Kaduna: As the Oct. 6 deadline for the enforcement of the regulations for the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) programme approaches, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Prof Abubakar Sambo, has praised the Federal Government on the digitisation programme. Sambo, who is a former Vice Chancellor of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi, said it was a significant step towards eliminating the recurring evil of education rackets, fake certificates, and for-profit honour scams.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Sambo also commended the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, for the scheme's implementation, describing the thesis digitisation and anti-certificate racketeering and the National Publication Indexing System for researchers' components of the programme as a watershed. "There is no responsible country in the world that will allow the integrity of its educational system to be crippled by doubts and refuse to provide the tools to guide the public and the industry. I am glad that the President appreciates the enormity of the problem."
Sambo emphasized the importance of protecting academic integrity, stating, "There are just too many hardworking Nigerians over the ages who deservedly earned their honours. At least, the nation must put systems in place to protect the sanctity of academic honours from being corrupted by a few bad eggs." He further noted that even liberal societies like the United States ensure clear ways to separate proper educational experiences from the activities of degree mills.
Sambo lauded the timely deployment of NERD's computerised digital submissions and credential verification system as an academic progression watchdog, describing it as both necessary and commendable. He also highlighted the significance of the National Publication Indexing Service of NERD, calling it a "first-of-its-kind database in Africa."
Sambo urged the government to continue providing strategic support, stressing the importance of closing the publishing gap between Africa and the Western world. "The government must intentionally incentivise the private sector to be able to help us catch up," he said, warning that not participating in academic publishing over the past century has been a developmental impairment for African nations.
The Education Commissioner expressed his intention to promote the National Policy on NERD in Kaduna State to ensure that higher institutions in the state embrace and comply with its regulations. He affirmed, "We will be supporting this. Kaduna State and in particular Governor Uba Sani are irrevocably committed to the objective of improved education sector as an enabler of growth."
The NERD programme, a special federation intervention approved by the Federal Executive Council in February, addresses issues of certificate racketeering and abuse of honours or awards. It mandates students to submit copies of their project reports, theses, and dissertations to the national education database of NERD.