KEY POINTS
- HND graduates go on protest march over discrimination as exclusion from NYSC.
- Education Rights Campaign also picks on larger systemic failures in education.
- Protesters say they are assured their grievances are under review by the highest level in NYSC.
National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) lies on the lips of many higher National Diploma (HND) graduates whose batch transitioned from part time National Diploma (ND) programmes into full time HND programmes, who want to be exempted from performing national service.
Lagos NYSC secretariat was the site of the protest on Monday, when the exercise began for the 2nd stream of Batch C mobilisation.
Fairness and inclusion are now in demand.
The protesters went with placards inscribed with messages such as ‘Say no to discrimination in NYSC’ and equal rights for all’ that they carried to demand immediate retraction from the policy.
Majaro Temitope, who graduated from Yaba College of Technology on behalf of the group described the policy as discriminatory.
Most of us did ND part time and then changed to full time HND. Temitope said, ‘We were not told there is a policy that would deny us chance to serve.’
According to him, notwithstanding letters sent to the Director General of NYSC and the Minister of Education, ‘no response,’ he added. “Given that registration has already started, we hope that the Federal Government and Ministry of Education will revise this unfair policy,” he said.
Implications for broader education
But the policy has attracted criticism from Adebola Osunfunrewa, who is representing the Education Rights Campaign, who said the policy reflected systemic problems in Nigeria’s education sector.
“Whether there’s a severe teacher shortage in a country that has over 3,000 students begging to serve — how?” The government must address this immediately, Osunfunrewa asked.
NYSC’s response to concerns
Speaking for the state coordinator, Ehimuenma Itohan, Assistant Director at Lagos NYSC, assured the protesters that their grievances have already been forwarded to the Director General.
We noticed your protest, and we forwarded it to the highest level of management. Itohan said the Director General is committed to addressing the concerns of the youth but has explained that he is following already existing guidelines.
Stakeholders are yet to reach a conclusion since the NYSC leadership and involved government authorities have not shared anymore information regarding the matter.
