The federal government has taken action against those who forge certificates by instructing all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, as well as military and paramilitary groups, to initiate a mandatory verification process for all staff members’ academic credentials starting from October 6, 2025.
In light of growing apprehensions expressed by academics regarding the diminishing educational standards and the proliferation of fraudulent certificates nationwide, the government has mandated the country-wide enactment of the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).
According to a circular issued on August 8, 2025 (Reference: 58524/111C/579) and endorsed by Senator George Akume (CON), the Government Secretary, all ministries, departments, agencies, and higher education institutions—across civilian, military, public, and private sectors—are required to implement the National Credential Verification Service (NCVS) for verifying staff qualifications.
Under the updated system, appointments will only be confirmed once an instant NCVS clearance verifies the authenticity of academic documents. Every clearance will produce a National Credential Number (NCN) along with unique security codes, which are associated with the verified documents for record management.
This represents a shift away from the traditional approach of relying on the issuing institutions, as it introduces a centralized quality assurance system that operates independently from individual schools or potentially biased officials.
This represents a shift away from the traditional approach of relying on the issuing institutions, as it introduces a centralized quality assurance system that operates independently from individual schools or potentially biased officials.
The newly formed NERD, suggested by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in May 2023, will be responsible for overseeing enforcement.
In accordance with the circular, all ministries, departments, agencies, and higher education institutions across Nigeria, whether civilian, military, private, or public are instructed to submit their annual NERD compliance reports by March 30th each year.
According to a Bureau of Public Service Reforms report from 2022, Nigeria employs approximately 720,000 federal civil servants. The National Civil Verification Scheme (NCVS), a pivotal element of the National Education and Research Development (NERD) program, was initially introduced in March 2025 by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, after receiving approval from the Federal Executive Council.
During the launch, Dr. Alausa portrayed the NCVS as a comprehensive nationwide initiative designed to ensure quality assurance. Its purpose is to combat academic fraud, which poses a significant threat to the education sector. This initiative addresses issues such as counterfeit degrees, fraudulent qualifications, fake certificates, and honors obtained from unaccredited institutions and diploma mills.
