The Federal Government has fixed October 6, 2025, as the commencement date for mandatory nationwide verification of academic certificates, in a move aimed at curbing certificate racketeering and restoring integrity to Nigeria’s education system.
The directive, contained in a service-wide circular signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, was addressed to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as public and private tertiary institutions.
According to the circular, the exercise will be implemented through the National Credential Verification Service (NCVS), an arm of the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).
Both existing and prospective staff in public and private organisations will now be required to obtain clearance from the NCVS before their appointments can be confirmed.
Each verified certificate will be assigned a National Credential Number (NCN) with unique security codes to guarantee authenticity and traceability.
Officials said the reform marks a shift from past interventions, introducing a centralised quality assurance system that is independent of individual institutions.
The initiative derives its legal backing from Section 10(1) of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act, 1985.
The NCVS, launched in March 2025 by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, was described at the time as “a decisive move to end fake degrees, phoney honours, and diploma mills undermining Nigeria’s education credibility.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Ms. Haula Galadima, Executive Director of Communication and Cybersecurity at NERD, confirmed that the verification service is fully operational.
She urged MDAs, tertiary institutions, and private employers to register their NERD focal persons and records officers on the onboarding portal.
“NERD is a federation initiative and the national standard for higher education digitisation,” Galadima said. “It is designed to protect national security, safeguard education integrity, and enhance the global competitiveness of Nigeria’s academic system.”
She explained that NERD administers identifiers such as the National Student Number (NSN), the National Credential Number (NCN), and the National Document Number (NDN), enabling instant authentication of certificates and awards.
These will also feed into a National Database of Resource Persons.
“By October 6, fake degrees and unearned honours will no longer slip through the cracks. Every credential presented in Nigeria must be verifiable at the click of a button,” she stressed.
The NERD Governing Council, chaired by the Minister of Education, includes representatives from the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education, the National Commission for Colleges of Education, the Committee of Vice Chancellors, the Committee of Rectors, the Committee of Provosts, the National Library, and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
According to Galadima, the strength of the new system lies in its ability to integrate decentralised institutional databases into a federated framework while preserving institutional autonomy.
She added that fake certificates had thrived largely due to weak verification processes that were often compromised.
“This reform is jointly owned by all tertiary institutions and regulatory agencies,” she said. “It provides a one-stop platform that ensures every academic credential is authentic and digitally traceable.”
