FG Sets October 6 Deadline for Nationwide Certificate Verification Under New Education Policy

The Federal Government has announced October 6, 2025 as the official start date for the mandatory nationwide verification of academic certificates. This initiative is part of a new education policy aimed at tackling certificate forgery, enhancing transparency, and restoring credibility to Nigeria’s education system.

The directive was contained in a service-wide circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, and sent to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), as well as public and private tertiary institutions across the country.

Centralised Verification Through NCVS

According to the circular, the verification process will be managed by the National Credential Verification Service (NCVS), operating under the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).

Under this system, both new and existing staff in public and private institutions will be required to obtain clearance from the NCVS before their appointments can be confirmed. Every verified certificate will be assigned a National Credential Number (NCN) with unique security codes to ensure authenticity and traceability.

Officials explained that the policy creates a centralised quality assurance mechanism that operates independently of individual schools and universities. It is backed by Section 10(1) of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act of 1985, giving it strong legal authority.

Launch of the NCVS

The NCVS was launched in March 2025 by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, following Federal Executive Council approval. During the launch, Dr. Alausa described the initiative as “a decisive move to end fake degrees, forged diplomas, and other fraudulent academic claims that have undermined Nigeria’s education credibility for years.”

Full Digital Integration

In a recent statement, Ms. Haula Galadima, Executive Director of Communication and Cybersecurity at NERD, confirmed that all verification services are fully operational. She urged MDAs, tertiary institutions, and private employers to register their designated NERD officers through the onboarding portal.

“NERD is the national standard for higher education digitisation,” Galadima said. “It is designed to protect national security, preserve the integrity of Nigeria’s education sector, and boost the global competitiveness of our academic system.”

NERD administers several unique identifiers, including:

• National Student Number (NSN)
• National Credential Number (NCN)
• National Document Number (NDN)

These identifiers will allow instant authentication of certificates and awards while also feeding into a National Database of Resource Persons for future reference.

A New Era of Accountability

Galadima emphasized that, starting October 6, every academic credential presented in Nigeria must be verifiable in real-time. “Fake degrees and unearned honours will no longer slip through the cracks. Every certificate must be traceable at the click of a button,” she stated.

The NERD Governing Council—chaired by the Minister of Education—comprises representatives from key regulatory bodies, including the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

According to Galadima, the strength of the policy lies in its ability to link decentralised institutional databases into a federated national system while preserving institutional autonomy. She noted that fake certificates have thrived in the past due to weak and inconsistent verification processes that were vulnerable to manipulation.

“This reform is a collective effort by all tertiary institutions and regulatory agencies,” she said. “It provides a one-stop platform that ensures every academic credential is both authentic and digitally traceable.”