As part of efforts to reposition Nigeria’s education system through digital innovation, data management, and professional teacher development, the Federal Government has approved the establishment of the National Education Repository and Databank (NERD) — a digital platform for collecting, verifying, and preserving academic records.
Minister of State for Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, announced the initiative while declaring open the 69th National Council on Education (NCE) meeting held in Akure, Ondo State. He explained that the NERD system, alongside the newly approved National Credential Verification System, would eliminate certificate fraud and enhance the global recognition of Nigerian academic qualifications.
Alausa disclosed that 21 states had so far uploaded data into the Digital Nigerian Education Management Information System (DNEMIS), which integrates with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to track learners’ progress nationwide.
He further revealed that state commissioners and SUBEB chairmen would receive smart interactive boards for real-time data monitoring. According to him, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) had been fully digitised to simplify registration and licence renewal processes, while the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) had been directed to fund licence fees for primary and junior secondary school teachers.
The Minister added that over 60,000 digital tablets had been distributed to teachers nationwide, reaching more than 2.3 million learners, while over one million out-of-school children had been digitally mapped. He noted that 15,000 learners had been enrolled under the Accelerated Basic Education Programme (ABEP), and 577,000 girls had benefitted from scholarships through the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.
In his remarks, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State pledged continued support for the welfare of teachers, describing education as the most powerful tool for social mobility, national unity, and sustainable development.
The governor commended President Bola Tinubu for the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he said had supported over 624,000 students, helping to bridge the gap between children of the rich and the poor.
Aiyedatiwa described the meeting’s theme — “Quality Education Data and Professionalisation of Teaching: Tools for Enhanced National Development” — as timely, stressing that reliable education data is essential for effective policy formulation, resource allocation, and performance evaluation.
He lamented the declining value of the teaching profession and called for improved welfare, merit-based recognition, and continuous capacity building. The governor highlighted his administration’s interventions, including bursaries, scholarships, digital skills centres, free school shuttle buses and boats, as well as prompt payment of teachers’ salaries, pensions, and gratuities.
While appreciating the Federal Ministry of Education for granting Ondo State the hosting rights, Aiyedatiwa expressed optimism that deliberations at the meeting would yield transformative outcomes capable of reshaping Nigeria’s education sector.
