The Federal Government has dropped a policy bombshell that will change how Nigerian graduates enter the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). From October 6, 2025, no graduate will be mobilised for service or granted exemption without showing proof that they have complied with the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) directive.
Lens News gathered that this means every graduate — whether from local universities, polytechnics, or foreign institutions — must now submit their academic work, such as final year projects, theses, or dissertations, into the NERD databank before they can be cleared for NYSC mobilisation or exemption.
The policy, confirmed in a circular signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, is backed by Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act. According to government officials, the move is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s academic records, curb certificate fraud, and ensure all graduates leave behind a verifiable academic footprint.
Reactions, however, have been heated. Student groups are worried that the new rule could delay or outright block mobilisation for many graduates, especially those from schools with poor digital infrastructure or Nigerians who studied abroad and may find it difficult to upload their works into the databank. “It is a good idea in theory, but the government is rushing it,” one university lecturer in Abuja told Lens News.
The government has clarified that the policy will not affect corps members who are already serving, nor those who were mobilised before the enforcement date. But with the deadline barely a week away, confusion is already spreading across campuses nationwide, with many scrambling to meet the new requirement.
For now, one question hangs in the air: will this policy actually sanitise the system — or simply lock thousands of graduates out of national service?
