The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has announced that the Federal Ministry of Education is proposing an extension of the national service duration from one year to two years.
This proposal was revealed in a statement issued on Saturday by the NYSC’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Caroline Embu.
The announcement follows a visit by NYSC Director-General Olakunle Nafiu to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, in Abuja on Friday. The visit is part of ongoing reform efforts aimed at addressing certificate racketeering and enhancing the integrity of the NYSC scheme.
In 2024, a federal investigation uncovered that approximately 22,789 Nigerians had submitted fraudulent foreign degree certificates to enroll in the NYSC program. This discovery prompted a nationwide crackdown and initiated reforms to cleanse the system.
Alausa emphasized the ministry’s ongoing efforts to digitize the verification process for foreign-trained Nigerian graduates and praised the NYSC for its digital transformation of the mobilization process, which has significantly reduced certificate fraud.
During the meeting, the education minister advocated for the extension of the NYSC service year to two years. He suggested that this would provide an opportunity to expand the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) program for corps members. “You have done so well as an organization. Let NYSC provide more opportunities for people to become job creators that will meet the needs of the country,” Alausa said.
In response to the proposal, the NYSC DG reiterated the scheme’s commitment to aligning with federal government directives. “We are also working to reform the scheme to meet current national needs,” Nafiu stated.
He also called for the creation of a central database to track Nigerian youths studying abroad for undergraduate programs. According to Nafiu, such a database would offer the government a reliable record of students and help combat the issue of fake graduates.
