Last Updated: August 19, 2026
Meridian Skills Academy Ltd (“MerSkills”, “we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information entrusted to us.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect personal information when you visit merskills.com, apply for a programme, enrol as a learner, communicate with us, make a payment, participate in our learning activities or otherwise use our services.
By using our website or services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
1. Who We Are
Meridian Skills Academy Ltd is a Nigerian-registered professional training institution operating under the public-facing name Meridian Skills Academy (MerSkills).
Website: merskills.com
Email: info@merskills.com
Country of operation: Nigeria
For questions concerning this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact us using the details provided at the end of this policy.
2. Our Commitment to Privacy
We recognise that personal information is entrusted to us by applicants, learners, instructors, staff, partners, website visitors and other individuals who interact with MerSkills.
We aim to:
- Collect personal information responsibly and transparently;
- Collect information that is reasonably necessary for legitimate purposes;
- Use personal information only for appropriate purposes;
- Take reasonable measures to protect personal information;
- Respect applicable data-protection rights;
- Avoid unnecessary collection or retention of personal information; and
- Be transparent about how information is processed.
This Privacy Policy is intended to support our responsibilities under applicable Nigerian data-protection requirements, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and applicable regulatory guidance.
3. Information We Collect
The information we collect depends on how you interact with MerSkills.
3.1 Information You Provide Directly
When you contact us, apply for admission, enrol in a programme or otherwise interact with our services, we may collect information such as:
- Full name;
- Email address;
- Telephone number;
- Residential or mailing address;
- Country of residence;
- Date of birth where required;
- Educational background;
- Professional information;
- Employment information;
- Programme preferences;
- Application information;
- Identification or verification information where legitimately required;
- Payment and transaction information;
- Assessment and academic information;
- Certificate and credential information;
- Communications and enquiries; and
- Other information you voluntarily provide.
We will generally request only information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.
4. Information Collected Through Applications and Enrolment
If you apply for a MerSkills programme, we may collect information necessary to:
- Process your application;
- Determine programme eligibility;
- Communicate admission decisions;
- Create and manage your learner record;
- Process enrolment;
- Provide learning services;
- Administer assessments;
- Monitor academic progress;
- Issue certificates or credentials;
- Provide learner support; and
- Maintain appropriate academic and administrative records.
Where additional information is required for a specific programme, we will seek to communicate the relevant requirement.
5. Academic and Learning Information
If you become a MerSkills learner, we may collect and maintain information relating to your participation in our programmes.
This may include:
- Programme and course enrolment;
- Student or learner identification number;
- Attendance or participation records;
- Assignment submissions;
- Assessment results;
- Examination results;
- Grades;
- Feedback;
- Academic progress;
- Completion status;
- Certificate information; and
- Communications relating to your studies.
This information is used primarily to administer and deliver educational services and maintain accurate academic records.
6. Payment Information
When you make a payment to MerSkills, we may receive information necessary to identify and reconcile the transaction.
Depending on the payment method used, this may include:
- Name;
- Transaction reference;
- Amount paid;
- Date of payment;
- Payment status;
- Programme associated with the payment; and
- Limited payment-related information supplied by the payment provider.
Where payments are processed through third-party payment providers, your payment information may be processed directly by that provider under its own privacy policy and terms.
MerSkills does not need to receive or retain your full payment-card details where the payment provider processes those details directly.
7. Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, certain technical information may be collected automatically by our website, hosting provider, analytics services or other technologies.
This may include:
- IP address;
- Browser type;
- Device type;
- Operating system;
- Pages visited;
- Referring website;
- Approximate location derived from technical information;
- Date and time of access;
- Website interaction information; and
- Technical information relating to website performance.
We use this information primarily to operate, secure, maintain and improve our website and services.
8. Cookies and Similar Technologies
MerSkills may use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, security, analytics and user experience.
Cookies may help us understand how visitors interact with our website and may allow certain website features to function correctly.
Where applicable, you may be able to control or disable certain cookies through your browser or available cookie settings.
Disabling some cookies may affect the functionality of parts of the website.
