Here is a complete guide for Corp Members and Prospective Corp Members (PCMs
A Complete Guide to NYSC
It’s a thing of joy to graduate from a tertiary institution especially one in Nigeria. After the signing out party and every other activity of the graduating week, the next thing on every grandaunt’s mind is NYSC.
We understand the urge, the pride invested in you by your Khaki and Jungle boots is to the moon and back, the never-ending fun of the NYSC orientation course will easily get anyone excited, experienced to be gained at your place of primary assignment, the new monthly income and don’t let me get started on the Pictures many want to take for the gram.
Congratulations on the successful completion of your program but before you reach out to the nearest cyber café or your computer for registration here is a Complete Guide of what NYSC is all about. This guide covers every facet of the One-year National program from registration to Passing out so you don’t want to skip any part. It will help you get ready for your journey as a corp member and help you have a successful and fun service year.
To make it easy, we have created a table of content to help you easily navigate through our Ultimate NYSC guide.
Table of Content
- About NYSC
- Registration and Preparatory work
- Orientation course
- Primary assignment
- Community Development service
- Winding up/Passing out
Ready? Let’s proceed
- About NYSC
Let’s begin with a little insight into what NYSC is all about. The NYSC scheme was created in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the Nigerian Civil war. The unfortunate antecedents in the national history gave impetus to the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps by decree No.24 of 22nd May 1973 which stated that the NYSC is being established “with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity”.
The program was also established to inculcate in Nigerian Youths the spirit of selfless service to the community, and to emphasize the spirit of oneness and brotherhood of all Nigerians, irrespective of cultural or social background. The history of our country since independence has clearly indicated the need for unity among all our people and demonstrated the fact that no cultural or geographical entity can exist in isolation.
The purpose of the NYSC, unlike what a lot of us understand is beyond transmitting attitude, skills, and grit. The scheme is also purposed to widen your horizons; to make you a better citizen; to help you to evaluate information; to help you to be prepared to make your way through the world; to help you be more creative.
Registration and Preparatory work
Registration
This is the first facet of the National service year; it is generally the stage where you get yourself ready for the journey ahead. To register you must have verified your name on the graduating and senate list officially sent by your school. For more details click for Senate list checking https://portal.nysc.org.ng/nysc3/VerifySenateLists.aspx and https://portal.nysc.org.ng/nysc3/CheckInstitutionCoursesPCMs.aspx for graduating list and also you can check this video guide on how to check your name both Senate list and Graduating list
After verifying your name you need to get some things in place for registration; these will depend on whether you’re a foreign PCMs or a Nigerian graduate and if you’re registering yourself or not. We advise you to register with the nearest certified Cyber café near you because they already have the experience and most equipment you’ll need.
Some basic things you’ll need include a passport with a white background, scanned copy of your signature on white paper, etc.
A quick tip: Make sure you register as soon as the portal is open for registration so you can get deployed to the state of your choice. If you’re worried about how you’ll get to know when registration starts don’t worry we’ve got you covered, just follow us across our social media pages such as Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, YouTube Channel and subscribe to our email newsletter to get free valuable updates.
You have to do a pre-registration first. This involves opening a NYSC account with your email account. We generally recommend Gmail because users of other email platforms usually run into some unavoidable hitch.
Check out our detailed guide on how to register for nysc for more details and a step by step video tutorial if you’re registering yourself or just want to do the pre-registration. This guide is for foreign PCMs and Nigerian graduates alike.
At the end of your registration, you’ll be able to print your green card and weeks later your call up letter with details of the state you have been deployed to.
Related article: Different between Call up letter, Green Card and process on how to print them
Preparatory work
After a successful registration of NYSC, you need to start preparing for the official first section of the service year; the Orientation course. This is the stage where you get everything needed for admission into the NYSC orientation camp needed. Such includes your Statement of result, medical fitness certificate, medical report (if you’re redeploying), your school ID card, your Call up letter and Green card. To make things easy we have created a cheat sheet of the necessary things you need before going for orientation. Go ahead and download it for free.
Please make sure all documents you’re using for registration on the NYSC portal and on camp are 100% credible. It is an offense against the law of the country to use counterfeit documents. NYSC Blog has warned you.
Related article: Different between medical fitness certificate and medical report for redeployment and how to get a credible one
- Orientation Course
Your service year starts with a 3 weeks orientation course and it is compulsory for all Nigeria graduates mobilized for national service. And now that you’ve successfully registered for nysc and done all preparatory works the next step is to get to the orientation camp of the state you have been deployed to. Check out our list of all NYSCBLOG STATE SECRETARIATS ADDRESSES LOCATIONS. It is highly advisable to get to the camp as soon as it is open for admission if you are not a big fan of having six feet long trousers when you’re only 5 feet tall. The people that go early to camp get the best of resources such as kits, bed space, mattress, hostels, etc.
Related article: Travel safety tips for PCMs
Upon arrival at the orientation camp, you’ll need to present some of the documents we talked about earlier to the security operatives to be admitted. You’ll also be checked for harmful objects and medications. Objects such as knives, forks, electrical appliances are not allowed on camp. Also, self-medication isn’t allowed. These entire if found will be ceased from you and only returned when you’re leaving the camp at the end of the orientation course.
