The Federal Government has approved a major restructuring of the National Youth Service Corps, marking the first comprehensive review of the scheme since it was created in 1973.
The Federal Executive Council gave the approval on Monday in Abuja.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, described it as a “holistic review” of the 53-year-old programme.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, said the changes will affect how corps members are trained, deployed and recognised.
According to Usman, the orientation exercise will now run for six weeks instead of three and will be delivered in three separate two-week blocks.
“The first two weeks will focus on civic responsibility, national values and leadership development”, she stated.
She added that the second phase will address career preparation and finance.
“The next two weeks will cover career mapping, basic accounting and financial literacy, business planning and access to finance”.
“And then we intend to introduce a structured career day programme to enable corps members engage directly with the public”, Usman said.
Usman described the final two weeks as “minimal period”, which will be dedicated to specialised training.
“The final two weeks will be dedicated to stream-specific training aligned with each corps member’s designated stream, based on their choice, academic background and skill profile”, she explained.
Under the new framework, every corps member must choose one of 11 specialised streams at registration.
Usman listed them as: Agric Corps, Medical Corps, Education Corps, Tech and Digital Corps, Legal Corps, Public Service Corps, Infrastructure Corps, Green Corps, Enterprise Corps, Creative Economy Corps and Paramilitary and Security Corps.
She said corps members will be identified by their stream, for instance as members of the Medical Corps and will receive training tailored to that track in the last phase of camp.
“The streams were designed to equip graduates with practical skills tailored to their academic backgrounds, career interests and the needs of Nigeria’s workforce”, Usman noted.
The reform also revises posting arrangements. Usman said deployment across states will now give more weight to security conditions in different parts of the country.
This aligns with what Olawande earlier called “risk-sensitive deployment.”
Other adjustments include a shift to civilian leadership for NYSC, while the military will continue to provide security nationwide.
The scheme will also adopt a new uniform “that reflects professionalism and national pride”, and replace the Passing Out Parade with a graduation ceremony.
Olawande said a national grading and certification system will be introduced to raise standards in all orientation camps.
Usman said the reform covers “all the strategic aspects” of NYSC, from registration to training and deployment and represents the scheme’s first full review in five decades.
The FEC has directed the Attorney-General of the Federation, working with the Ministry of Youth Development, to amend the NYSC Act and its regulations to give legal effect to the changes.
