The Minister of Education, Prof. Olatunji Alausa, has proposed the extension of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme from one year to two years to further enhance youth development and national service impact.
He made the call on Friday during a courtesy visit by the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Akinyemi Nafiu, to his office in Abuja.
According to a statement posted on NYSC’s official Facebook page, the minister also advocated for the expansion of the NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme to equip corps members with more relevant and practical skills.
Alausa emphasised the need to deploy more graduate teachers to rural areas, describing the move as a strategic step to bridge the manpower gap in underserved communities.
Commending NYSC for its efforts in curbing certificate racketeering involving foreign-trained graduates in West Africa, he also praised the resolution of issues concerning OND part-time graduates with full-time HND certificates who were previously exempted from service.
He noted that the Ministry is working to digitise the verification process for foreign-trained Nigerian graduates and pledged stronger collaboration with NYSC to improve education and national development.
“You have done well as an organisation. Let NYSC give more opportunities for young Nigerians to become job creators who can meet the needs of the country,” Alausa said.
In his remarks, Brig-Gen. Nafiu commended the Ministry’s strides in education reform and called for the creation of a database to monitor Nigerian youths studying abroad, which would help combat the proliferation of fake certificates.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to working closely with NYSC to improve education in Nigeria.
