The Federal Government is moving to deepen digital integration between the nation’s education records and the National Youth Service Corps to tackle certificate racketeering, improve qualification verification and ensure genuine graduates are not denied opportunities.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday during a meeting with the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, who led a delegation of the Corps to the ministry in Abuja.
Dr Alausa said the reforms being implemented under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda were designed to close loopholes in the management and verification of educational records.
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.”
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 connect records across different stages of a learner’s educational journey.
FG, NYSC plan data exchange
Mr Alausa disclosed that the Ministry of Education 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 allow faster verification and seamless exchange of relevant information between both institutions.
The minister said the reforms were also expected to address administrative and data-related problems that have prevented some qualified graduates from participating fully in national service and the labour market.
Name discrepancies, Admission issues
Mr Alausa identified discrepancies in names, issues involving graduates of part-time National Diploma programmes and the admission of National Certificate in Education holders into Higher National Diploma programmes among the challenges requiring urgent attention.
He 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.
One of the proposed measures is the introduction of a national Learner Identification Number, alongside a consistent framework for recording and sequencing names across government education and identity databases.
According to the minister, establishing accurate identity records from the beginning of a learner’s educational journey would reduce discrepancies that could later affect graduates.
NYSC backs digital integration
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, commended the ministry’s digital reforms and pledged the Corps’ continued support.
Brigadier General Nafiu said the NYSC had pursued digitalisation since 2014 and developed systems designed to provide reliable information for corps members and their deployment.
He 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 also said technology had significantly strengthened the integrity of the Corps’ operations, particularly through the introduction of QR codes, which he said had “virtually eliminated document cloning” within the NYSC.
Earlier measures against fake certificates
The latest move builds on previous efforts by the Federal Government to tighten the authentication of academic credentials used for employment and NYSC mobilisation.
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 government subsequently moved to make NERD authentication part of the NYSC mobilisation process. In March 2026, Mr Alausa said prospective corps members would be required to present NERD certificates authenticating their qualifications before registering for national service.
The NYSC 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.
Certificate fraud remains a concern
The Federal Government’s renewed focus comes amid investigations into fraudulent academic credentials and admission records.
In November 2025, former JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed that about 15,000 candidates had allegedly forged admission letters in attempts to qualify for NYSC mobilisation.
Similarly, an 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 matter also raised questions surrounding an NYSC certificate.
For students and graduates, the proposed integration could make qualification verification faster and reduce situations where genuine graduates are delayed or excluded because of inconsistent records.
At the same time, linking education records across institutions means that discrepancies in names, admissions and academic qualifications could become easier for authorities to identify.
The broader objective is to create a system where a learner can be tracked through a consistent digital identity from the beginning of their education to graduation and, where applicable, NYSC mobilisation.
If successfully implemented, the government says the system should make it harder to use fake certificates while making it easier for genuine graduates to prove their qualifications.
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