Youth ministry plans equivalent of NYSC scheme for NCE holders

The ministry of youth development says it is working on introducing a training scheme equivalent to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for holders of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).

The NCE is a qualification awarded to individuals who have completed a programme of study in a Nigerian college of education.

College of education graduates who hold the NCE alone are typically excluded from partaking in the NYSC scheme.

To qualify for the NYSC, NCE holders have long had to further their education by obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher national diploma from a university or polytechnic respectively.

Olawande Wisdom, the minister of state for youth development, was in Ibadan for the 2024 opening of “Be More Oyo”, a boot camp founded by Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the wife of Rotimi Akeredolu, former governor of Ondo state.

Wisdom said his ministry would partner with the ministry of education to introduce new training reforms.

He revealed that one of the schemes in the works is an equivalent of NYSC training for NCE holders.

The minister said youth training by organisations like Boys Brigade and Girl Guides kept young people away from social vices in the past.

“The major priority of the ministry is the citizenship and training. We are bringing them back,” he said.

“We have NYSC for those who finished from universities, but what of those who finished from NCE and others?

“So, we want to set up a training such that you don’t need to go to other states to have it. You can have it in your state and the camp.

“A lot of reforms are going on and we are trying as much as possible to bring a renewed hope to people; to the girls and boys.”

Wisdom commended Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu for her work in advocating the development of the girl child.

He called for support for other organisations championing the cause of women and girls in Nigeria.

Anyanwu-Akeredolu said her initiative looks to nurture female leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

“We cannot achieve development if we leave behind 50 percent of our population, made up of women and girls,” she added.