NYSC: Difference Between Discharge letter, Exclusion Letter, And Exemption Letter

After the completion of a four, five or six years degree program by a Nigerian both within and outside the country, it is mandated by the law of the land, that such a student participate in a one year compulsory programme of the National Youth Service Corp popularly known as NYSC.

However, not all graduates participate in the programme due to one reason or the other. This eventually make them receive different certificates of NYSC after their degree programs.

In this article, I will be discussing extensively, three major certificates the National Youth Service Corp award to graduates after their programs. These includes:

1. Discharge Letter/ Discharge Certificate.

2. Letter of Exclusion/ Certificate of Exclusion.

3. Letter of Exemption/ Certificate of Exemption.

Discarge Certificate(left), Exclusion Letter(middle), and Exemption Letter(right)

A short but, detailed discourse of these three certificates will be attempted below.

1. Discharge Certificate: This is the most popular of all the certificates the Corp issue to graduates. This certificate is usually given to graduates who have successfully completed their mandated 1-year service program. It is usually awarded during their Passing Out Parade.

2. Exclusion Certificate: This is another certificate issue by the corps. Graduates entitle to this are the ones who could not attend the regular programs in school. Example are graduates of Distance Learning, Part-Time, Sandwich, among others.

3. Exemption Certificate: This is the third major certificate awarded by the corp to graduates. This certificate is issued to someone who, having completed his regular University or Polythenic, by law could not participate in the mandatory 1-year NYSC Scheme.

However, to be eligible for this certificate, you have to meet the following requirements…

In accordance with the National Youth Service Corps Decree 1993 section 2 subsection (1), it is stipulated that:

“With effect from 1st August 1985, a person shall NOT be called upon to serve in the service corps if, at the date of graduation or obtaining his diploma or other professional qualification” :

1. He is over the age of thirty (30) years

2. He has served in the Armed Forces of the Federation or the Nigeria Police Force for a period of more than nine months; or

3. He is a member of the staff of any of the following:

a. The Nigerian Security Organization or

b. The State Security Service, or

c. The National Intelligence Agency or

d. The Defence Intelligence Service

4. He has been conferred with any National Honour.

These categories of persons are therefore exempted from service and issued with the NYSC Certificates of Exemption.