The Federal Ministry of Education and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) are working to harmonise graduate records and strengthen digital verification systems as part of efforts to curb certificate fraud and ensure that genuine graduates are not excluded from national service and employment opportunities.
Maruf Tunji Alausa, minister of education, disclosed this during a meeting with Olakunle Nafiu, NYSC Director-General, who led a delegation of the Corps to the ministry.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Ikharo Attah, Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the minister
Alausa said the digital transformation of the education system under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was strengthening the integrity of academic qualifications by closing gaps in the management, verification and exchange of education records.
He said closer integration between the ministry and NYSC would make it easier to authenticate qualifications, identify learners and reduce opportunities for fraudulent practices.
The minister commended the NYSC leadership for embracing technology and supporting the government’s efforts to improve the credibility of education records.
He explained that the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank (NERD) was collecting and verifying university certificates, tracking learners across the education system and supporting tertiary institutions through help-desk officers.
The Nigerian Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), he added, would link records across different stages of a learner’s educational journey.
Alausa also disclosed that the ministry had digitised its Education Support Services end-to-end, including certificate verification and processes involving foreign applicants.
He also said that discussions are also ongoing with NYSC on an application programming interface (API) that would enable faster and seamless verification and exchange of relevant graduate data.
According to the minister, the reforms are expected to address administrative and data-related challenges that have prevented some qualified graduates from participating fully in national service and the labour market.
Among the issues identified are discrepancies in names, challenges affecting graduates of part-time National Diploma programmes and the admission of National Certificate in Education (NCE) holders into Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes.
Alausa said the ministry would engage the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other relevant stakeholders to develop lasting solutions.
He said the government was considering the introduction of a national Learner Identification Number and a consistent framework for recording and sequencing names across government education and identity databases.
The minister said such a system would ensure that accurate identity records are established from the beginning of a learner’s educational journey and reduce difficulties later in the education and employment systems.
He also said the government had strengthened measures against examination malpractice, including the leakage of examination questions, stressing the need to sustain such gains and extend similar measures to tertiary institutions.
Speaking at the meeting, Nafiu commended the minister for the reforms and pledged NYSC’s continued support for the digital transformation of the education sector.
The NYSC DG said the Corps had pursued digitalisation since 2014 and developed systems that provide reliable information for Corps members and their deployment.
He said NYSC had complied with the Federal Executive Council’s directive on collaboration with NERD and was ready to deepen its partnership with the education ministry.
Nafiu cited the introduction of QR codes as one of the technologies that had strengthened the integrity of NYSC operations, saying it had virtually eliminated document cloning within the Corps.
He assured the minister that NYSC would continue to upgrade its verification systems to stay ahead of emerging fraudulent practices.
The NYSC DG also highlighted ongoing efforts to resolve issues involving graduates of part-time National Diploma programmes, HND mobilisation and the admission of NCE holders into HND programmes.
He said discussions with the new JAMB Registrar had resulted in an understanding to create a window for graduates affected by discrepancies in names to regularise their records in collaboration with NIMC.
Nafiu called for a broader meeting involving JAMB, NIMC, NYSC and the Ministry of Education to develop a permanent solution to the challenges.
He said a consistent national framework for recording and sequencing names, supported by a unique Learner Identification Number, would help prevent similar difficulties in the future.
The NYSC boss assured the minister that the Corps would continue to work with the ministry and other agencies to strengthen verification and ensure qualified graduates are not unfairly excluded from national service.
Alausa, meanwhile, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to sustaining collaboration with NYSC and other stakeholders as the government advances its digital transformation agenda.
He said the ultimate objective was to build an education system where every genuine graduate could progress on the basis of merit and hard work.
The minister added that the reforms were aimed at confronting corruption and systemic weaknesses through technology, credible data and stronger institutional collaboration while protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s education system.
