Okay, so you’ve survived tertiary school. Your parents have attended your convocation ceremony. The school’s cleared you for graduation since the witches in your village didn’t give you a missing script or something.
So, you’re ready to face the NYSC phase. One year of serving the fatherland. The NYSC portal is open from Tuesday 8th September to Friday 9th October, 2015. That’s a 5 week window, more than enough time to plough through all the steps on this list. Luckily, some parts of the registration process has been automated while others… not so much. Here are the things you need to do to have a hitch free NYSC.
1. Make sure your school’s Senate/Academic board sent your name to the NYSC office
This is important and short of typing in all caps, there’s no way to emphasise that your school MUST SEND YOUR NAME to the NYSC office. I have friends who are through with school since January yet still haven’t been called up because of this one reason.
2. Get to the NYSC portal and register
Create an account for yourself, if this is your first time. Login with your details if you already have an account but weren’t mobilised with the previous batch. The rest of the process should be familiar to any student.
You’ll need to upload passport photos, some documents (there’s a list in the next step) and a thumbscan. Unless you have a thumb scanning machine at home (if you do, your name should be high on EFCC watchlist), you’ll need to go to a cybercafe to get it done. Yeah they still exist.
3. Uploading documents (for foreign students)
You’ll need to upload a scan of the following documents – first degree certificate, transcript of first degree, West African School Certificate/GCE/NECO or High School Diploma (if applicable), International Passport and letters of verification (for graduates of Institutions in Ghana, Benin Republic and any other Institution whose accreditation is in doubt).
If your documents are in another language apart from English, you’ll have to upload a translated version. Translations can be done at the embassy of the country you studied at. You can find more information here.
Local graduates
Local graduates have it a little easier. By verifying their matric number on the NYSC portal, most of their school credentials are available. They just need to upload their first degree certificate and West African School Certificate/GCE/NECO.
Both sets of graduates will be required to upload their signatures.
4. Verification of documents (for foreign students)
You do not need to go to NYSC Headquarters, Abuja to verify these documents. They’ll be inspected at the Orientation Camps. So take along the originals.
5. About Married People
If you’re married and have no desire to be separated from your boo, upload the following documents – marriage certificate, evidence of change of name, document showing your spouse’s place of residence.
6. Medical students
If you studied Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy or Medical Laboratory Science you are going to upload your registration certificates issued by the respective councils – Nigerian Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (NMDCN), Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria. If you don’t have them yet, go get them.
Once you have successfully uploaded all these documents, all that’s left to do is wait for your Call up letter.
7. Magic fingers
The waiting period is when you usually tell, threaten, beg, or bribe your network of family and friends to assist you in getting posted to a favourable place, like Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, or Oyo state. Like they say in Lagos, Don’t dull yourself.
8. Collecting your call up letter
Eventually, Call up letters will be assigned and sent out to candidates. Both Local and foreign graduates can print their Call up letters online and have the number sent to their phone for the sum of three thousand Naira. If you decide to go the cheap route, head over to NYSC Headquarters in Abuja to get it. Payments can be made online on the portal.
This would be the easier option for foreign graduates but if they’d prefer, they can collect their call-up letters in person at Abuja. Take along your International Passport and other relevant documents.
Local graduates who also opt out of the N3,000 fee can collect their call-up numbers and letters at their respective schools.
9. Don’t get swindled
Payment of any kind of fees is to be done online at the NYSC portal or appropriate banks.
Orientation camp starts by October 28th. Have fun.
Photo Credit: NYSC
