Hands-on education ministry opens NYSC call-up for HND holders formerly missing out
As soon as maybe between April and May of this year, those graduates who recently secured their Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate from any polytechnic under regulatory supervision and have completed their programme as full-time enrollees, this lot would now be eligible to undertake the national youth service, unlike predecessors who missed out. It would all be thanks to an ongoing rejigging strategy in effect at Nigeria’s education ministry.
On October 23, 2024, President Bola Tinubu carrying out a much-needed ministerial reshuffle moved Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa from the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare post and further up to become Nigeria’s 31st Minister of Education during a significant cabinet reshuffle.
Dr. Alausa took over the post from Prof. Tahir Mamman who was dismissed, and ever since the incumbent has been setting precedence and fulfilling promises.
Being that the reason for his appointment was obviously because a drastic change of direction for the better was the demand, on Valentine’s Day, it meant the new minister projecting a personality that depicts one who is hands-on vial visits to various federally-run schools including the Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) in Lagos.
It was there on Friday 14 February that Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa pledged to resolve what to a category seems to be a major issue with life-long consequences.
There had been agitation, advocacy, and dialogue initiated by the affected students together with relevant authorities prior to this.
Now, what request has been granted? It is simply for the students who completed their National Diploma course on a part-time basis and proceeded afterwards to full-time Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes be given the right to participate in the mandatory National Youth Service scheme which has historically prioritised university graduates.
When the Honourable Minister of Education Alausa met with Yabatech students, the plan was to work things out in under four weeks and that is exactly what has happened based on yesterday’s press release by his department.
The statement published by the ministry’s press and public relations director Boriowo Folasade said that the minister is pleased to announce the resolution of the long-standing issue regarding the mobilisation of Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
It adds that the arrangement was reached following a dialogue with NYSC’s Director-General Brigadier General Kunle Nafiu but emphasis was laid on the scheme being open to full-time HND graduates only, with this group being urged to proceed with their mobilisation having gone through the required screening process.
Maybe at one time, the dichotomy between Polytechnic HND degree holders and University learning counterparts was intense but now less so, yet this latest announcement and resolution does not mean the end of comparison as there are still other situational demographics like part-time students who are still going to be left out of joining a diverse range of youths to experience Nigeria through knowledge-sharing and ultimately service.
Those whose loud yearnings for inclusion have been heard for the moment are the national diploma students who later transitioned into the following HND cadre, perhaps it would be the part-time category that gets the next something-new courtesy of the education ministry and hands-on Dr. Alausa.
On behalf of the affected HND full-time students, we really appreciate your support and kind gesture in a bid to find a lasting solution to this problem. We say a big thank you sir – may you continue to succeed in your endeavour, reads a post on X written by Folaranmi Sadam Gbolahan.
The next one from Goodness Gerard remembers watching the dialogue the minister had with the students of Yabatech, where they made their complaints and you assured them that you’d look into the issue.
A few weeks later, the writer noticed this issue had been resolved. For the speed in reaction, Mr Gerrard sent praise to the minister and ended with: If only we had more leaders who would make good on their promises.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
