The Federal Government has approved a policy that makes submission of students’ theses and final year projects into the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank, a compulsory requirement for mobilisation into the National Youth Service Corps.
It was gathered that effective from October 6, no graduate, whether trained in Nigeria or abroad will be mobilised for or exempted from the NYSC without proof of compliance.
The new directive was contained in a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s approval on Saturday.
The circular stated that the “NYSC mobilisation criteria [have been adjusted] in accordance with the President’s regulation requiring proof of NERD Policy compliance for all prospective corps members, regardless of where they were educated.”
The policy requires all students to deposit their academic outputs, such as theses or project reports, into the national database. According to Section 6.1.23 of the NERD guidelines, the measure serves “as a quality assurance check and as a yearly independent proof of continuous academic enrolment and affiliation.”
Explaining the intent of the reform, NERD spokesperson, Haula Galadima, said,”Apart from the mandate to verify for authenticity as a national flagship, the NERD digitisation programme has a clear objective, to raise the bar in the quality of academic content, output and presentation nationwide.”
She added that the database will capture every detail of academic work deposited.
“Each item shall feature the full name of the student, those of his supervisor, co-supervisor if any, and that of the Head of Department, as well as the sponsoring institution and department,” Galadima explained.
On why the move matters for university supervision, she stressed:
“If our eminent scholars are aware that their names will appear next to those of the students they supervise on a globally available digital platform, there is the likelihood that each lecturer would up his or her standard.
“Very few lecturers would want their names associated with poorly produced academic works.”
In March, while declaring the NERD policy effective, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, had emphasised that submission of academic outputs would become obligatory.
“The approved stipulations for mandatory submission of academic outputs as provided in Sections 2.3, 4.3(1), and 7.6.11(c), among others, of the approved National Policy for the NERD Programme shall become obligatory requirements in Nigeria,” Alausa said.
A copy of the approved policy also revealed that President Tinubu endorsed an academic output monetisation mechanism to reward students and lecturers.
“This ensures students and lecturers can earn lifetime revenues from their academic deposits,” the document stated.
According to the SGF’s circular, the enforcement will apply to all graduates from Nigerian universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and foreign institutions.
It clarified that the new rules “do not affect serving corps members or those mobilised before the October 6 enforcement date.”
With the reform, the Federal Government said it aims to curb certificate racketeering, secure Nigeria’s intellectual property, and strengthen the credibility of higher education qualifications.
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