The latest move is part of the government’s wider effort to tighten the authentication of academic credentials used for employment, further studies and mobilisation for the compulsory national service.
In September 2025, the Federal Government directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies to begin using the National Credential Verification Service to authenticate the academic certificates of existing staff and prospective employees, with implementation expected to commence the following month.
The government later moved to incorporate authentication through the Nigerian Education Repository and Databank into the NYSC mobilisation process.
In March 2026, Alausa announced that prospective corps members would be required to present certificates from the NERD system confirming the authenticity of their academic qualifications before proceeding with registration for national service.
The NYSC subsequently said in June 2026 that it would strictly enforce the requirement as part of efforts to stop individuals with questionable or fraudulent academic credentials from entering the scheme.
Concerns about forged qualifications have also featured prominently in recent investigations involving admissions and academic records.
In November 2025, former JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed that about 15,000 candidates were alleged to have forged admission letters in an attempt to become eligible for NYSC mobilisation.
Similarly, a Federal Government investigation into the academic credentials of former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, led to a panel finding in March 2026 that his degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was forged. Questions were also raised during the matter over an NYSC certificate.
Speaking during the meeting, Nafiu commended the Federal Ministry of Education for its digital transformation initiatives and assured the ministry of the NYSC’s continued support.
He said the Corps had pursued digitalisation since 2014 and had developed technology-driven systems to improve access to information for prospective and serving corps members, as well as strengthen deployment processes.
The NYSC Director-General also said the scheme had complied with the Federal Executive Council’s directive on collaboration with the Nigerian Education Repository and Databank and was prepared to deepen its partnership with the ministry.
According to Nafiu, the adoption of technology has significantly improved the integrity of NYSC operations. He noted that the introduction of QR codes had virtually eliminated the cloning of documents issued by the scheme.
The proposed integration between education authorities and the NYSC is expected to further strengthen efforts to detect fraudulent qualifications, improve the verification process and create a more reliable system for tracking academic records in Nigeria.
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