FG, NYSC partner on digital integration to end certificate racketeering

The Federal Government is set to deepen the digital integration of education records with the National Youth Service Corps to tackle certificate racketeering, strengthen qualification verification and prevent genuine graduates from being denied opportunities.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday during a meeting with the Director-General of the NYSC, 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 designed to close loopholes in the management and verification of educational records and make it easier to authenticate qualifications across the education system.

He said, “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.”

The minister explained that the “Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank 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 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 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, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, National Identity Management Commission and other stakeholders to develop lasting solutions.

He said the proposed measures would include the introduction of a national Learner Identification Number and a consistent framework for recording and sequencing names across government education and identity databases.

The minister said such a system would ensure that accurate identity records were established from the beginning of a learner’s educational journey and reduce discrepancies that could affect graduates later.

He also said the government had strengthened measures against examination malpractice, including the leakage of examination questions, stressing that the gains must be sustained and extended to tertiary institutions.

The move 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. The policy was 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 the compulsory national service.

The NYSC also announced in June 2026 that it would strictly enforce the requirement as part of efforts to prevent unqualified or fraudulent graduates from entering the national service scheme.

The concern over fraudulent credentials has also featured in recent investigations and prosecutions. 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, the Federal Government’s 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 case also involved questions surrounding an NYSC certificate.

On his part, Nafiu commended the ministry’s digital reforms and pledged the Corps’ continued support for the transformation of the education sector.

He said the NYSC had pursued digitalisation since 2014 and developed systems that provided reliable information for Corps members and their deployment.

Nafiu disclosed that the Corps had 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.

The NYSC boss said the use of technology had significantly strengthened the integrity of the Corps’ operations, noting that the introduction of QR codes had “virtually eliminated document cloning” within the NYSC.