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 Reporters 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.
Kano graduates blame NYSC, cite documentation issues
Meanwhile, some graduates of Kano State Polytechnic blamed the NYSC for the delays in their mobilisation, accusing the scheme of being selective due to the growing number of graduates produced across the country.
The graduates, who spoke with Reporters on condition of anonymity, said although the challenge affected both polytechnic and university graduates, polytechnic graduates appeared to be more severely impacted.
“Though a number of university graduates are also experiencing the same challenges, polytechnic graduates seem to be the worst affected,” one of the graduates said.
The graduate, who completed his programme in July 2025, said he had spent more than eight months at home waiting to be mobilised for the mandatory one-year national service.
“I graduated from Kano State Polytechnic about eight months ago, but regrettably I am still at home waiting for the NYSC mobilisation, and it is not forthcoming,” he said.
The graduate lamented that two of his friends who graduated from Bayero University, Kano, in March 2025 had also yet to be mobilised.
“I have two friends in BUK, Mukhtar Tukur and Mohammad Salisu, who graduated in March 2025 and as I speak with you now, they have yet to be mobilised,” he said.
Another graduate of the polytechnic, Sani, said the delay appears to be a broader national challenge affecting many graduates.
He called on the Federal Government to introduce policies that would address the bottlenecks affecting the mobilisation process.
However, the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of Kano State Polytechnic, Auwal Bagwai, attributed the delay to documentation issues involving JAMB and the NYSC.
“According to the NYSC Desk Officer, the issue lies with JAMB and NYSC, as some of our graduates were rejected during upload due to unrecognised or invalid JAMB registration numbers,” he said.
Bagwai explained that the affected graduates had been advised to reprint their JAMB slips and re-upload them to correct the discrepancies, but some of them failed to do so.
He added that polytechnics across the country, including Kano State Polytechnic, had lodged complaints with the NYSC headquarters over the matter.
“As far as we are concerned, the polytechnics have fulfilled their part in mobilising students, and internal processes are ongoing to ensure that all eligible graduates are captured,” he said.
Sokoto graduates lament delays
Several polytechnic graduates in Sokoto State also expressed frustration over prolonged delays in their mobilisation for the national service.
Some of the affected graduates, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH in Sokoto, said they had remained at home for months waiting to be mobilised for the NYSC programme.
The development, they said, stalled their plans for employment and career progression, leaving many uncertain about their future.
A graduate of The Polytechnic, Sokoto, Ibrahim Yusuf, said he had been unable to secure stable employment because many organisations require proof of NYSC completion or exemption.
“I graduated about eight months ago and we expected to be mobilised with the next batch, but our names have not appeared on the portal. Each time we contact the school, they tell us to keep waiting,” he said.
Another graduate of the institution, Mohammed, said the delay had also created financial pressure for many of them who had hoped to complete their national service and move on with their careers.
Edo poly graduates
News gathered that graduates of Edo State Polytechnic were also affected by the delay in NYSC mobilisation.
However, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, John Eson, said partial accreditation of some programmes had affected mobilisation.
“A good number of our students have been mobilised in the past. Some programmes were given partial accreditation, and that is what we are working to resolve with the NBTE,” he said.
He added that the institution had written to the regulatory body to conduct accreditation visits for the affected programmes.
Education data indicate that universities and polytechnics collectively produce about 600,000 graduates annually, while the NYSC mobilises only between 240,000 and 350,000 corps members each year, creating a significant backlog.
Reports also suggest 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 N33,000 to N77,000, which may have limited the number of graduates mobilised in each batch.
Experts warn that the delay is compounding youth unemployment, as many graduates remain unable to secure jobs that require proof of national service.
They also note that with more tertiary institutions being established across the country, pressure on the NYSC mobilisation system will continue to grow unless the scheme expands its annual mobilisation capacity.
JAMB not responsible – Oloyede
But the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said the board was not responsible for admissions into HND programmes or the mobilisation of graduates for the NYSC.
Oloyede stated this during a meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Polytechnic Students.
According to a statement signed by the board’s Public Communication Adviser, Fabian Benjamin, the JAMB registrar explained that the board only facilitates admission into National Diploma, degree and Nigeria Certificate in Education programmes.
“The board is not responsible for admitting HND students into polytechnics and therefore has no data to facilitate their entry into the NYSC scheme,” he said.
He advised affected students to channel their complaints to the appropriate institutions responsible for the programmes.
NBTE blames institutions
The National Board for Technical Education attributed delays in mobilisation to compliance issues and violations of academic procedures by some institutions.
The Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, disclosed this through the board’s NYSC Desk Officer, Dauda Baba-Halal.
Speaking with Reporters, Bugaje explained that some institutions fail to enforce the mandatory one-year Industrial Training required after the National Diploma before students proceed to HND programmes.
“If a student proceeds to HND without completing the mandatory one-year Industrial Training, the NYSC will not mobilise that student because the academic progression is incomplete,” he said.
He also said institutions must upload student records on the NBTE HND admission portal to enable proper verification.
“Mobilisation depends largely on the timely and accurate uploading of students’ records by institutions,” he said.
He noted that graduates from programmes that were not fully accredited by NBTE may also face difficulties during mobilisation.
The NBTE official urged institutions experiencing mobilisation challenges to formally communicate with either NBTE or the NYSC for resolution.
However, an NYSC official explained to Sunday PUNCH that NBTE was solely responsible for the upload of graduate names for mobilisation.
“Ours is once the NBTE uploads their students details into the portal, the students’ can register for NYSC mobilisation but if their details are not on the portal, they cannot register,” he said.
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