The Federal Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, has hinted at a possible extension of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) duration from one year to two years, as part of broader efforts to make the scheme more impactful for Nigerian graduates.
During a courtesy visit by the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, at the Ministry’s office in Abuja, the minister emphasized the need to rethink the current structure of the NYSC program—especially its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) component.
He proposed that a two-year NYSC term would give corps members more time to develop practical, job-creating skills that would benefit them and the nation at large.
“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 official statement shared on NYSC’s Facebook page read.
Commending the NYSC’s impact so far, Alausa encouraged the organization to focus even more on nurturing entrepreneurship among youth.
“You have done so well as an organization. Let NYSC give people more opportunity to become job creators that will meet the needs of the country,” Alausa said.
He also addressed the challenge of inadequate teaching staff in rural communities and called for increased deployment of graduate teachers to those areas. This, he noted, would help bridge the manpower gap in Nigeria’s education system.
On the issue of certificate fraud—particularly concerning foreign-trained graduates—Alausa applauded the NYSC for improving accountability through digital initiatives. He recognized their efforts in resolving long-standing issues, including the clarification of service eligibility for certain OND and HND graduates.
“The NYSC has done well in resolving the issue of OND part-time graduates with full-time HND qualifications who were previously exempted from national service,” he said.
Alausa also shared that the Ministry is working on digitizing the verification process for foreign-trained Nigerians, reinforcing its commitment to transparency and credibility. He stressed that collaboration between the Ministry and NYSC would continue to play a key role in national development.
Brigadier General Nafiu, in response, acknowledged the Ministry’s reforms in the education sector and backed the idea of setting up a centralized database for Nigerian students studying abroad. According to him, such a system would help weed out fake graduates and clamp down on certificate racketeering.
“NYSC is ready to comply with policy guidelines as directed by the Federal Government. We are also trying to reform the Scheme to conform to the present national needs,” Nafiu stated.
Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, also reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to working hand in hand with NYSC to enhance educational standards and youth empowerment across the country.
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