The Federal Government and the National Youth Service Corps are working towards linking their education databases to make it easier to detect fake academic credentials and prevent qualified graduates from being unfairly affected by verification problems.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja during a meeting with the NYSC Director-General, Brig Gen Olakunle Nafiu, and his delegation.
Alausa said the initiative formed part of ongoing efforts by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to modernise the education sector and strengthen the process of confirming academic qualifications.
He said, “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.”
According to the minister, the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank is being developed as a central platform for receiving and authenticating university certificates, while also helping to monitor learners through different levels of education.
He said another component of the reform, the Nigerian Education Data Infrastructure, would allow educational records to be connected across the various stages of a learner’s academic journey.
Alausa also disclosed that the ministry had moved several Education Support Services online, including the verification of certificates and procedures involving applicants with foreign qualifications.
He said, “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.”
The minister said the proposed digital connection was expected to reduce the difficulties faced by graduates whose records contain inconsistencies, particularly issues relating to names and academic qualifications.
He mentioned challenges involving graduates of part-time National Diploma programmes and cases involving National Certificate in Education holders seeking admission into Higher National Diploma programmes.
Alausa said the Education Ministry would work with relevant agencies, including the National Board for Technical Education, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and National Identity Management Commission, to resolve the problems.
He further disclosed plans for a national Learner Identification Number that would give students a consistent identity throughout their educational journey.
The system, he explained, would also establish a uniform method of recording names across education and identity databases, reducing the possibility of discrepancies emerging later in a graduate’s career.
The minister said the government was also strengthening its campaign against examination malpractice, including the illegal release of examination questions, noting that the measures would need to be sustained across tertiary institutions.
The collaboration with NYSC comes as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to ensure that certificates presented for employment and national service are genuine.
In September 2025, government directed MDAs to begin using the National Credential Verification Service to authenticate the academic qualifications of workers and new employees.
The authorities later moved to incorporate authentication through the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank into the NYSC mobilisation process.
By March 2026, Alausa had announced that prospective corps members would be required to obtain NERD certificates confirming their qualifications before registering for the national service programme.
The NYSC followed up in June 2026 by announcing that the requirement would be strictly implemented to prevent people with fraudulent or unrecognised qualifications from gaining entry into the scheme.
The issue of fake academic credentials has also featured in recent investigations.
Former JAMB Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed in November 2025 that around 15,000 candidates were alleged to have forged admission letters in an attempt to become eligible for NYSC mobilisation.
Similarly, an investigation into the credentials of former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, produced a panel report in March 2026 which concluded that his University of Nigeria, Nsukka degree certificate was forged. Questions were also raised regarding an NYSC certificate linked to the case.
Nafiu, meanwhile, welcomed the ministry’s digitalisation programme and assured the government that the NYSC would continue supporting efforts to improve the education system.
The NYSC chief said the Corps began its digital transformation in 2014 and had since developed systems designed to provide dependable information about corps members and their deployment.
He added that the Corps had complied with the Federal Executive Council’s directive to work with the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank.
Nafiu said the adoption of technology had improved the integrity of NYSC processes, particularly through the introduction of QR codes, which he said had “virtually eliminated document cloning” within the Corps.
