NYSC Seeks Vice-chancellors' Support For Credible Mobilization

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has appealed to the Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to assist in ensuring only qualified graduates of their institutions are presented for mobilization for National Service.

This comes as the Scheme also urged the Universities and other Corps Producing Institutions (CPIs) to ensure proper documentation of students on transfer in order to prevent unqualified graduates, especially those from unaccredited institutions in Benin Republic and Togo from appearing on their mobilization lists.

These calls were made by the Director General (DG) of NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, while addressing the Committee of Vice-Chancellors (VCs) of Nigerian Universities in Abuja.

He commended the VCs for superintending over the process of producing graduates, who were worthy in learning and in character, for the global job market and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Nafiu, who identified the shortcomings of some of the institutions that hindered the efficiency of the mobilization process to include poor ICT knowledge and infrastructure, pointed out that the process had since been fully automated and, therefore urged them to put in place appropriate infrastructure to be manned by skilled IT personnel.

The DG noted that lack of ICT knowledge had compelled some Registrars and Student Affairs Officers (SAOs) to give their login details to unauthorized persons thereby creating room for sharp practices.

He also decried the signing of correspondences to NYSC, which should normally emanate from Registrars of the institutions, by some unauthorized officials in the latter’s bid to cover their tracks when they had committed infractions, adding: “It is important to clarify that the NYSC only attends to communications that are signed by Vice-Chancellors or Registrars, and not by any other parties.”

He urged the institutions to notify the Mobilization and ICT Departments of the Scheme in good time whenever they had any issue with uploading of their graduates’ lists.

The DG noted the increasing requests for alteration of PCMs’ data from some institutions, especially change of graduation dates or dates of birth, stressing that such could lead to incorrect mobilization. He said NYSC obtained its primary mobilization data from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and verified bio-data with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

“Any discrepancies between what a PCM provided at matriculation and what is recorded by JAMB are deemed unacceptable. When institutions or Prospective Corps Members present cases that appear genuine, such as mistakes in names or dates, we advise them to consult JAMB and ensure the records align with those at NIMC,” he said.

He used the occasion to inform the VCs that NYSC would start implementation of the new policy requiring prospective Corps Members to present proof of compliance with the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD) requirements as soon as the outstanding issues were resolved.

The DG assured of the Scheme’s readiness to partner with the Universities and other Corps Producing Institutions in a bid to ensure smooth mobilisation of eligible Nigerian graduates, adding: “As the Chief Executives of universities, we trust in your readiness to assist us in successfully discharging our mandate, just as NYSC remains committed to helping you achieve your objectives.”

Responding on behalf of his colleagues, the VC of the Igbinedion University Okada, and Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors, Professor Lawrence Ezemonye lauded the administrative style of the NYSC DG while also commending his passion for the improvement of the country’s education system.

He assured that all the lapses identified in the Universities’ handling of the mobilization process would be addressed.

NYSC Seeks Vice-chancellors’ Support For Credible Mobilization

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