National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has warned that online registration for the 2016 Batch `A` Orientation Course, for prospective corps members, will not be extended after the Feb. 28 deadline. Director of Press Unit of the NYSC, Mrs Bose Aderibigbe gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos. Aderibigbe said that the Stream I of the Batch `A’ orientation course would hold between March 30 and April 18 in various camps across the country. She added that the Stream II of the same batch would start from April 27 to May 16 in designated states.The online registration started on Feb. 8. The director explained that after registering on the NYSC portal, the corps members would get their call-up numbers. “Prospective corps members shall wait until they get a Short Message Service (SMS) or an e-mail, informing them to go and print their call-up letters.They will get the information before March 30
.Usually, it takes one week or few days to get this information before the orientation course begins,” she said. Asked if the online registration is for foreign graduates only, Aderibigbe said that the scheme does not segregate its corps members. “The registration is for both local and foreign trained Nigerian graduates,’’ she said. In another development, the Afenifere Renewal Group has expressed concern over the poor performance of students in the results recently released by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) nationwide. The Chairman of the Group, Mr Olawole Osun, expressed the concern in an interview with the State House correspondents shortaly after a visit to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in Abuja on Tuesday. Reports indicate that only 38 per cent of the students obtained five credits in the examination. Osun described the result as very poor even in the South West, and urged the Federal government to hands off secondary education for improved efficiency.
He said that it would be good if the Federal Government reviewed the educational policies in the country. He said: “It will be necessary of course for the Federal Government to look at the educational system, the educational policies that are conducive and likely to raise the standard of performance. “Because, in any case, when you talk of empowerment that is the best empowerment that you can give to our children. “And it is necessary that we look at education from the angle of devolution of powers so that the Federal Government divests itself from direct participation in secondary education, focusing on tertiary education and laying down essential policies and allowing the federating units to focus on those levels of education, vocational, secondary such that you can have a greater efficiency at that level.’’ The Afenifere chieftain also stressed the need to ensure devolution of powers in other sectors. According to him, this will allow the federating units to participate at levels at which they are much more efficient to handle projects as well as handle issues that affect the well-being of the citizens. Commenting on the outcome of the visit, Osun said that the vice president was pleased with the concern raised by the group on how to raise the standard of secondary education. He said that the group was assured of the Federal Government’s determination to prioritise education