Brig. Gen. Dogara Ahmed, the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has identified several challenges that are affecting the NYSC programme. These challenges include poor quality graduates, racketeering of corps members’ relocations, inadequate facilities, and incorrect submission of graduates’ data.
The NYSC DG addressed these issues during a lecture titled ‘Harnessing the Potential of the Nigerian Youths for National Unity and Development’ at the 5th convocation lecture of the Edo State University, Uzairue, on Friday.
He highlighted that the NYSC mobilizes an average of 350,000 corps members annually to promote national unity and development.
Representing the NYSC DG, the Director of the South South Zone, Ladan Baba, acknowledged the scheme’s numerous achievements but also emphasized the challenges it continues to face.
These challenges include “inadequate facilities in orientation camps, poor infrastructure, incorrect data submission of graduates, presentation of poor quality graduates for mobilization and deployment, as well as racketeering of corps members’ relocations.”
He called upon state governments to fulfill their responsibilities in providing, maintaining, and upgrading camp facilities within their jurisdictions.
The NYSC has made significant contributions to the education sector by deploying corps members as teachers in primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. They play a crucial role in rural communities, serving as the primary workforce.
Corp members are also involved in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, NYSC ventures, general elections, national census, and skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development.
The NYSC programme was established as a deliberate public policy aimed at achieving the government’s post-war strategy of Reconciliation, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation (RRR).
