Federal Government Approves Major NYSC Reforms

The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the biggest reform of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) since it was created 53 years ago, introducing a new technology-driven structure, skills training and changes to the orientation camp programme.

The approval was given by the Federal Executive Council, which also directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Youth to amend the NYSC Act so the reforms can take effect.

Under the new plan, corps members will be grouped into 11 specialised streams, including tech and digital, agriculture, education, health, legal services, public service, infrastructure, the creative economy and enterprise.

They will choose a stream based on their academic background, skills and career interests.

Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, said the reforms are designed to make NYSC more useful to both young graduates and the country's economy.

“There was a need for us to intervene to build the present ambition of a $1 trillion economy by repositioning the NYSC as a civilian-led, skill-oriented, productivity-driven, and youth-empowering national institution,” she said.

Bala Usman explained that technology will play a bigger role in registration, deployment and career matching.

“How are you registering in the NYSC?

"What modality is being used to post you to several states?

"How are we recognising the areas where we have security challenges?” she asked.

She said the orientation programme will now follow a structured format.

The first two weeks will focus on civic responsibility, national values and leadership.

The next two weeks will cover career mapping, financial literacy, business planning and access to finance, while the final two weeks will provide specialised training based on each corps member's chosen stream.

“We intend to introduce a structured career day programme to enable corps members engage directly with the public,” Bala Usman said.

She added: “Each corps member... is required to pick one of those corps, and once he registers in that, then we recognise him as a medical corps, and certain trainings will be given for each of those corps.”