NYSC Delay Leaves Thousands of Graduates Stranded
Thousands of graduates across Nigeria remain stranded months and in some cases years after completing their studies as they await mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Many of the affected graduates attribute the delay to administrative bottlenecks within their institutions and the limited mobilisation quota allocated to schools by the NYSC.
Investigations by Sunday PUNCH reveal that the prolonged delay has left many graduates unable to secure employment or advance their careers.
While some graduates initially blamed the problem on admission documentation processed through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the board clarified that it does not handle admissions into HND programmes. This clarification has shifted attention to institutional clearance processes and the NYSC mobilisation framework.
Several affected graduates who spoke with Sunday PUNCH described the situation as frustrating, saying the delay has disrupted their career plans and exposed them to economic and social pressure.
Kaduna State Polytechnic has recently faced criticism over the alleged persistent 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 but had yet to be mobilised despite submitting all required documents.
He accused the institution’s management of negligence.
“They keep asking us to submit documents repeatedly, but nothing changes,” Usman said. “I submitted my regularisation printout, but they said they could not find it. I submitted it again, and still nothing. People keep asking about my NYSC status, and it’s frustrating.”
Another graduate, Zainab Asmau, said the delay had caused her both emotional and financial strain.
According to her, some graduates from the polytechnic have waited for more than three years without mobilisation.
“This is not just a delay on paper; it has affected real lives. Qualified graduates have lost job opportunities simply because they cannot present an NYSC certificate,” she said.
Similarly, another graduate of the institution, Abubakar, said many graduates feel left behind while their peers move ahead with their careers.
“Imagine gaining admission before your younger brother and graduating earlier. Yet while you are waiting to be mobilised, your younger brother has finished his programme and moved ahead. It is very painful,” he said.
However, an official of Kaduna State Polytechnic, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said the delay was partly due to limited mobilisation slots allocated to institutions.
“Kaduna Polytechnic has thousands of students, but every institution receives a specific number of mobilisation slots from the NYSC. It is therefore impossible to mobilise all graduates at once,” the official explained.
He added that the backlog is also linked to broader challenges within the NYSC scheme.
A Kaduna-based radio presenter, Omachi Philip, also criticised the situation in a video posted on his Facebook page, claiming thousands of Kaduna Polytechnic graduates were still waiting for mobilisation.
“What did Kaduna Polytechnic do to NYSC that students finish school and mobilisation becomes a problem? Some parents are beginning to doubt whether their children actually graduated because someone finishes school and three years later has still not served,” he said.
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 mobilised.
“I finished my HND in July last year. They told us they were working on our mobilisation even after the graduation list was released. Those who graduated before us also waited nearly a year before being mobilised,” she said.
Likewise, Ibrahim Koleoso, a graduate from the Administration Department of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, said many graduates of the institution had been waiting for about eight months for mobilisation.
According to him, the delay has left many graduates stranded at home.
“I graduated last year and we are still waiting for NYSC mobilisation. It has been almost four months. You cannot even apply for many jobs. Some people have waited eight months. Others have finished school but their results have not been released, and 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 sidelining polytechnic graduates.
“The NYSC management tends to sideline polytechnic graduates. Some institutions also run HND programmes without meeting necessary requirements, which further delays students,” he said.
Some graduates of Kano State Polytechnic also blamed the NYSC for the delays, alleging that the scheme has become selective due to the increasing number of graduates produced annually.
One graduate who completed his programme in July 2025 said he had spent over eight months waiting for mobilisation.
“I graduated from Kano State Polytechnic about eight months ago, but I am still at home waiting for mobilisation,” he said.
He added that two of his friends who graduated from Bayero University Kano in March 2025 had also not been mobilised.
Another graduate, Sani, described the delay as a national problem affecting many institutions and urged the Federal Government to address the bottlenecks in the mobilisation process.
However, the Head of Public Affairs at Kano State Polytechnic, Auwal Bagwai, attributed the delay to documentation discrepancies involving JAMB and the NYSC.
“Some graduates were rejected during the upload process due to unrecognised or invalid JAMB registration numbers,” he said.
Bagwai added that affected graduates were advised to reprint and re-upload their JAMB slips to correct the discrepancies.
Polytechnic graduates in Sokoto State also expressed frustration over the delay in mobilisation.
A graduate of The Polytechnic, Sokoto, Ibrahim Yusuf, said the situation had prevented many graduates from securing stable employment.
“I graduated about eight months ago and expected to be mobilised with the next batch, but our names have not appeared on the portal,” he said.
Similarly, graduates of Edo State Polytechnic have also been affected.
The institution’s Public Relations Officer, John Eson, explained that partial accreditation of some programmes contributed to the delay.
“Some programmes were granted partial accreditation, and we are working with the National Board for Technical Education to resolve the issue,” he said.
Education data show that universities and polytechnics together produce about 600,000 graduates annually, while the NYSC mobilises only between 240,000 and 350,000 corps members each year, creating a growing backlog.
Reports indicate that more than 500,000 graduates are currently awaiting mobilisation.
Analysts say the backlog worsened after the Federal Government increased corps members’ monthly allowance from ₦33,000 to ₦77,000, which may have limited the number of graduates mobilised in each batch.
Experts warn that the delays are worsening youth unemployment because many employers require proof of NYSC completion.
They also caution that as more tertiary institutions are established nationwide, pressure on the mobilisation system will continue to grow unless the NYSC expands its annual capacity.
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said the board is not responsible for HND admissions or NYSC mobilisation.
According to a statement signed by JAMB’s Public Communication Adviser, Fabian Benjamin, the board only facilitates admission into National Diploma, degree and Nigeria Certificate in Education programmes.
“The board does not admit HND students into polytechnics and therefore does not possess the data required for NYSC mobilisation,” he said.
He advised affected graduates to direct their complaints to the relevant institutions.
The National Board for Technical Education attributed mobilisation delays to institutional non-compliance with academic regulations.
NBTE Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, speaking through the board’s NYSC Desk Officer, Dauda Baba-Halal, explained that some institutions fail to enforce the mandatory one-year Industrial Training required between the National Diploma and HND programmes.
“If a student proceeds to HND without completing the mandatory one-year Industrial Training, the NYSC will not mobilise that student,” he said.
He added that institutions must also upload student records to the NBTE HND admission portal for verification.
“Mobilisation largely depends on timely and accurate uploading of students’ records by institutions,” he said.
However, an NYSC official said mobilisation can only proceed once NBTE uploads the details of eligible graduates.
“Once NBTE uploads the students’ details into the portal, they can register for mobilisation. If the details are not there, they cannot register,” the official explained.
Source: PUNCH