By Hope Temitope
Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates who had completed part-time National Diploma programs have shown opposition to the proposed exclusion of HND graduates from the National Youth Service Corps scheme.
This protest started as the registration for stream two of Batch C mobilisation began on Monday, January 6.
The affected graduates gathered at the NYSC secretariat in Lagos early on Monday morning, holding placards with messages like ‘Say No To Discrimination in NYSC’ and ‘Equal Rights for All,’ calling for their inclusion in the NYSC mobilisation process.
Majaro Temitope, who completed his HND program at Yaba College of Technology, spoke on behalf of the graduates, expressing concerns over the proposed exclusion.
He described the policy as discriminatory, emphasising that many of them had worked hard to transition from part-time ND programs to full-time HND programs.
“Many of us here did ND part-time and later switched to full-time HND. We were not told there is a policy that will deny us the opportunity to serve, despite the struggles we faced during our ND years,” he said.
Temitope mentioned that they had written letters to relevant authorities seeking intervention, but had yet to receive a response. He called on the Director-General of NYSC and the Minister of Education to address the issue.
“We’ve already written to the Director-General and JAMB about this matter. We just hope the Federal Government and Ministry of Education will review this unfair policy, especially since the registration has already started and we have yet to register,” he added.
