ERC CONDEMNS THE NYSC DISCRIMINATORY POLICY DISQUALIFING FULL-TIME HND GRADUATES WHO TRANSITIONED FROM PART-TIME ND FROM PARTAKING IN THE NYSC

WE CALL FOR THE REVERSAL OF THIS UNJUST POLICY, AND IMMEDIATE MOBILIZATION OF ALL AFFECTED STUDENTS

The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) strongly condemns the recent decision of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to exclude Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates who completed their National Diploma (ND) through a part-time programme. This policy not only undermines the efforts of thousands of hardworking Nigerian students, but also perpetrates unnecessary discrimination in the education system.

Education in Nigeria, on the basis of its age-long collapse due to chronic under-funding and corruption, is a journey fraught with numerous challenges for students. Many students resort to a part-time programme because of financial constraints, as it offers them opportunity to work so as to be able to meet up with the ever increasing financial demands that commercialization of education imposes. For these students, part-time education is a chance to acquire knowledge and skill for the benefits of both themselves and the society. Therefore, this policy only seeks to punish students from the poor and working class  backgrounds striving to overcome challenges created by government’s years of neglect of public education.

We also consider this policy lacking in logical basis; the affected students are graduates who have successfully completed their full-time programme as stipulated in the criteria of NYSC. Why exclude them on the basis of their record of ND part-time programme history?

The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) calls on the board of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to immediately reverse this unjust and discriminatory policy, and also begin the immediate mobilization of all affected students.

We also call on the leaderships of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) to wake up to their responsibility of defending students against terrible policies like this, including underfunding of public education. It is also important for students, both those presently affected and those who would soon meet the same fate, to begin to organize for a resistance.

Ogunjimi Isaac

Deputy National Coordinator

Adaramoye Michael Lenin

National Mobilization Officer.

Email: [email protected]