Varsities’ Departmental Bottlenecks Stall Graduates’ NYSC Mobilisation

Administrative delays in some university departments are emerging as a major hurdle for graduates seeking mobilisation into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Despite completing their academic programmes, some graduates are unable to move forward because their universities have yet to upload their results for inclusion in the Senate-approved list and clearance for service can become an issue.

The delay in completing these processes means some graduates spend longer periods waiting to begin their NYSC journey.

For many Nigerian university graduates, completing their final examinations is expected to mark the beginning of a new phase of life, including participation in the scheme.

However, for some graduates, the journey from completing academic requirements to being mobilised for national service has become a prolonged wait, with departmental administrative delays emerging as a major obstacle.

At Father Adasu University, Makurdi, some graduates have lamented that delays in the processing and uploading of their academic results have kept them from being cleared for the NYSC mobilisation process.

The affected graduates said they completed their studies more than a year ago but are still waiting for their names to appear on the Senate-approved graduation list required for NYSC registration.

The graduates, who spoke with LEADERSHIP, said the situation had created uncertainty and frustration, particularly for those who had completed their programmes as far back as February 2025.

They appealed to the university management to intervene in the process, clear outstanding departmental issues and ensure that eligible graduates are promptly presented for Senate approval and subsequent mobilisation.

The National Youth Service Corps requires prospective corps members to meet specified eligibility requirements before they can register for mobilisation.

One of the critical stages in the process is the submission and approval of graduates’ names by their respective institutions.

For graduates of universities, the Senate-approved graduation list serves as an official confirmation that the individuals listed have completed their academic programmes and are eligible to proceed with the NYSC process.

Consequently, any delay in the compilation, verification, clearance or uploading of students’ results at the departmental level can affect the subsequent stages of mobilisation.

In many cases, the process begins within individual departments, where students’ academic records are expected to be properly compiled and reconciled before being forwarded through the appropriate university structures.

Results that have not been properly processed or uploaded can therefore prevent eligible students from appearing on the relevant graduation list.

For affected graduates, the delay can mean more than an administrative inconvenience. It can disrupt their plans for national service, employment and further education, particularly where NYSC participation is an important requirement or consideration for securing employment opportunities.

One of the affected graduates of the institution, who studied Psychology and asked not to be named, said he had been waiting for close to two years after completing his studies without knowing when the matter would be resolved.

According to him, his set graduated in February 2025, but the delay in processing their names for the Senate-approved list had left him and other affected graduates uncertain about their next step.

“We graduated in February 2025. Since then, we did not know our fate. When we recently contacted our department, we were told that our names were too many because of the delay in uploading,” he said.

The graduate said the department had assured the affected students that their names would eventually be uploaded, but added that they were yet to receive any concrete feedback on when the process would be completed.

“We were told that they would upload the list, but we are yet to get any feedback,” he added.

The uncertainty, he said, had become particularly worrying because many of the affected graduates were hoping to participate in the next available NYSC mobilisation exercise.

“We are pleading with the university management to intervene and ensure that our names are uploaded so that we shall be able to join Batch C coming up in two months’ time,” he said.