Tertiary students in Nigeria have uploaded over 11,000 final-year thesis documents to the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD), just three weeks after the portal opened for submissions.
The Ministry of Education had earlier stated that the databank aims to curb the abuse of academic titles and certificate racketeering. Uploading undergraduate theses has been made mandatory for national service, with enforcement set to begin on October 6, 2025.
According to NERD, more than 10,000 project entries were uploaded in the first three weeks of its digitisation programme, climbing to over 11,000 by the weekend of November 8, which included 158 postgraduate submissions from 242 active institutions. In total, over 40,000 students have been successfully enrolled on the system since it became operational.
NERD’s analysis shows Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, leading with 990 curated entries, followed by Bayero University, Kano, and Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State.
Thematic preferences among students revealed:
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Multidisciplinary – 2,091 submissions
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Engineering and Technology – 1,958
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Tourism and Entertainment – 1,392
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Infrastructure and Sustainable Development – 952
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Humanities – 783
Haula Galadima, NERD’s spokesperson, stated that a key objective of the thesis digitisation, classification, and archiving scheme is to enhance supervision quality without direct interference. Lecturers are expected to be more thorough in supervising theses, knowing their names will accompany works accessible to researchers, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs globally.
She added, “NERD now has precision metrics to track earned allowances across institutions, helping the government assess lecturers’ supervisory contributions alongside teaching, field, and lab work.”
NERD was first introduced in Nigeria in 2023, with the policy approved by the Federal Executive Council on February 4, 2025.
Top 10 institutions by thesis submissions:
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Ekiti State University – 990
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Bayero University, Kano – 611
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Auchi Polytechnic, Edo – 532
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Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo – 493
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Osun State Polytechnic, Iree – 479
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University of Ilorin, Kwara – 469
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Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science & Technology, Ikere Ekiti – 462
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Kaduna Polytechnic – 379
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University of Benin, Edo – 374
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University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu – 282
Analysis also shows that science and innovation, with 5,952 entries, is the leading knowledge pillar, encompassing students beyond just science and engineering disciplines.
NERD has now onboarded 135 tertiary institutions for academic credential verification purposes, strengthening the integrity of Nigeria’s higher education system.
ADEOLA KUNLE
