I was very excited when I got calls and comments from some of those who read my previous blog post (http://chibvin.blogspot.com/2012/10/what-does-it-mean-to-serve.html). I had taken it for granted that everyone who reads my blog understood how the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program works in Nigeria. This post should address some of the questions I received, help clarify how the program works, and why the changes I proposed are feasible. For those who haven't read the earlier post: "What does it mean to serve?" you can read this post before reading the earlier blog post.
How does the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Program work?
The NYSC program is a mandatory one year service program required of all university graduates in Nigeria. Once a student graduates, the student is randomly assigned to serve in a state. There are certain rules of course that govern this "random assignment:"
- The student cannot serve in his/her state of origin. Meaning that if I am from New York, I cannot serve in New York. I would have to serve in a different state, for example Texas.
- The student does NOT have a say in where he/she can be posted. When the NYSC posting assignment is made available, students look for their names on a list and if they find they have been posted to the state of Alaska for example, they cannot reject it.
- Without the NYSC certificate, a Nigerian university graduate CANNOT legally get a job in Nigeria.