In most camps, you’ll be given a Job list at the entrance and be directed to where you’ll register duly. Your bio metrics will be captured at this point and documents you present will be thoroughly checked for originality so we can’t overemphasize the need of taking only important and credible documents to camp. There are different types of Law enforcement agencies on camp (from soldiers, through NDLEA, Police and even Man’O’War) and the army barracks is usually close by.
Related article: List of all documents every PCM must get on camp and acronyms you must know
It’s not all about documentation and security checks on camp, there’s a lot of fun to be had. You get the chance to participate in different fun activities that range from Parades to Drills (I love the Man’O’war drills) and cooking competition. Check out our YouTube channel for videos of different fun activities on camp.
You also get the chance to join different groups on camp such as Red Cross, Man O War, SDG, etc. they’ll be lots of sports to participate in such as football (usually for guys), volleyball (for ladies), table tennis, etc.
You’ll receive multiple allowances (2 transportation allowances) on camp and will be given your first monthly allowance cash. Ours was given to us on the day of our carnival and you know what that means. A salary bank account will be opened for you and some banks such as Access and UBA give corp members ATM cards right on camp.
You’ll also start your Skills Acquisition & Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) program on camp. The orientation course is wrapped up with a delighting carnival and Inter Platoon Competition.
Make sure to check out our Complete Orientation course guide that entails all you need to know from the security of yourself and your properties, how to make optimal use of your monetary and material resources on camp, how to get necessary documents on camp such as certificate format etc.
Gentleman prospective corp member, make sure your morale is high because you’re about to have one of the best moments of your life.
- Primary Assignment
On the last day of your orientation course, you’ll be given a posting letter that’ll indicate where you’ll have your Primary Assignment and the Local Government you’ll serve. While NYSC Management takes into consideration the areas of specialization of Corps members when carrying out the posting exercise, emphasis is usually placed in the areas of Agriculture, Health, Education and Infrastructure.
It is advised that you get ready for documentation in the Local Government of your PPA (Place of Primary Assignment) right from camp and report to your PPA immediately you leave camp. This is because the best PPAs (where you get good pay and accommodation) have more than required corp members deployed to them and they accept corp members strictly on first come first serve basis. Don’t be rush to accept your PA though as they are some things to consider before you do so. Such as the distance between your residence and your PPA, the workload you’ll be given, your days off work, etc. Trust me, these and other things you best consider because once you’re accepted it is very difficult to leave.
Check out our Complete Guide of Best Primary assignment practices and What every Corp member should consider before accepting them for more detailed information and prepared documents you’ll need at the local government.
- Community Development Service (CDS)
CDS is the 3rd of 4 Cardinal point of your service year and is very compulsory (Group CDS). Corps members are expected to identify the needs of their host communities and mobilize members of their host communities to embark on the projects of addressing these needs.
There are basically two types of CDS which are:
- Group CDS and
- Personal CDS
During your documentation at the Local Government of your PPA, you’ll be assigned to a group CDS (usually based on your field of expertise). You’ll work with this group to carry out different projects in the local government and sometimes beyond the LGA. CDS generally take place on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and this is regarded as your off day as you are permitted not to go to work even after your CDS meeting.
Personal CDS is basically one carried out by individual corp member. Say you notice the need for borehole water in your immediate community and you want to carry out a project to solve this problem you’ll be carrying out a personal CDS. You don’t have to worry about the monetary issue though as it is not even allowed anymore for corp members to carry out projects with their own money. You just identify the problem, notify the right authorities in writing mobilize your community and present your proffered solution.
Try not to miss Group CDS because this can lead to at least 3 months service year extension without pay or in worst-case scenarios declaration of you as an absconded corp member.
Even though Personal CDS isn’t compulsory we implore you to engage in it as they’re lots of benefits attached. One of such is good compensation from your host community and even the government. Some corp members were recently given National awards and Good Jobs just for taking part in Personal CDS.
Check Out our complete Community Development Service (CDS) guide for more information and best practices
PA and CDS are what you’ll do throughout your service as required by the National Service decree but they’ll be room for personal development too which is very important. We have for you a well-structured analysis on How to develop your abilities and add values to yourself during your service year and How to make good money for free. Make sure you check them, they’re absolutely priceless
Related Article: Necessary items to take down to the nysc camp ground.
- Winding Up/Passing Out
Our hearty congratulations to you on getting to the final stage of your service year. We salute your patriotism and diligence to serve the nation. We hope you have added value to yourself during the last 12 months and learned to make money with ease; employment can be a little tricky to get in the nation right now.
Your winding up and pass out parade starts with your final clearance at both your PPA, CDS and your local government. For this, you’ll need a final clearance format (downloadable below), your NYSC payment account statement, etc. You’ll have a pass out ceremony (sometimes low key) and be given your most deserved NYSC certificate.
Check out our full guide on Winding up/ Passing out for more information and prepared documents you’ll need for passing out.
If you’ve gotten to this stage of the National service year we say congratulations once again, you have added another achievement to the list and have become a better victor than you were last year. We at NYSC Blog pray for success in your endeavors.
That’s all, we hope this article helped you learn more about the most craved National Service by graduates and gave you insights on the best practices anyone can adopt before, during and at the end of their service year.
Let us know about your thoughts in the comment section. If you think there’s anything we’ve left out or you just have a suggestion drop them in the comment section too and we’ll attend to them before you finish reading the NYSC anthem.
