As the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp opened yesterday across the country, Polytechnic graduates with the Higher National Diploma (HND) without Industrial Training (IT) certification were sent back.
NYSC had introduced a new policy demanding IT certification for those seeking to fulfil their national service obligations and has halted the screening process for some HND graduates.
LEADERSHIP had earlier reported how the NYSC had announced that HND graduates must provide evidence of completing their one-year mandatory IT certificate before being registered in their respective camps.
The policy mandates that graduates of polytechnics and monotechnics who had been mobilised for Batch B Stream II provide evidence of the mandatory one-year Industrial Training (IT) as a requirement for participating in the camp.
Our correspondent, who visited the NYSC Orientation Camp in Kubwa, Abuja, on Tuesday at 11 a.m., observed that registration was going smoothly with corps members who had all the requirements.
However, a few corps members who were rejected due to the absence of an IT certificate lamented that they had already completed their degrees and were ready to serve the country, only to find themselves excluded due to certification.
They expressed hope for a resolution that allows them to fulfil their service obligations without being penalised for unforeseen gaps in documentation.
One of the corps members who spoke anonymously, because she did not want her name to appear in public, described the process as wrongly timed since their mates were already serving without passing through the hurdle.
“They are asking for the IT certificate; once you present it and other documents, they ask you to proceed with the registration. The requirement has led to frustration among some corps members. Most of the corps members without the IT certificate are frustrated, as you can see some of them there,” she said.
A nursing mother, Mrs. Hauwa Collins, who came to register early in the morning, told our correspondent that the process was transparent as long as you had all the necessary documents.
“I arrived at the camp before 10 a.m. When the screening started, I was asked to present my IT certificate, age declaration, and other documents. They did not waste time after verifying all the records. I have collected my kits now and I am about to finish the registration.
“But some of our colleagues are frustrated. I met one woman who came from Kaduna and is upset because she was screened out,” she added.
At the time of this report, corps members were still arriving at the camp, and the victims’ fate remains uncertain.
However, our reporter could not obtain further details due to tight security checks that prevented non-corps members from entering the camp.
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