, an 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, in a case that also involved questions surrounding an NYSC certificate.
Digital Operations Manager at The Students Forum Nigeria.
