The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, has commended the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for its digitalised approach to the mobilisation of graduates, which he said is effectively addressing certificate racketeering among some foreign-trained graduates within West Africa.
Dr Alausa made the remarks in Abuja during a courtesy visit by the NYSC Director General, Brigadier General Oluseye Nafiu. He also praised the scheme for resolving the longstanding issue involving Ordinary National Diploma (OND) part-time graduates who obtained full-time Higher National Diplomas (HND) and were previously exempted from the national service.
He disclosed that the Ministry of Education is working to digitize the verification process for foreign-trained Nigerian graduates, and pledged closer collaboration between the Ministry and NYSC to improve the quality of education and support national development.
The Minister proposed the deployment of more graduate teachers to rural schools to help address the shortage of qualified personnel in those areas. He also advocated for an extension of the NYSC service year from one to two years, suggesting that the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme should be expanded to better equip corps members to become job creators.
“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 stated.
In his remarks, Brigadier General Nafiu praised the Ministry for its achievements and called for the creation of a comprehensive database for Nigerian students studying abroad. He said this would enhance the tracking of academic credentials and help eliminate the presence of fake graduates in the system.
“NYSC is ready to comply with policy guidelines as directed by the Federal Government. We are also trying to reform the Scheme to conform with the present national needs,” Nafiu said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, also expressed the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with the NYSC to enhance education standards across the country.
