The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has announced a new policy requiring Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates to provide evidence of completing a one-year mandatory Industrial Training (IT) before being eligible for national service......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
This policy shift, announced on NYSC’s official Facebook page, has left many HND graduates at risk of exclusion from the upcoming Batch B Stream II orientation camp, scheduled to begin on August 28, 2024.
According to the law, the one-year IT is a prerequisite for admission into HND programs at polytechnics and monotechnics. However, it has come to light that some institutions have been admitting students without confirming their completion of the required training. As a result, thousands of graduates now face hurdles in participating in national service, despite being mobilized by the NYSC.
Yetunde Baderinwa, the NYSC coordinator in Lagos State, emphasized the importance of the one-year IT, stating, “The one-year IT is a prerequisite for HND. They must undergo the one-year IT with evidence of completion before going for HND, and institutions must confirm this before admitting them for HND.”
Affected HND graduates are calling for leniency, arguing that their institutions are to blame for admitting them without requiring the mandatory IT certificate or alerting them to its necessity. Many graduates, like Hauwa from Kaduna State Polytechnic, express frustration and worry about being disqualified from service due to this new requirement.
As prospective corps members await further clarification on the issue, they hope for a resolution that considers their circumstances while the rule takes effect in subsequent years. The NYSC has not yet provided any official statement addressing the concerns of the affected graduates or the institutions’ role in the matter.