The Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, has pushed for the extension of the national service scheme from one to two years.

The minister stated this on Saturday when the Director General of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.

Alausa said the duration of the scheme can be extended with the expansion of NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Training programme content for corps members.

“You have done so well as an organization. Let NYSC give people more opportunity to become job creators that will meet the needs of the country”, he said, according to a statement by NYSC spokesperson, Caroline Embu.

He also hailed the scheme for resolving the lingering issue of ordinary national diploma part-time graduates with full-time higher national diploma who were previously exempted from national service.

He advocated the deployment of more graduate teachers to serve in rural schools, saying this would fill the manpower gap in the schools.

Speaking earlier, NYSC boss called for the establishment of a database of Nigerian youths going abroad to study for degree programmes, adding that this would help the government and other stakeholders in the education sector to have detailed records of Nigerian students studying abroad and also eliminate fake graduates.

“NYSC is ready to comply with policy guidelines as directed by the Federal Government. We are also trying to reform the Scheme to conform with the present national needs,” he said.

Responding, Alausa stated that efforts are on-going in the ministry to digitise the verification of foreign trained graduates of Nigerian origin.

He said the ministry and NYSC would further strengthen their alliance towards the improvement of education for national development.