FG MAKES THESIS AND PROJECT SUBMISSION MANDATORY FOR NYSC MOBILISATION

FG MAKES THESIS AND PROJECT SUBMISSION MANDATORY FOR NYSC MOBILISATION

President Bola Tinubu has approved a new directive making compliance with the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) a compulsory requirement for mobilisation into or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

The decision, conveyed through an enforcement circular by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, invoked provisions of the NYSC Act, specifically Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C). Akume explained that the President had endorsed an adjustment of NYSC mobilisation criteria to ensure that “proof of NERD Policy compliance” becomes mandatory for all prospective corps members, whether they studied in Nigeria or abroad.

Under the policy, graduates must deposit their academic outputs—such as theses, dissertations, or final-year projects—into the NERD repository before being considered for mobilisation or exemption. Section 6.1.23 of the policy describes this as a “quality assurance check and yearly independent proof of continuous academic enrolment and affiliation,” time-stamping every student’s scholarship and academic footprint.

The Federal Government clarified that the directive takes effect from October 6 and will not affect those already serving in NYSC or previously exempted. The move is expected to curb certificate racketeering, restore credibility to academic qualifications, and safeguard the country’s intellectual assets.

A key feature of the approved policy is the monetisation and reward mechanism for deposited works. This ensures that students and their lecturers can generate lifetime revenues from their academic contributions. Institutions are also encouraged to establish local repositories, feeding into a national pool of intellectual resources.

Speaking on the development, NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima highlighted that every deposited work would bear the names of the student, supervisors, Head of Department, and sponsoring institution. This, she argued, would compel lecturers to maintain higher standards in supervision, as their reputations would be tied to students’ work on a globally accessible digital platform.

“The NERD digitisation programme is not just about archiving—it aims to improve the quality of academic research and supervision nationwide,” Galadima said.

The SGF’s circular further directed Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and higher institutions of learning to fully enforce the NERD Policy. Agencies like the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will provide data exchange support via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to aid onboarding and validation.

From March 30 each year, all organisations and higher institutions must submit annual compliance reports to NERD to strengthen monitoring, evaluation, and accountability.

The NYSC will now function not only as a national service scheme but also as a quality assurance mechanism to ensure that graduates actively contribute to Nigeria’s growing knowledge economy.