The Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, has proposed an extension of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme from one year to two years.
Grassroots Parrot reports that Alausa made this known on Friday during a courtesy visit by the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, to his office in Abuja.
According to a statement posted on NYSC’s official Facebook page, the minister also advocated for the enhancement of the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programme for corps members.
“The minister also advocated for the extension of national service from one to two years, with the expansion of NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Training programme content for corps members,” the statement read.
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Alausa emphasized the importance of deploying more graduate teachers to rural schools to address the significant manpower shortage in those areas.
The minister commended the NYSC leadership for its proactive and digitized approach to the mobilisation process, particularly in tackling certificate fraud among foreign-trained graduates from West Africa.
He further acknowledged NYSC’s success in resolving the long-standing issue concerning part-time OND holders with full-time HND qualifications who were previously exempted from the scheme.
According to him, efforts are underway to digitise the verification process for foreign-trained Nigerian graduates. He also reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening its collaboration with NYSC to enhance education and promote national development.
“You have done excellently as an organisation. NYSC should create more opportunities for corps members to become job creators, contributing meaningfully to the nation’s development,” Alausa said.
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In his remarks, Brigadier General Nafiu praised the Ministry’s innovations and achievements in the education sector.
He called for the creation of a comprehensive database of Nigerian students pursuing degrees abroad, which he said would help identify fake graduates and support better policy planning.
“NYSC is committed to aligning with government policies and is actively reforming the scheme to meet current national demands,” he added.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, expressed the Ministry’s readiness to collaborate more closely with NYSC in raising the quality of education across the country.