By John Alechenu

ABUJA — Nigeria’s efforts to digitise academic records have reached a major milestone, with the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) recording more than 400,000 theses and dissertations on its platform.

Data obtained from the platform on Sunday showed that submissions from universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education had surpassed 400,000 as of early September 2026, with the figure standing at more than 410,000 at press time.

The National Credential Verification component of the platform has also verified more than 115,000 certificates and issued National Credential Numbers (NCN), according to the data.

NERD currently has 907 institutions enrolled on the platform, with 629 classified as active. They include 259 universities, 163 polytechnics, 179 monotechnics, 178 colleges of education and 130 other institutions.

The platform covers 2,020 faculties, of which 1,620 have visible academic works, while 5,353 of the 9,626 departments have visible submissions.

The University of Benin and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, lead the platform’s top 20 contributors, followed by Ekiti State University, the University of Calabar and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Several polytechnics, including Kwara State Polytechnic, Kaduna Polytechnic and Auchi Polytechnic, also rank among the leading contributors.

The data showed that undergraduate projects account for the bulk of the collection, with 409,456 submissions, while postgraduate works stood at 1,563 as of September 4.

Female students accounted for 228,347 submissions, compared with 181,536 from male students.

For decades, many theses and dissertations remained largely confined to departmental and institutional libraries, limiting their accessibility to researchers and other users.

The NERD platform is designed to preserve the works digitally and make them more accessible and discoverable.

With more than 410,000 academic works now available and over 115,000 credentials verified, the platform represents a significant step in the digitisation of Nigeria’s academic records, with attention now expected to shift towards linking the repository to industry, research and innovation initiatives.