Thousands of Higher National Diploma graduates from polytechnics across the country are stranded months, and in some cases, years, after graduation as they await mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps.
Many of the graduates blamed administrative bottlenecks within their institutions and the limited mobilisation quota allocated by the scheme.
Findings by Sunday PUNCH showed that the prolonged delay has left many affected graduates unable to secure employment or advance their careers.
While some graduates initially linked the problem to admission documentation processed through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the board has clarified that it does not handle admissions into Higher National Diploma programmes, shifting attention to institutional clearance processes and the NYSC mobilisation framework.
We are tired of waiting – Graduates
Some of the affected graduates, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH, described the experience as frustrating, adding that their career plans had been disrupted as they lamented exposure to economic and social pressure.
Kaduna State Polytechnic has recently been in the news over the alleged constant delay in mobilising its graduates for the NYSC programme.
A graduate of the institution, who identified himself simply as Usman, said he graduated two years ago and had yet to be mobilised for youth service despite submitting the required documentation.
He accused the management of the polytechnic of complicity.
Usman said, “They keep asking us to submit documents again and again, and nothing changes. I submitted my regularisation printout, but they said they could not find it. I submitted it again, and still nothing. People keep asking me about my NYSC status, and it is frustrating.”
Another graduate, Zainab Asmau, said the situation had caused her emotional and financial strain.
She claimed that many graduates of the polytechnic had waited over three years without mobilisation.
“This is not just a delay on paper; it has destroyed real lives. Qualified graduates have lost job opportunities simply because they cannot present an NYSC certificate,” she said.
Another graduate of the polytechnic, Abubakar, said the delay had left many graduates watching their peers move ahead with their careers.
“Imagine gaining admission before your younger brother. You eventually graduate. But while you are waiting to be mobilised, your younger brother has already finished his programme and moved ahead. It is very painful,” he said.
However, an official of the Kaduna State Polytechnic, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said the delay was partly due to the limited mobilisation slots allocated to institutions.
“Kaduna Polytechnic has thousands of students, but every institution is given a specific number of slots for mobilisation by NYSC. So, it is impossible for all graduates to be mobilised at once,” the official said.
He noted that the backlog was also linked to broader challenges facing the NYSC scheme.
A Kaduna-based radio presenter, Omachi Philip, also criticised the situation in a video posted on his Facebook page, saying thousands of graduates from Kaduna Polytechnic had yet to be mobilised.
“What did Kaduna Polytechnic do to NYSC that students will finish school and mobilisation becomes a problem? Some parents are beginning to doubt whether their children actually went to school because someone graduates and more than three years later he has not served,” he said.
Similarly, a graduate of Quantity Surveying from Kwara State Polytechnic, Idayat Folorunso, said she completed her HND programme in July last year but was still waiting to be called up for service.
“I finished HND in July last year. They told us they were working on our mobilisation for NYSC, even after the graduation list was released. Those who graduated before us also waited for almost a year before they were mobilised,” she said.
Similarly, one of the affected graduates from the Administration Department of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, Ibrahim Koleoso, said many graduates of the institution had been waiting to be mobilised for the NYSC for the past eight months.
Koleoso disclosed that he and many of his colleagues had spent four months.
According to him, the delay has left many graduates stranded at home without opportunities to secure employment.
“I graduated last year and we are still expecting the NYSC mobilisation. It is almost four months now. We are tired of staying at home. You cannot apply for jobs. There are people who have been delayed for eight months. Some even finished but their results have not been released. Without the result, you cannot register for NYSC,” he said.
A former Students’ Union Government President of Adamawa State Polytechnic, Saheed Muhammed, accused the NYSC management of not prioritising polytechnic graduates for mobilisation.
“The NYSC management is always sidelining polytechnic graduates. They collect their money and, in the end, they do not mobilise them. Some schools also run HND programmes without meeting the prerequisites, and that delays students,” he said.
Credit: punchng.com
