The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has blamed some polytechnics and other tertiary institutions for the delay in mobilising their graduates for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

The delay has left many Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates from polytechnics across the country stranded for months, and in some cases, years, after completing their programmes.

The affected graduates attributed the delay to administrative bottlenecks within their institutions and to the limited quota for mobilisation under the scheme.

However, the NBTE has shifted the blame to the institutions, stating that the delays are largely due to their failure to comply with established academic procedures and to poor documentation of students’ records.

The Executive Secretary of the NBTE, Idris Bugaje, disclosed this through the board’s NYSC Desk Officer, Dauda Baba-Halal.

He explained that some institutions fail to enforce the mandatory one-year Industrial Training required after the National Diploma (ND) before students proceed to the Higher National Diploma (HND) programme.

He lamented that some institutions violate this policy by admitting students directly into HND programmes immediately after completing their ND, which creates problems during verification and affects the eligibility of graduates for mobilisation into the NYSC scheme.

“This policy has existed for a long time, but unfortunately, some institutions violate it by admitting their students into HND without allowing them to complete the mandatory one-year Industrial Training,” Bugaje said.

He explained that if a student proceeds to HND without completing the mandatory one-year Industrial Training, the NYSC will not mobilise that student because the academic progression is incomplete.

Bugaje noted that the NBTE has strengthened its verification process through its HND admission portal to ensure that students follow the required academic sequence.

According to him, the portal is a national database for students admitted into HND programmes, and institutions are required to upload the records of their HND students to enable the board to verify their academic history and ensure that proper admission procedures were followed.

The NBTE boss clarified that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is only responsible for admissions into the National Diploma programme, and has no role in the mobilisation of graduates for the NYSC.

He added that institutions facing mobilisation challenges should formally communicate such issues to the NBTE or NYSC for clarification and resolution.

Bugaje emphasised that the NBTE plays a regulatory and verification role in ensuring that only properly qualified graduates from accredited programmes are mobilised for national service.

“Only graduates from programmes accredited by the NBTE are eligible to be considered for mobilisation into the NYSC scheme,” he said.