Education minister calls for NYSC to be extended to two years

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education is proposing an extension of the national service duration from one to two years.

The proposal was made public in a statement issued on Saturday by the NYSC’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Caroline Embu.

The development was revealed following a visit by NYSC Director-General Olakunle Nafiu to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, in Abuja on Friday. The visit forms part of broader reform efforts aimed at tackling certificate racketeering and improving the integrity of the NYSC scheme.

In 2024, a federal investigation uncovered that approximately 22,789 Nigerians had submitted fake foreign degree certificates to enrol in the NYSC programme. This revelation triggered a nationwide crackdown and a series of reforms to sanitize the system.

Alausa highlighted the ministry’s ongoing efforts to digitise the verification process for foreign-trained Nigerian graduates. He also commended the NYSC for its digitisation of the mobilisation process, a move he said has significantly curbed certificate fraud

The education minister reportedly advocated for the extension of the NYSC service year to two years, stating that it would allow for an expansion of the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme for corps members. “You have done so well as an organisation.

Let NYSC give people more opportunity to become job creators that will meet the needs of the country,” Alausa said during the meeting.

Responding to the proposal, the NYSC DG reaffirmed the scheme’s commitment to aligning with federal government directives. “We are also trying to reform the scheme to conform with the present national needs,” Nafiu stated.

He also called for the creation of a central database to track Nigerian youths travelling abroad for undergraduate studies. According to him, such a database would provide the government with a reliable record of students and help eliminate the prevalence of fake graduates.