By Adeola Kunle
The Federal Government is intensifying the digital transformation of Nigeria’s education sector to strengthen the credibility of academic records, combat certificate fraud and ensure that qualified students and graduates are not denied opportunities because of weaknesses in the existing system.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, stated this when the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, led a delegation of the Corps on a visit to the Ministry.
Alausa explained that the ongoing reforms, being implemented under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, are aimed at improving the management, identification and verification of educational records across the country.
According to him, the digitalisation programme will make it easier to trace learners throughout their educational journey and authenticate qualifications, thereby reducing the opportunities for fraudulent activities involving academic certificates.
The Minister praised the NYSC leadership for its commitment to the use of technology and its cooperation with the Ministry in improving the reliability of education records.
He said stronger collaboration between both institutions would facilitate the exchange of authentic learner and graduate information, strengthen verification procedures and reduce the possibility of manipulation or falsification of records.
Alausa disclosed that the Nigerian Education Repository Data Bank (NERD) is currently involved in the collection and verification of university certificates, tracking learners within the education system and providing support to tertiary institutions through help-desk officers.
He further explained that the Nigerian Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI) is being developed to connect educational records across the various stages of a learner’s academic progression.
The Minister also revealed that the Ministry had completed the end-to-end digitalisation of its Education Support Services, covering certificate verification as well as procedures relating to foreign applicants.
He said the Ministry was in discussions with NYSC on the development of an Application Programming Interface (API) that would allow both institutions to exchange and verify relevant information more quickly and efficiently.
According to Alausa, the digital reforms are expected to resolve several administrative and data-related difficulties that have affected qualified graduates seeking participation in the national service programme and entry into the labour market.
He identified discrepancies in names, challenges involving graduates of part-time National Diploma programmes and the admission of holders of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) into Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes among the issues requiring urgent attention.
The Minister said the Ministry would work with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other relevant stakeholders to establish permanent solutions.
He said part of the proposed measures would be the introduction of a national Learner Identification Number, alongside a uniform framework for recording and sequencing names across government education and identity databases.
Such a system, he explained, would help establish accurate and consistent identity records from the earliest stage of a learner’s education.
Alausa also disclosed that the government had strengthened its efforts against examination malpractice, including the leakage of examination questions. He stressed the importance of maintaining the progress already achieved and extending similar safeguards to tertiary institutions.
NYSC Pledges Continued Support
Speaking at the meeting, the NYSC Director-General, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, commended the Minister for the reforms and expressed the Corps’ readiness to continue supporting the digital transformation of Nigeria’s education sector.
Nafiu said NYSC had been pursuing digitalisation since 2014 and had developed systems capable of providing dependable information for Corps Members and supporting their deployment.
He noted that the Corps had complied with the Federal Executive Council’s directive concerning collaboration with NERD and was prepared to further strengthen its partnership with the Ministry.
The NYSC DG pointed to the introduction of QR codes as one of the measures that had significantly improved the integrity of the Corps’ operations.
According to him, the technology has virtually eliminated document cloning within NYSC, while strengthening the Corps’ ability to identify and verify genuine documents.
He assured the Minister that NYSC would continue upgrading its verification mechanisms to respond effectively to emerging forms of fraud.
Nafiu also disclosed that the Corps was working to address challenges involving graduates of part-time National Diploma programmes, HND mobilisation and the admission of NCE holders into HND programmes.
He said engagements with the new Registrar of JAMB had resulted in an understanding to establish a window through which graduates affected by discrepancies in their names could regularise their records in collaboration with NIMC.
The NYSC DG advocated a wider meeting involving JAMB, NIMC, NYSC and the Federal Ministry of Education to develop a comprehensive and lasting solution to the challenges.
He maintained that adopting a uniform national system for recording and sequencing names across government education and identity databases, supported by a unique Learner Identification Number, would help prevent similar problems in the future.
Nafiu assured the Minister that NYSC would remain committed to working with the Ministry and other relevant agencies to improve verification processes and ensure that qualified graduates are not unjustly prevented from participating in the national service programme.
Government Restates Commitment to Digital Education
Reaffirming the administration’s commitment to the reforms, Alausa said the Ministry would continue to strengthen its partnership with NYSC and other government institutions as the digital transformation of the education sector gathers momentum.
He said the broader objective was to create an education system where every Nigerian child has access to quality education and where genuine graduates can advance based on their qualifications, merit and hard work.
The Minister added that the reforms were consistent with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and its objective of building a more transparent, efficient and productive Nigeria.
Alausa assured that the Federal Government would continue to deploy technology, reliable data and stronger institutional collaboration to tackle corruption and systemic weaknesses while protecting the credibility of Nigeria’s education system.
He said the administration remained committed to delivering sustainable improvements that would strengthen confidence in educational qualifications and create a more efficient system for learners, graduates and institutions across the country.
Adeola Kunle
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