Nigerians have continued to express divergent views on the Federal Government’s extension of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation course as well as other reforms it approved for the scheme.
The government extended the orientation course from three weeks to six weeks.
The reforms were aimed at strengthening skills acquisition, improving career development and repositioning the scheme to better meet national development needs.
In interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday, some citizens said the extension would improve employability, but others described it as ill-timed and unnecessary.
A serving corps member, Miss Victoria Oyerinde, said a six-week orientation course would provide additional time for training, skills acquisition and bonding of corps members, if properly structured.
She said, however, that the longer duration could impose an additional financial burden on participants, except that there would be improved camp conditions, transparent posting and adequate funding for the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
An undergraduate, Miss Melody Addo, said the reforms reflected good intentions and urged effective implementation to enable them to adequately equip corps members for national service and the future.
She suggested integrating skills acquisition throughout the one-year national service and placing greater emphasis on digital skills to improve graduates’ employability.
A teacher, Miss Kemisola Odejide, described the extension as ill-timed, saying that the Federal Government had yet to adequately address challenges relating to corps members’ feeding, accommodation, healthcare and general welfare in the existing three-week programme.
She, however, welcomed the introduction of specialised career streams, saying that posting corps members to organisations related to their fields of study would add value to their national service and provide them with relevant work experience.
Odejide urged the government to prioritise timely payment of corps members’ allowances, improved security and general welfare.
She said that the government should not consider changing corps members’ uniforms from the traditional Khaki to Adire, arguing that Khaki reflected the scheme’s national outlook.
A former corps member, Miss Esther Oluwakomiyo, described the six-week orientation course as excessive.
She, however, said that specialised postings would benefit graduates whose assignments would align with their academic disciplines.
She urged that broader reforms of Nigeria’s education system and improved employment opportunities for tertiary institution graduates should be given more attention.
An entrepreneur, Mr Oluwasegun Sowunmi, said the government should improve camp facilities, decongest orientation camps, enhance corps members’ feeding, and extend the duration of the orientation course.
According to him, specialised career streams would only be meaningful if they are linked to relevant employment opportunities after national service.
He advocated making the extended orientation course optional, and called for increased allowances, improved security and improved general welfare for corps members.
Another entrepreneur, Mr David Edogun, said the extension was not necessary, describing the current three-week orientation course as sufficient.
He, however, lauded career-based postings, saying they would improve graduates’ knowledge and skills.
Edogun urged the government to prioritise national security, improve camp facilities and review of corps members’ monthly allowance upwards.
An employer, Mr Ekemini Ido, urged the government to focus on strengthening graduates’ employability through improved education curricula and better utilisation of the NYSC SAED programme rather than extending the orientation course.