Where required, MerSkills will provide appropriate cookie information and choices in accordance with applicable requirements.
9. How We Use Personal Information
We may use personal information for legitimate educational, administrative, operational and business purposes, including to:
- Respond to enquiries;
- Process applications;
- Assess eligibility;
- Manage admissions;
- Enrol learners;
- Deliver educational programmes;
- Provide learner support;
- Administer assessments;
- Record academic results;
- Issue and verify certificates;
- Process and reconcile payments;
- Communicate important programme information;
- Maintain academic and administrative records;
- Improve our programmes and services;
- Maintain website security;
- Prevent fraud and misuse;
- Comply with legal or regulatory obligations;
- Resolve disputes;
- Protect the rights, property and safety of MerSkills and others; and
- Carry out other purposes reasonably related to the services you have requested.
Where we intend to use personal information for a materially different purpose, we will provide appropriate information or obtain consent where required.
10. Lawful Basis for Processing
Depending on the circumstances, MerSkills may process personal information on one or more lawful bases recognised under applicable data-protection law.
These may include:
Consent
Where consent is the appropriate legal basis, we may ask you to provide consent before processing your information for the relevant purpose.
You may withdraw consent where applicable, although withdrawal will not affect processing that was lawfully carried out before withdrawal.
Contractual Necessity
We may process information necessary to provide services you have requested, including programme application, enrolment, learning and related services.
Legal Obligations
We may process information where necessary to comply with applicable legal, regulatory, accounting or other obligations.
Legitimate Interests
Where permitted by applicable law, we may process information where necessary for legitimate institutional or operational interests, provided those interests are not overridden by applicable privacy rights.
Protection of Rights and Safety
Information may be processed where necessary to protect individuals, prevent fraud or address security, legal or other serious risks.
The applicable legal basis depends on the nature and circumstances of the processing.
11. Marketing Communications
Where permitted by applicable law, MerSkills may send information about programmes, educational opportunities, events, scholarships, promotions or other services that may be relevant to you.
Where required, we will obtain appropriate consent before sending marketing communications.
You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe option provided in the communication or contacting us.
Even if you opt out of marketing communications, we may continue to send essential administrative or service-related communications, such as admission, payment, programme or certificate information.
12. Sharing Personal Information
MerSkills does not sell personal information to third parties.
We may disclose personal information where reasonably necessary to provide our services or fulfil legitimate institutional, legal or operational purposes.
Depending on the circumstances, information may be shared with:
- Staff and authorised administrators;
- Instructors and academic personnel;
- Technology and learning-platform providers;
- Payment processors;
- Website hosting and infrastructure providers;
- Email and communication service providers;
- Assessment or examination service providers;
- Certificate verification or credentialing services;
- Professional advisers;
- Government authorities or regulators where legally required; and
- Other service providers acting on our behalf.
Where third parties process personal information for MerSkills, we aim to use appropriate contractual, technical and organisational safeguards.
13. Third-Party Service Providers
MerSkills may use external service providers to support the delivery and administration of our services.
These providers may assist with:
- Website hosting;
- Learning management systems;
- Online forms;
- Email communications;
- Payment processing;
- Analytics;
- Cloud storage;
- Video conferencing;
- Customer support;
- Security; and
- Other operational functions.
Third-party providers may process personal information according to their own terms and privacy policies.
Where appropriate, we take reasonable steps to ensure that service providers handle personal information responsibly and only for authorised purposes.
14. International Data Transfers
Because MerSkills operates online and may use international technology and service providers, personal information may in some circumstances be processed or stored outside Nigeria.
Where personal information is transferred to another country, MerSkills will seek to ensure that appropriate safeguards and applicable legal requirements are considered.
The safeguards applied may depend on the destination country, service provider, nature of the information and applicable legal requirements.
15. Data Security
MerSkills takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss, misuse or destruction.
Depending on the nature of the information and processing activity, safeguards may include:
- Access controls;
- Password protection;
- Role-based access;
- Secure connections;
- Appropriate authentication measures;
- System monitoring;
- Data backups;
- Staff awareness and confidentiality measures; and
- Other reasonable security controls.
