No IT, No NYSC: HND Graduates Face New Rule

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has directed that all Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates seeking registration for national service must provide evidence of completing the mandatory one-year Industrial Training (IT) after their National Diploma (ND) programme before they can be registered at orientation camps.
In a circular signed by the Director of Corps Mobilisation, Isa Walida Siddique, on behalf of the Director-General of the NYSC, the scheme said it observed that some graduates of polytechnics and monotechnics proceed to HND programmes without completing the compulsory one-year Industrial Training. It explained that the new requirement is aimed at safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s educational system.
“It has been noticed in recent times that some graduates of Polytechnics and Monotechnics do not observe the mandatory one-year Industrial Training before being admitted for the Higher National Diploma (HND) programme,” the circular stated.
The NYSC said the directive applies to all prospective corps members with HND qualifications, warning that anyone who fails to present evidence of completing the mandatory Industrial Training will not be registered at orientation camps. “Prospective Corps Members who are HND graduates will be required to present evidence of the completion of the one-year Industrial Training before being registered at the NYSC Orientation Camps,” it added.
The circular, addressed to Rectors and Provosts of Polytechnics and Monotechnics through their Registrars, urged institutions to immediately sensitise students to avoid setbacks during mobilisation. “You are please requested to give this information the widest publicity among your students to forestall a situation where they will be denied registration at the NYSC Orientation camp,” the scheme stated.
The directive, dated July 15, 2026, and referenced NYSC/DHQ/CM/M/347/T.74, also instructed institutions to ensure that prospective HND graduates are adequately informed of the new requirement before reporting for national service.