FG orders mandatory verification of staff certificates from October

By Kunle Sanni –

The Federal Government has directed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), as well as military and paramilitary organizations, to commence mandatory verification of staff academic certificates starting October 6, 2025.

The directive follows rising concerns over the decline in educational standards and the spread of fake certificates across the country. As part of the new policy, the government has ordered the nationwide implementation of the National Policy for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).

In a circular dated August 8, 2025 (Reference: 58524/111C/579), and signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume (CON), all government agencies, higher institutions, and private organizations are required to adopt the National Credential Verification Service (NCVS) for authenticating staff qualifications.

Under the system, appointments will only be confirmed after instant clearance from the NCVS. Each verified certificate will be assigned a National Credential Number (NCN) and unique security codes for record management. This centralized verification process replaces the old reliance on issuing institutions, which the government described as prone to manipulation.

The initiative will be overseen by the newly established NERD, first proposed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in May 2023. All institutions and agencies are expected to submit annual compliance reports to NERD by March 30 of each year.

According to a 2022 Bureau of Public Service Reforms report, Nigeria currently has about 720,000 federal civil servants. The NCVS, a major component of the NERD program, was officially launched in March 2025 by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, after approval by the Federal Executive Council.

Speaking during the launch, Dr. Alausa described the NCVS as a comprehensive framework for quality assurance in education. He said the scheme is aimed at curbing the menace of academic fraud, including counterfeit degrees, fake certificates, and qualifications obtained from unaccredited institutions and diploma mills.