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.