Prof. Oyekan made this known during a sensitization programme organized by the OAUSTECH NERD Team for final year, postgraduate students, and academic staff at the University’s main campus on Wednesday, 22nd July, 2026.

According to him, NERD is a mandatory national digital infrastructure for secured research digitization, preservation, credential authentication, and management of academic records. It is designed to combat academic credential fraud and strengthen the integrity, transparency, accessibility, and international recognition of Nigeria’s higher education qualifications through a centralized and trusted digital repository.

Speaking further, the NFO revealed that no student in any tertiary institution will be mobilized for NYSC or receive an exemption letter without fulfilling the conditions of the newly implemented NERD policy.

Prof. Oyekan therefore urged all final year and postgraduate students to produce clean, original, and thorough project work. He also called on academic supervisors, Heads of Departments, and Deans to ensure only credible, approved, and original research outputs are submitted, warning that forged or duplicated research work will be automatically detected and rejected by the NERD platform.

In her lecture titled “Project Submission, Digital Archiving and Institutional Repository Procedures”, the University Librarian, Dr. Adetoun Oyelude, commended the initiative, describing it as a means of sanitizing and preserving Nigeria’s academic heritage while promoting research integrity. She encouraged students to utilize the University Library’s e-resources and facilities and cautioned against plagiarism and forgery.

Also speaking, the OAUSTECH NERD Records Officer, Mr. John Tawose, in his presentation on “NERD’s Vision, Objectives and National Policy Framework”, charged students to provide accurate personal information and cooperate during data capture and verification exercises. He described NERD as a vital tool for strengthening academic excellence and securing the credibility of Nigerian qualifications globally.

In a practical session on “Compliance Guidelines, Digitization Workflow and Institutional Expectations”, the University’s NERD Digitization Officer, Mr. Adeyemi Ige, advised students to ensure their Matriculation Numbers are entered correctly to avoid delays. He noted that upon receiving the NDN slip, students should scan the QR code to verify authenticity.

Required documents for registration include: Attestation Letter, Final Year Project, and NCN Clearance comprising Statement of Result, Transcript, and Certificate.

The programme ended with a call for all stakeholders to embrace digital transformation and support NERD as a cornerstone for credible and globally recognized Nigerian education.

Source:

Directorate of Information, Protocol & Public Relations (DIPPR)

OAUSTECH