However, no online system or method of transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
16. Data Breaches and Security Incidents
If MerSkills becomes aware of a personal-data security incident, we will assess the incident and take reasonable steps to contain, investigate and address it.
Where applicable, we will make notifications required by relevant data-protection laws or regulatory requirements.
17. Data Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including educational, administrative, legal, accounting, security and legitimate institutional purposes.
Different categories of information may be retained for different periods.
For example, academic records, certificates, financial records and application information may require different retention periods.
Where personal information is no longer required and there is no legitimate or legal reason to retain it, we will take reasonable steps to delete, anonymise or otherwise securely dispose of it.
18. Academic Records and Certificates
Because MerSkills provides educational and professional training services, certain academic records may need to be retained for an extended period to:
- Confirm programme completion;
- Maintain accurate institutional records;
- Verify certificates;
- Respond to legitimate verification requests;
- Address disputes concerning academic records; and
- Meet legal or administrative requirements.
A request to delete personal information may therefore be subject to legitimate limitations where retention is necessary for these purposes or required by law.
19. Your Data Protection Rights
Subject to applicable law and any lawful limitations, you may have rights relating to your personal information.
These may include the right to:
- Request access to personal information we hold about you;
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
- Request deletion of personal information in appropriate circumstances;
- Request restriction of certain processing;
- Object to certain processing;
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
- Request portability of certain personal information where applicable;
- Request information about how your personal information is processed; and
- Lodge a complaint with the appropriate data-protection authority.
These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal, regulatory, contractual or other legitimate limitations.
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission identifies data-subject rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection and portability under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
20. How to Exercise Your Rights
To exercise a privacy right or make a data-protection enquiry, contact us using the details below.
We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests in order to protect your information from unauthorised disclosure.
We will consider and respond to valid requests within the timeframe required by applicable law.
Where we cannot fulfil a request, we will provide an explanation where required or appropriate.
21. Children’s Privacy
MerSkills does not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children in circumstances where such collection is not permitted by applicable law.
Where a programme is specifically designed to accept learners under the applicable age threshold, we may implement additional requirements relating to parental or guardian involvement and consent where required.
If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us improperly, please contact us so that we can assess the situation and take appropriate action.
22. Information Provided by Applicants and Learners About Other People
You should not provide personal information about another individual unless you have a lawful basis or appropriate authority to do so.
For example, if you provide emergency-contact, referee, guardian or other third-party information, you should ensure that you are permitted to provide that information to us.
23. Social Media and Public Platforms
MerSkills may maintain accounts or pages on third-party social media platforms.
Information that you voluntarily post publicly on those platforms may be visible to others and may be processed according to the relevant platform’s privacy policy.
You should avoid posting confidential personal, academic, financial or identification information publicly.
24. Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to external websites and services.
MerSkills is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites.
We encourage you to review the privacy policies of external websites before submitting personal information to them.
25. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:
- Changes in our services;
- Changes in technology;
- Changes in data-processing practices;
- Changes in applicable law or regulatory requirements; or
- Improvements to our privacy practices.
When we make changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.
Where required, we will provide additional notice of material changes.
26. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise a data-protection right, or have concerns about how your personal information is handled, please contact us.
Meridian Skills Academy
21 Ikot Ekwere Itam Road
West Itam District
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
520113, Nigeria
West Africa
Email: info@merskills.com
Phone: +234 802 170 9686
Website: merskills.com
When contacting us about your personal information, please provide sufficient information for us to understand and respond to your request.
27. Complaints
If you believe that your personal information has been handled in a manner inconsistent with applicable data-protection requirements, we encourage you to contact MerSkills first so that we can investigate and attempt to resolve your concern.
You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data-protection authority, including the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), subject to applicable procedures and requirements.
28. Governing Framework
This Privacy Policy is intended to be interpreted consistently with applicable data-protection and privacy requirements in Nigeria and, where relevant, other jurisdictions whose laws may apply to our processing activities.
Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to remove or restrict any mandatory right or protection available to a data subject under applicable law.
Learn. Apply. Grow.