Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has emphasized the critical role of education and data in shaping national development, describing them as the lifeblood of any society.
The minister made this known while addressing focal persons and institutional representatives of the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) during the 2026 National Capacity Building Programme on the NERD Policy.
According to Dr. Alausa, education data plays a vital role in capturing ideas, preserving academic research, and documenting the intellectual history of a nation. He explained that the initiative aims to strengthen Nigeria’s knowledge management system while ensuring that academic outputs remain accessible for future generations.
Highlighting the early achievements of the platform, the minister revealed that within just four months of operation, the NERD initiative has already preserved nearly 100,000 student submissions from institutions across the country.
He further disclosed that more than 350 institutions have been onboarded into the system, while over 133,000 students and about 6,800 lecturers are currently enrolled on the platform.
Dr. Alausa noted that every academic record contributes to telling the story of Nigeria’s knowledge and innovation landscape. He added that the NERD platform ensures that such academic materials are securely stored, verifiable, and easily accessible for researchers, students, and policymakers.
The minister stressed that the Federal Government remains committed to strengthening digital infrastructure in the education sector, adding that the repository will play a crucial role in promoting academic excellence, transparency, and long-term preservation of scholarly work.
The Nigeria Education Repository and Databank is part of broader efforts by the Federal Ministry of Education to modernize Nigeria’s education system through digital innovation and improved data management.