Radda Seeks More Doctors, Teachers as Katsina Moves to Upgrade NYSC Camp

Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, has called for increased deployment of medical doctors and teachers to the state under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, particularly to underserved rural communities.

Radda made the appeal on Wednesday when the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, paid him a courtesy visit at the Katsina State Government House.

The governor also announced plans to improve facilities at the NYSC orientation camp, especially the hostels, while directing the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development to make appropriate budgetary provisions to address challenges identified by the NYSC leadership.

Radda described the NYSC as an important instrument for national integration, noting that the deployment of young Nigerians across states promotes understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence despite differences in language, culture and religion.

He said Katsina had benefited significantly from the contributions of Corps Members, particularly in healthcare and education.

According to him, Corps Members played an important role in supporting a mobile clinic he operated while serving as a local government chairman, while their services remain crucial to rural schools.

The governor noted that although the state recently recruited more than 10,000 teachers, the number was still insufficient to meet the state’s educational needs.

He therefore appealed to the NYSC to deploy more Corps Members with expertise in English, Mathematics and Science, as well as medical doctors, to areas where they are most needed.

“Medical doctors are not supposed to go where they want; they should go where they are needed,” Radda said, urging the NYSC to consider the peculiar manpower shortages confronting Katsina when making postings.

He also said the state would review its existing support and allowances for Corps Members and identify areas requiring additional intervention.

Earlier, Nafiu commended the Radda administration for providing a peaceful and conducive environment for Corps Members serving across the state.

He said security was critical to NYSC operations, adding that Katsina’s relative peace enabled the scheme to deploy Corps Members to communities across the state with confidence.

Nafiu disclosed that the NYSC, which mobilised 2,364 graduates when it began in 1973, now mobilises more than 400,000 graduates annually. He said the scheme’s 2026 mobilisation budget provides for about 450,000 graduates, while Nigerian tertiary institutions are projected to produce about 650,000 graduates during the year.

The NYSC DG also highlighted the changing gender composition of graduates, noting that female graduates have outnumbered males since 2021.

He stressed that the scheme remains vital to states facing shortages of professionals such as doctors, nurses and teachers, describing the relationship between NYSC and host states as “symbiotic.”

Nafiu appealed to the governor to consider providing state allowances for Corps Members as an additional incentive and thanked the government for supporting their feeding.

He also disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved a review of the Federal Government’s feeding provision for Corps Members from next year.

The NYSC chief praised Katsina residents for their hospitality, saying some Corps Members nearing the end of their service were already reluctant to leave the state.

“Katsina is home to everyone,” he said.