The Ministry of Youth Development is working on launching a training scheme equivalent to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for graduates of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).

The Minister of State for Youth Development, Olawande Wisdom, who disclosed this to reporters, announced plans to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to introduce new training reforms, one of which will offer NYSC-like training for NCE holders and other categories of graduates.

Wisdom emphasised the importance of such training in preventing social vices, similar to the positive impact organisations like the Boys’ Brigade and Girls Guide have had.

He noted that the major priority of the ministry is citizenship and training, which are being brought back.

“We have NYSC for university graduates, but what about those who finished with NCE and others? We want to set up training camps such that participants would not need to go to other states to participate, you can have it in your state and the camp,” Wisdom stated.

He commended Dr Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, founder of the BEMORE Empowered Girls Foundation, for her contributions to the development of the girl-child and raising the bar of excellence.

Dr Anyanwu-Akeredolu, wife of former governor of Ondo State, clarified that the initiative is a private effort to empower future female leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

She disclosed that the initiative was inspired by her personal experiences growing up, and aimed to ensure that women and girls, who make up 50 per cent of the population, are not left behind in development.