Minister Alausa Debunks NYSC Extension Rumour; Clarifies Voluntary Teacher Corps for Rural Schools
Over the past week, social media was buzzing with reports that the government intended to double the length of the mandatory youth service — a claim that sparked confusion and backlash among young Nigerians and prospective corps members.
But speaking at a convocation lecture at Lagos State University (LASU) on Tuesday, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the reports were completely false and that he was misquoted.
“Let me make it very clear — at no point did I say NYSC should be extended to two years,” Alausa stated. “That’s not true. What I mentioned was the possibility of creating a voluntary teacher corps under NYSC for graduates from colleges of education.”
According to him, the idea was aimed at solving the issue of teacher shortages in rural communities, especially in key subjects like mathematics, English and science.
He explained that many trained teachers are currently unemployed despite the demand in underserved areas. The proposed teacher corps, he said, would give willing education graduates the opportunity to teach in those places for up to two years — but it would be strictly optional and not part of the regular NYSC scheme.
“We’re producing a lot of graduates from our Colleges of Education, but there aren’t enough jobs,” Alausa said. “Meanwhile, many rural schools don’t have enough teachers. This initiative is just a way of matching supply with demand.”
In the same breath, the minister revealed that the government is currently auditing teachers employed by Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in unity schools. He added that qualified PTA teachers could soon be absorbed into the federal civil service.
For now, NYSC remains a one-year programme — no changes, no extensions.
