NYSC bars pregnant women, nursing mothers, PG students

The National Youth Service Corps has barred prospective corps members that are pregnant and nursing babies from participating in the national service across the country.

Also affected are students undergoing post-graduate studies in institutions of higher learning in the country.

The Director-General of the NYSC, Brig-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, who said these in Kaduna, however, said those affected needed not bother to enlist for service "until they are free to participate effectively."

This was contained in the resolution of the two-day retreat released to journalists on Thursday.

The NYSC DG, at the workshop with the theme, 'ICT and NYSC mobilisation process: towards eliminating identified challenges', added that pregnant women and children would no longer be allowed into orientation camps across the country for service under the scheme established in 1973 by the Gen. Yakubu Gowon administration.

"It was further resolved that pregnant women, nursing mothers or students engaging in post-graduate studies should not bother to enlist for service until they are free to participate effectively," the resolution read.

Olawumi noted that the exemption of pregnant women and nursing mothers as well as post-graduate students from national service was because they would not be able to undergo the four cardinal programmes of the NYSC.

The four cardinal programmes include mobilisation, orientation, primary assignment and winding-up passing out parade.

The director-general argued further that for  prospective corps members to qualify to receive certificate of national service, they must go through the four stages of national service.

Olawumi faulted a situation whereby prospective corps members, especially pregnant women and nursing mothers, would be absent from the stages of the national service, only to resurface for posting to their various places of primary assignments.

Meanwhile, the resolution of the 2015 'B' Pre-Mobilisation workshop added that henceforth, documents for concessional posting request on marital or health grounds would be forwarded on-line as against the old practice of "bringing such to the NYSC headquarters in Abuja".

It noted that prospective corps members would henceforth be given the opportunity to choose their choice outside their socio-cultural and linguistic areas, using ICT solution.

This, according to the NYSC, is in a bid to tackle the problems of deluge of concessional request with which the agency is being inundated.