Education minister enforces strict rules to curb certificate fraud
The Federal Government has introduced new measures to strengthen the integrity of academic records in Nigeria. Dr Maruf Alausa, the Minister of Education, announced that compliance with the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD) is now mandatory for all tertiary institutions. The move aims to combat certificate fraud and ensure only authentic qualifications are recognised. President Bola Tinubu was commended for supporting these reforms.
What we know
- Dr Maruf Alausa stated that NERD compliance is now required for participation in or exemption from the National Youth Service Corps.
- Over 250 tertiary institutions and more than 133,000 students have already been onboarded onto the NERD platform.
- The government has removed individuals with illegal certificates from public service following investigations into fake degrees.
- A new NERD Annual National Laureate Prize and Awards Programme was announced to reward outstanding academic research.
- The initiative also aims to create jobs and promote the use of locally developed technology in the education sector.
