The recent policy mandating the uploading of final-year projects to the Nigerian Education Research Database, NERD, has triggered a wave of responses among Nigerian graduates.

On October 6, the Federal Ministry of Education formally launched its new operation, tying NYSC mobilisation directly to NERD compliance.

The rule is simple: graduates could no longer be enrolled for their service year until they fully upload their academic records to the national database.

On paper, this policy sounds transformative, and is posited by the government as a system that could halt academic fraud and safeguard intellectual property.

However, on Nigerian campuses, fresh graduates complain that the new policy has, again, brought a sense of being thrown into a new digital rulebook without preparation.

At Bayero University, Kano (BUK), a recent graduate Kudirah Adebayo recalls her first reaction, “I was shocked and a bit worried. I didn’t expect such a major change in the mobilisation process.”

“It suddenly made me feel like even after completing all requirements for graduation, my NYSC future still hangs on a technical process I haven’t fully mastered.”

Even though some departments have begun orientation, Kudirah believes timing and infrastructure remain a threat.

“A major challenge I foresee is meeting the submission deadlines, especially considering that technical issues and documentation errors can occur at any time. For example, system downtime, poor internet access, or file format errors could delay the process.”

Her colleague, AbdulHamid Yushau, echoes these thoughts on the preparedness of the students and institutions with a markedly more blunt assessment:

“They want transparency, but several students don’t write their projects themselves. So, what happens when they upload?” he says.

He reveals that, unlike Kudirah’s department, his has provided no support thus far: “We are still waiting for the university to guide us. But right now, nothing has been given to us yet.”

For a policy meant to champion academic integrity, the rollout tells a different story: students left guessing, scrambling through portals and guidelines they only learned about through social media posts and union circulars.

The Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), through its Students’ Union press release, informed prospective corps members that NERD registration remains a mandatory requirement but the 2025 Batch C mobilisation, which begins November 19, will not enforce full compliance.

This means students who have yet to upload their projects will not be stopped from entering orientation camps this year. However, enforcement becomes fully strict beginning 2026.

Meanwhile, Bayero University Kano has already stated clearly in its public circular that beginning with Batch C 2025, only graduates who secure the NERD Clearance Slip will be eligible for NYSC mobilisation. Since Universities are responsible for submitting the names of eligible graduates for NYSC mobilisation, this could well mean no service for BUK graduates yet to comply with the NERD requirement.

Explainer Box: How NERD Works 

NERD is the new nationwide database ensuring every final-year project is securely documented and verified before a student qualifies for NYSC mobilisation.

A student uploads their approved academic project to the NERD portal using their institutional information. The system verifies the submission in collaboration with the university to prevent fake academic records.

Once confirmed, the student receives a NERD Clearance Slip, which now becomes one of the key documents needed for NYSC registration.

It is estimated that the institutional verification could take as much as 14 working days. But being that the system is only just new and bound to endure some structural adjustment, this timeline could be slightly more.

Although 2025 Batch C graduates are not yet required to complete the upload to be mobilised, graduates from 2026 onwards must do so as part of their clearance.

The clearance slip serves as digital proof of genuine academic completion and becomes a permanent part of Nigeria’s national education database.

A Reform Arrives Before Readiness 

Even with announcements and helpdesk contacts, students remain unsure about what exactly will delay their mobilisation and what won’t.

The language institutions use, such as “eligibility,” has created fear among graduates who have already endured years of academic disruption due to strikes, delayed assessments and unstable school calendars. There is a sense that this change was introduced too late in their journey for them to catch up with confidence.

Kudirah expresses her concerns, saying “If proper support isn’t there, many students could face delays through no fault of theirs.”

She explains that some departments are still struggling to compile approved digital copies of projects and that many students do not even have their final versions with certification pages handy.

AbdulHamid worries that students whose projects might not meet the digital upload standards could find themselves stuck after all their hard work.

He remarks that “most students will not be able to serve their nation because their final-year projects may not be valuable enough.”

This raises a critical question: Is the education system ready for the digital accountability the government wants?

A Larger Shift for Nigerian Higher Education 

Despite the anxiety, the aim of the policy signals a major transformation. For the first time, Nigeria could build a traceable, national academic identity for every graduate. This will reduce certificate forgery, increase employer trust and give real value to student research that previously ended up forgotten on departmental shelves.

The potential is clear, but the rollout exposes infrastructural weaknesses that could penalize students who lack steady internet access, digital literacy or supportive administration.

Fair to say, it risks becoming another inequality gap.

AbdulHamid acknowledges that the system would improve given time but right now, “it will add another level of bureaucracy.”

Kudirah views the initiative as one that could ultimately enhance academic integrity but insists that its implementation should prioritize student welfare. She believes that the best reforms are those that evolve with the realities of the people they are built for.

If executed hastily, it risks being another example of Nigerian students experiencing reform as an obstacle rather than an opportunity.

Kudirah words it plainly: “This policy could improve academic integrity but if poorly managed, it will cause more frustration than progress.”