NYSC Defends N4,000 Online Registration Charge

National Youth Service Corps Members to pay N4,000 online call-up letter charge. (Photo source: vanguard)

The National Youth Service Corps has defended its online registration for corps members saying the computerization would ease the rigorous processes involved in the collection of call-up letters, Punch reports.

The NYSC specifically doused insinuations concerning the N4,000 charge during registration which it said was for the benefits of the new platform.

The full computerization of the mobilization process beginning with the 2014 Batch ‘C’ mobilization exercise was endorsed at the 2014 NYSC annual management conference held in Calabar.

The exercise is being handled by Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited, the same company handling online registration for WAEC and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

The Director of Corps Mobilization in NYSC, Mr. Anthony Ani, however told journalists on Friday in Abuja that while the innovation would not bring about job losses for staff, it was optional for people who still want to be traveling long distances to schools where they graduated to get their call-up letters.

He said, “Every year, NYSC mobilizes over 300,000 corps members including those who went on part time, even though they don’t serve. Before orientation, every prospective corp member has to pass through a long process including traveling to collect call-up letters. Sometimes many corps members have died while traveling to get their call-up letters and most times school officials may not be there.

“Coming to camp, you meet long queues during registration while others bring fake call-up letters. Some prospective corps members change their dates of birth because they want to serve and get discharge certificate. Some institutions are admitting students without passing through JAMB and enfolding them into unaccredited courses. In one particular institution, we mobilized about 9,000 from one institution and we asked: what is happening? We reported to NBTE and sanity was restored. So if you’re having problems in any of these, you will be notified through SMS or email.”

According to him, the NYSC management looked into these and decided to computerize the whole process which started in 2012 after a thorough bidding process through Private Public Partnership at the cost of N830 million adding that 49 companies tendered proposals durning the opening of the bidding process.