Barely a month after the launch of the National Education Repository and Databank (NERD) programme, Nigeria’s education record digitisation drive is gathering impressive momentum just as the federal government continues to intensify efforts to end certificate forgery.
Reports from the NERD portal indicate that over 11,000 academic project entries have been successfully uploaded by Nigerian students within the first three weeks of operation.
It will be noted that NERD is a centralised digital platform created to store, manage, preserve, and verify educational records, publications, and credentials from all tiers of the system.
Designed as a one-stop hub for academic data, NERD allows instant authentication of certificates while also serving as a permanent archive for historical academic outputs.
The NERD programme, introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, is a cornerstone of the federal government’s new strategy to combat academic credential fraud. As of this weekend, over 40,000 students have been enrolled on the system, with 135 tertiary institutions onboarded for credential verification.
This initiative aligns with the government’s October 6, 2025 directive mandating all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and security formations to verify staff academic certificates which is a decisive move against forgery and fake qualifications as reported by Daily Trust.
According to analytics on the NERD portal, Ekiti State University leads institutional participation with 990 curated entries, followed by Bayero University, Kano (611) and Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State (532). Other top performers include Ambrose Alli University, Osun State Polytechnic, University of Ilorin, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Data from the platform shows Science and Innovation topping thematic preferences with 5,952 entries, followed by Multidisciplinary Studies (2,091) and Engineering and Technology (1,958). The portal also reveals a slight female edge in participation — 6,142 female submissions compared to 4,995 male entries.
NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima explained that beyond credential verification, the repository will enhance academic supervision quality and transparency. “Supervisors now know their names accompany each project, visible globally to researchers and industry leaders,” she said, adding that the system also helps track lecturers’ earned allowances through measurable supervision data.
By Olusola Jide Jide @DailyTrust
