The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has disclosed that the digital transformation of Nigeria’s education system under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is strengthening the integrity of academic qualifications and tackling certificate racketeering.
He stated this during a meeting with the Director-General of NYSC, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, who led a delegation of the Corps to the Ministry in Abuja.
The Minister said the reforms are designed to close gaps in the management and verification of educational records, making it easier to identify learners and authenticate qualifications.
“The integrated learner records and identification system will strengthen education integrity and protect genuine students and graduates from being disadvantaged,” Alausa stated.
He commended NYSC for embracing technology and noted that closer integration between the Ministry and the Corps would improve verification, reduce fraud and make the exchange of credible learner and graduate data more seamless.
Alausa, according to a statement by Attah Ikharo, Special Adviser on Media and Communications, explained that the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank (NERD) is 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 (NEDI) will link records across different stages of a learner’s educational journey.
The Ministry has also digitised its Education Support Services end-to-end, including certificate verification and processes for foreign applicants.
Discussions are underway with NYSC on an Application Programming Interface (API) to enable faster and seamless verification and data exchange.
The Minister said the reforms will address issues that have prevented some qualified graduates from participating fully in national service and the labour market.
These include discrepancies in names, challenges affecting graduates of part-time ND programmes, and the admission of NCE holders into HND programmes.
To provide lasting solutions, the Ministry will engage the NBTE, JAMB, NIMC and other stakeholders. Key measures include:
A national Learner Identification Number
A consistent national framework for recording and sequencing names across education and identity databases
Alausa also said government has strengthened measures to curb examination malpractice, including leakage of questions, and called for the extension of such measures to tertiary institutions.
Reaffirming government’s commitment, Alausa said the Ministry will sustain collaboration with NYSC and other stakeholders and pursue the digital agenda with renewed vigour.
“The ultimate objective is to build an education system in which every Nigerian child has access to quality education and every genuine graduate can progress on the strength of merit and hard work,” he said.
He added that the reforms reflect President Tinubu’s commitment to building a more transparent, efficient and productive Nigeria by confronting corruption and systemic weaknesses through technology, credible data and stronger institutional collaboration.
The NYSC DG, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, commended the reforms and pledged the Corps’ continued support.
He said NYSC has pursued digitalisation since 2014 and that the introduction of QR codes has virtually eliminated document cloning within the scheme.
Nafiu disclosed that NYSC has complied with the Federal Executive Council’s directive on collaboration with NERD and is ready to deepen the partnership.
He highlighted ongoing efforts to resolve challenges around part-time ND graduates, HND mobilisation and NCE-to-HND admissions.
According to him, discussions with the new JAMB Registrar have produced an understanding to create a window for graduates affected by name discrepancies to regularise records with NIMC.
The DG called for a broader meeting involving JAMB, NIMC, NYSC and the Ministry to develop a permanent solution, stressing that a unique Learner Identification Number and consistent name framework would prevent future difficulties.
He assured that NYSC would continue working with the Ministry to strengthen verification and ensure qualified graduates are not unfairly excluded from national service.