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The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has announced a new Sector-Wide Policy Framework on Certificate Security and Integrity to safeguard the credibility of academic qualifications issued by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions across the country.
The move follows recent reports of certificate forgery in some TVET institutions, which exposed gaps in the processes of issuance, verification, and institutional oversight.
According to NBTE, the policy is designed to restore public confidence and uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s TVET system.
The framework seeks to eliminate forgery and racketeering, establish tamper-proof certificate systems, and ensure alignment with global best practices. It also emphasizes institutional accountability and deterrence against malpractice.
Key provisions include the adoption of uniform certificate designs with advanced security features such as holograms, QR codes, microtext, and watermarking, measures intended to make certificates nearly impossible to counterfeit.
In addition, NBTE will introduce a centralized Digital Certificate Verification System (DCVS) integrated into the Board’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform.
Under this system, all TVET institutions are mandated to upload graduate records within six months of convocation.
Employers, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and other verification agencies will henceforth authenticate certificates exclusively through the ERP platform.
NBTE’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje noted that this initiative represents a critical step toward ensuring the credibility, reliability, and global recognition of TVET qualifications issued in Nigeria.
